Manon Briod: the design potential of synthetic biology

«Growing Stones» is an ongoing research project focused on the exploration of a technique, bacterial biomineralization, paving the way to new manufacturing processes.

Recent advances in synthetic biology offer unexpected development opportunities in the field of design. Some microorganisms have the ability, under certain conditions, to «produce» limestone, and thus to act as cement in a substrate. This discovery raised Manon Briod‘s interest: as this process can be reproduced in a laboratory, is there a way we can guide the bacteria’s growth and thereby control the geometry of the stone?
Working with living organisms challenged the designer’s work due to their  unpredictability, new temporality and imperatives. It has changed the way Manon Briod approached the production of objects: creating with life raises unusual questions for a designer, from a formal to an ethical point of view. With «Growing Stones», Manon Briod explores unknown tracks, imagines new processes and places microorganisms at the heart of the future products production.