/ReRoot

ReRoot is a biodesign experiment that investigates how plant roots can become both material and collaborator in the design process. The project draws on the behavior of roots in response to environmental stimuli, using digitally fabricated templates to guide root growth into controlled patterns. Inspired by natural precedents such as the living root bridges of Meghalaya and the work of artists like Diana Scherer, the project merges botanical intelligence with architectural intent. Through a series of iterative experiments using cress and wheatgrass, the team explores how roots can form textile-like or spatial structures—gluing, twisting, and adapting to meshes, foams, and 3D printed scaffolds. ReRoot challenges conventional fabrication logics by positioning plants not as static materials, but as active agents of construction, opening new horizons for circular design, slow fabrication, and multispecies collaboration.

Slime Mould explores the behavior of Physarum polycephalum, a single-celled organism known for its ability to solve spatial problems without a central nervous system. By observing its growth on agar plates, where it connects distributed food sources through highly optimized networks, the project analyzes how natural, non-hierarchical systems can inform architectural and infrastructural planning. These patterns are compared to human-made systems such as transportation grids, revealing the potential for more efficient and adaptive solutions.

Through computational simulations, the project translates slime mould behavior into dynamic spatial models capable of responding to environmental change. This biomimetic approach challenges conventional, top-down design logic and proposes a paradigm rooted in self-organization, emergence, and ecological responsiveness. Positioned at the intersection of biology, computation, and architecture, the work contributes to the growing discourse on how living systems can shape sustainable and resilient design methodologies.