Microbial Matters

MoA researchers receive a grant for international collaboration between Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Princeton University for the project »Microbial Matters« with professors Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley.

»Microbial Matters« is an academic exchange focusing on shifting perceptions of microbial activity in the built environment, design, and material culture. By challenging the modernist impulse to control and exclude microbial life, our project opens up a dialogue about the active role of bacteria in past and future design practices. Bringing together two key initiatives – a manifesto on biotic architecture We the Bacteria by Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, and interdisciplinary research on Co-Weaving Biofilms, carried out at the MoA Cluster, the project engages wider audiences in conversations about alternative design histories seen through the lens of microbial life, and explores why microbes matter for contemporary regenerative and multispecies design cultures.

The project is part of the strategic partnership between Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Princeton University, initiated by Iva Rešetar, Bastian Beyer, and Claudia Mareis. The collaboration is supported by the Flexible Funds of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

A public event is scheduled for June 2. Please save the date—more details will follow shortly.