Open Cell Invites You to the (Sustainable) Future
In a celebration of all things Biodesign, the sustainable innovation hub, Open Cell, welcomes visitors to the exhibition ‘Biodesign Here Now’ at LDF
In July 2018 Open Cell co-founders Dr. Tom Meany and Helene Steiner launched their affordable bio-design research spaces in Shepherds Bush, London. The space is a response to the lack of infrastructure supporting biodesign outside the somewhat exclusive world of academia. Just two months later, the site – made up of 45 reclaimed shipping containers – invites visitors to discover what they believe is the future of materials, manufacturing, architecture and fashion.
The Open Cell exhibition Biodesign Here Now is part of London Design Festival 2018. The show will feature the works of 70 international designers and start-ups that are working in areas the circular economy, material reclamation and agritech towards a more sustainable future.
Projects range from the speculative to the scientific. On the more speculative end of the scale is the Red Rains of Change by Katie May Boyd and Louize Harries which imagine pollution protesting drones that would detect illegal levels of air pollution across London and produce red rain as a form of awareness and resistance.
On a more practical level Hand Pollination, by Drew Richards, is a set of tools that allows the user to hand pollinate endangered plants. It was the result of a collaboration between the designer and the Millennium Seed Bank at Kew Gardens.
Another project of note is Game Over by the Biotic Games Collective. The hybrid project integrates living matter into video games. Another game produced by the collective is Mould Rush which is an online strategy game revolving around land-conquering and driven by evolving microbial landscapes and biodigital interactions.
The Open Cell residents will also show their work including Olombria who examine systems from crop pollination using flies; Wase who investigate how to provide sanitation and energy to all, Chip[s]Board, a company that makes an eco-friendly alternative to chipboard from potato waste and the Material Researcher and Fashion Designer Alice Potts.
Open Cell will be open to the public with Biodesign Here Now until September 23.
Cover image: Algaerium Bioprinter by Dr. Marin Sawa
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