Critically Exploring Material-Driven Design for Planetary Well-Being.

From animated textiles to living materials, the Centre of Design Research for Regenerative Material Ecologies (DREAM) revolutionizes the way we understand, make, and live with emerging material technologies to restore planetary wellbeing. We advocate for the development of materials that transcend conventional boundaries, embracing dynamism and emergence to catalyze creativity and diversity in human activities, aligning with the principles of living systems. In this interconnected framework, every design choice, production method, and transformation process contribute to the vitality of the whole. By championing this ethos, we strive to cultivate ecologies that sustain and nourish life in all its forms, recognizing our collective responsibility as stewards of sustainable futures.

Our Approach

The integration of this critical perspective across the diverse disciplines represented by DREAM unlocks the potential of materials across diverse ecological cycles, scales, and temporalities. Central to our established material-driven design approach is the recognition that materials designed to support regenerative ecologies must accommodate the intricate web of life, acknowledging the intertwined cycles, scales, and temporalities of living and non-living entities. By reimagining our relationship with organisms, materials, energy, and systems we seek to support biodiversity while cultivating ecological literacy, holistic worldviews, empathy, and care for the interconnected web of life that sustains and nourishes us all. 

We advocate for the development of materials that transcend conventional boundaries, embracing dynamism and emergence to catalyze creativity and diversity in human activities, aligning with the principles of living systems. In this interconnected framework, every design choice, production method, and transformation process contribute to the vitality of the whole. We convey this thinking through our research projects and educational modules within DREAM Academy. Our activities are guided by three core principles:

Conformal Material Processes

The Conformal Principle highlights the simultaneous thinking and production of material and form to synergistically build behaviour throughout material systems for new material expressions while minimizing energy and material waste. We investigate the potential of conformal thinking for multi-situated, multi-morphic artifacts that align with the needs of regenerative material ecologies. This principle is central to our expertise in areas such as 3D-textile forms, growing artifacts with living organisms, and 3D-printed metamaterials.