Grown Materials and Biological Making at Dutch Design Week 2026

At Dutch Design Week 2026, taking place in Eindhoven from 17–25 October, designers explore how bacteria and fungi can contribute to material development. Projects range from furniture made with microbial biopolymers to mycelium environments and colour-changing wearables. Across six presentations, biological processes inform how designers produce, shape and understand materials, opening possibilities for product, interior and architectural design.

From Bacteria to Objects

Zero Waste Lab, by Polish practice Mozi Studio, presents furniture and lighting made from PHA and PHB. Microorganisms produce these biopolymers from renewable carbon sources. Once extracted and processed, the polymers become materials for manufacturing everyday objects. The studio 3D prints lamps and produces sheets for stools and side tables using equipment adapted for biopolymer processing.

In PHALIVE, Shahar Livne and Jelle Heuver combine a bacteria-derived material developed by ColorFabb with computational design. Generative algorithms guide the 3D printing process, producing sculptural objects whose forms draw on natural growth patterns. The project connects biological material production with digital fabrication, asking how these methods might extend our understanding of craft.

Growing Spatial Environments

Bar Mycelium, a collaboration between Dasha Tsapenko and Mark Henning, explores fungal growth at the scale of an interior. Working with mycologist Pim van de Noort and biotechnologist Nick van Biezen, the team develops a bar environment through mycelium, fungal materials and processes. Tsapenko’s Scores for Growth methodology establishes conditions and structures within which organisms can shape the outcome.

The ReGreen Hut, developed by students at Utrecht University, examines how mycelium composites can support plant growth. Their Myvi panel combines fungal growth with a substrate such as hemp shives. The research investigates water availability, nutrients, pH and structural integrity to understand how plants can grow on or within the material. A geodesic dome at Utrecht Science Park provides an application for integrating these panels into an outdoor space.

Responsive and Changing Materials

NOOM, by Rafaela Cecconi, explores bacterial cellulose as an interface between the body and technology. The wearable patch concept uses electrochromic bacterial cellulose to communicate menstrual phases through colour. Combining biomaterials and electronics, it investigates how biological information could become a visible, wearable expression.

Written in Decay: Traces of Entanglement, by Shijia Huang, considers what happens after a biological material becomes an object. A book made from Shellworks’ bacteria-derived bioplastic Vivomer has its pages exposed to soils from different environments across London. Microorganisms, moisture and time leave marks through decay, making material transformation part of the work.

Together, these projects position biological processes as tools for making and experimentation. They span manufactured objects, spatial prototypes and speculative interfaces, showing how material origin, growth conditions and change over time can become central design considerations.

Source & photos via Dutch Design Week