NuVu
PROJECTS | 2020
Growing Sensations
Luca Rudenstine
The designer constructed a stress-relieving bodysuit out of heat conductive fabric, lycra, and an Arduino controller, fit with therapeutic accessories such as aromatherapy, heat, and compression.
Finalist Team
Growing Connections
CHIARA BLISSETT, AMIYR AHMAD
Growing Connections is an automated biological nursery that allows users to care for others’ gardens remotely, cultivating a sense of companionship through the experience of coordinated gardening.
Carbon Neutral Mask
Thomas Galletti, Bailey Taylor-Black, Ethan Donaldson
This project is a bioplastic-based carbon neutral mask made via biomimetic micro-imprinting to create a better seal and repel pathogens.
Instructors
Katia Zolotovsky
Katia is a licensed architect and an interdisciplinary researcher focusing on biologically-informed computational tools and sustainable fabrication with biomaterials. Katia’s doctoral studies at the MIT Design and Computation Group focused on environmentally responsive materials. In addition to her research and practice, Katia is an enthusiastic educator who uses architectural studio model to teach architectural design and innovation to students from diverse backgrounds. Katia has worked in architecture offices and MIT Departments of Architecture, Materials Science, and Biotechnology.
Amanda O’Keefe
Amanda is an interdisciplinary designer and NuVuX Design Education Fellow. She holds a Masters degree in Architecture from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelors in Fine Arts from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in conjunction with Tufts University. Her work and research are positioned at the intersections of biology, technology, and human experience. Amanda’s sculptures of handmade paper and steel have been exhibited internationally, and she has been artist in residence with several galleries including Red03 in Barcelona and Gropp’s Gallery in Vancouver. Amanda has worked with Terreform ONE in Brooklyn designing with living materials, and with Steelcase in Michigan producing award winning showrooms and reimagining the future of workspaces.
Advisors
Christina Agapakis is Creative Director of Ginkgo Bioworks, a biological design company based in Boston. During her PhD at Harvard, she worked on producing hydrogen fuel in bacteria and making photosynthetic animals. She has taught designers at the Art Center College of Design and bioengineers at UCLA, and she once made cheese using bacteria from the human body.
Charlotte McCurdy is an interdisciplinary designer and researcher whose work focuses on making existential threats, such as climate change, more tractable through design. Her goal: counteract the narrative of climate change as a problem without a solution. Charlotte holds a Master of Industrial Design from RISD, and a Bachelor of Arts in Global Affairs from Yale University.
Megan Valanidas is an industrial designer specializing in bioplastic application and interactivity. Her work establishes and employs methods for Designing our Waste Stream by collaborating with extra-human species such as locally-present decomposers. As a designer, researcher and artist, Megan focuses on near future and bio-inspired solutions.