Tessellations are structural motifs made up of repeating tiles, found in many forms and serving a variety of functions in nature. Perhaps partly inspired by natural examples, tessellations have also been a part of human history in art, design and culture, commonly in the form of mosaics, and more recently in the realm of bio-inspired design and engineering. This collection showcases the diversity of this motif, exploring commonalities in structure and function across environments and taxa, to inspire biological and biomaterials research, but also bioinspired design and architecture. Follow the link to explore the classification scheme and compare the similarities and differences between the tessellations. https://tessellated-materials.mpikg.mpg.de  more

Cellulose of different forms and origins is woven together in this structure: pieces of wood, paper threads and biofilms grown by bacteria. A collaborative textile is created – human, plant and microbial. Three MoA research projects, Weaving, Material Form Function and Object Space Agency and with that many MoA Members worked together on the project  »Bacterial Cellulose: Co-Weaving Biofilms« shown at the Triennale di Milano XXIII »Unknown Unknows, An Introduction to Mysteries«, in the thematic exhibition »Alchemic Laboratory«, curated by Ingrid Paoletti, from July 15th to December 11th, 2022. more

We are very happy to invite you to our next »Talking Matters« lecture on October 11th as an on-site event in the Sophienstraße. With our guest César Enrique Giraldo Herrera, Social Anthropologist from the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research in Bremen, we are looking forward to an inspiring discussion about »Winding intentionalities and the harmony of ropes«. more

The Emerging Field »Societal Change« at Technische Universität Dresden is delighted to invite to the inaugural lecture of Prof. Orit Halpern, followed by a reception. Prof. Orit Halpern is a member of MoA’s  Scientific Advisory Board and was recently appointed to the Chair of Digital Culture at TU Dresden. In her presentation titled »The Smartness Mandate: Re-imagining our Technological Future« she will present her contribution to research, transfer and society in an easily understandable way. more

Against a background of ecologies in crisis, the interdisciplinary Autumn School »Frictioned Functionality: Un/Designing Un/Sustainable Matter« invites Post-Docs, PhDs and MA students from the humanities, natural sciences and design to work through the conflicted entanglement of materiality, design and un/sustainability, using frictioned functionality as the guiding principle. In the context of this Autumn School, frictioned functionality is understood as a working concept to reopen other narrative and performative spaces of imagination in and beyond unruly times. The autumn school takes place from October 17th–22nd, 2022, applications are accepted until August 19th. more

From November 1-10, Berlin will once again host the Berlin Science Week, a 10-day international festival that brings together the world's most innovative scientific organizations in Berlin and online to celebrate science and facilitate an open and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and knowledge. The Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« will provide insights into its research at two locations: Firstly, at the Tieranatomisches Theater (TAT) on the North Campus of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, secondly, at the Kunstgewerbemuseum near Potsdamer Platz. more

The exhibition »Daoula | Sheen«, which begins in November 2022 and will initially be shown in the Tieranatomisches Theater in Berlin, focuses on the natural formation and the cultural history of wild silk obtained from caterpillars in West Africa, and on the many and complex ways in which this unique material is viewed by microbiologists, materials scientists, and architects in Germany. Curated by MoA members Laurence Douny, Karin Krauthausen, and Felix Sattler, and co-created by a large and diverse multidisciplinary team, this unusual project sets out to stimulate dialogue between West African craft, European science, and design. Please save the date for the opening on November 17, 2022, and follow the MoA Instagram channel to find out how wild silk is making its way from Burkina Faso to Berlin! more