RETHINKING Materiality
We are at a cusp of change in the way in which we fundamentally understand the opportunity which living materials present today. We are also at a very exciting juncture when it comes to the latest developments to integrate smart materials into our built environment. For example, façades with shape memory alloys which react to the environment in such a way that they actively move to shade a building without electricity, could be a reality 2-3 years from now. On the other hand, we are just scratching the surface in how we imagine living systems interfacing with non-living materials, enabled by digital fabrication, such as 3D printed structures integrated with bacteria to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere. The opportunities are almost endless.
What is the newest, most radical transdisciplinary work at the nexus of architecture, biology and design all about? Can we envision modern architecture with life in structural components? What new materials do we need to execute new functions, and what are the new functions we foresee?
Join this session, a part of the Berlin Science Week and ETH Zurich’s RETHINKING Living series, to learn more about the different levels of readiness for implementation and timescales involved in the ongoing work in this fascinating field.
Hybrid ETH Symposium at the Berlin Science Week 2021
Saturday, 6 November 2021
16.00 - 17.30
Venue:
Berlin Science Week Campus, Museum für Naturkunde, Birds Room
Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin
COVID-19 Regulations
Each person entering the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is required to submit their contact information (First name, last name, address, telephone number and email address), in accordance with the Protection Against Infection Act.
On-site the protective and hygienic measures of the Museum für Naturkunde apply. The so-called 3G rule (for “geimpft, genesen oder getestet“, i.e. “vaccinated, recovered or tested”) is in place: Anyone who is not fully vaccinated or is not considered recovered will be required to provide a recent negative Covid-19 test. Visiting the event is permitted with a medical face mask only.
Speakers
external pageMassimo Portincaso is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of OFFICINAE BIO, the first European DNA Foundry. He is also the Chairman of Hello Tomorrow and an investor and advisor to startups and deep tech funds. A former Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group, he is a renown author and speaker on deep tech, and his work has been featured in Fast Company, Bloomberg, Harvard Business Review and Consulting Magazine, among others.
external pageChristiane Sauer is architect and Professor for Material Design at Weißensee School of Art and Design Berlin. In her work she bridges material experimentation and design implementation focussing on textile structures and active materials. She heads the research facility DXM- Design Experiment Material and is member of the Cluster of Excellence “Matters of Activity. Image Space Material” at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. She has been practising and lecturing internationally in Europe and the US.
Mark Tibbitt completed his PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering at University of Colorado Boulder and postdoctoral training at MIT. Since 2017, he is Assistant Professor of Macromolecular Engineering at ETH Zurich where his research focuses on the interface between living and non-living materials. Specifically he engineers soft materials to guide and control living systems for engineering design.
Moderator
Chris Luebkeman is the leader of the Strategic Foresight Hub in the Office of the President at ETH Zurich. This recently established Hub is a team that engages a broad range of stakeholders concerning future-focused drivers of change.