DEVELOPING A BIO-DIGITAL CRAFT
bioMATTERS is a biodesign studio based both in New York City and London. Our expertise lies in the development of bio-digitally crafted products, and architectural material systems. We 3D print and robotically biofabricate materials for the innovative fields of living design, grown-designed, biological pigments, bio-based and biodegradable materials. Our mission is to make products with new methods in the face of natural resources depletion, changing scales of manufacturing, and resource movements that are resulting from the increasingly negative impacts of the environmental and ecological crisis.
We have developed pioneering interdisciplinary workflows that integrate biological systems in tandem with additive manufacturing and computational design methods. Our products are made from upcycled waste materials and there is minimal waste involved in the biofabrication process.
We cultivate and manipulate living cells from soil and aquatic environments such as mycelium, lichens, bacteria, and algae strains. We have developed techniques and protocols that allow us to propagate these living cells and colonize them in substrates and scale them up into various customized biocomposite materials. Additionally we have developed a palette of living-based pigments to add colour to some of our biomaterials.
We have been supported by numerous organizations, namely Center Rog+Museum of Architecture Ljubljana Slovenia; ‘Makers with a Mission’ at Makerversity, Somerset House; NEW INC New Museum New York Incubator and Futureworks NYC Incubator.
TEAM
Nancy Diniz
Nancy is a registered architect and educator. She is co-founder and partner at bioMATTERS, LLC and Course Leader of the Masters in Biodesign at Central Saint Martins UAL. Previously she has held academic positions in the US, China, UK, Italy and Portugal. She has co-curated and co-chaired exhibitions and symposia internationally, including ‘Biocalibrated: Tools and Techniques of Biodesign Practices’ at CSM UAL London 2023; 'Artificial Realities: Virtual as an Aesthetic Medium in Architectural Ideation' for the Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2019, and "Data & Matter" exhibition at the GAA Foundation 2018, Venice. Nancy has exhibited her work at Material Matters 2023, NYCxDesign Week, London Design Biennale 2021, MAAT Museum, Today Art Museum, Architecture Triennale Lisbon 2015/2013, Open Cell/London Design Festival 2019, Istanbul Design Biennale 2015. Nancy is co-editor of "Data, Matter, Design: Strategies in Computational Design" (Routledge 2020), Chief editor of ‘Bio-Calibrated: Tools and Techniques of Biodesign Practices’ Research Directions: Biotechnology Design by Cambridge University Press Assessment 2023. Nancy is the recipient of numerous grants, fellowships and residencies namely: New York State Council for the Arts grant Projects Award in the Architecture + Design, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Museum of Architecture and Design + Center Rog Ljubljana, ‘Makers with a Mission’ Somerset House, NEW INC NY, Future Works NYC, NYSCA /Storefront NY, MacDowell Colony, EYEBEAM NY, Seoul Art Space Geumcheon and The Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal.
Frank Melendez
Frank is an architectural designer, educator, and researcher. He is co-founder and partner at bioMATTERS, LLC and a tenured Associate Professor at the Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York (CCNY), City University of New York (CUNY). Frank has previously held teaching positions at Carnegie Mellon University, Louisiana State University and Yale University. His practice, teaching, and research engage topics pertaining to architectural representation, biomaterials, ecology, computational design, digital fabrication, physical computing, and robotics. Frank is the author of Drawing from the Model (Wiley, 2019) and co-editor of Data, Matter, Design (Routledge, 2020). His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at various venues including London Design Festival, Usagi Gallery New York, Calico Gallery New York, Lisbon Architecture Triennale, and Open Cell London. He has curated and organized symposia and exhibitions including rE-Ordering Architecture, New York, NY and DATA & MATTER, Venice, Italy. Frank has been awarded grants, residencies, and memberships including Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Museum of Architecture and Design + Center Rog Ljubljana, ‘Makers with a Mission’ Somerset House, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA)/ Van Alen Institute, Nature Art & Habitat Residency (NAHR), MacDowell, and NEW INC. His professional practice experience includes working at Frank O. Gehry & Associates. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Arizona and a Master of Architecture degree from Yale University.
Photo Credits: Luka Karlin MAO+Center Rog