Culture of bacteria to dye textiles, connected tattoos to transform your skin in computer keyboard, 3D printed furniture in mushroom mycelium, patterns generated by algorithm, chairs shaped by crystallization ..., the exhibition "La Fabrique du vivant", at Centre Pompidou, in Paris, is full of innovations exploring the interactions between art, design, architecture and science.

By Ludmilla Intravaia

Crystals, corals, pectin, cellulose, chitin, algae, mushroom mycelium ..., in the exhibition "La Fabrique du vivant", the materials are the stars, intriguing, surprising, creative, moving ...

 Also living and compostable, like in the "Mycelium Chair" from the dutch studio Klarenbeek & Dros (2012 - 2018), which 3D prints mushroom mycelium, as an alternative to plastics and other traditional materials.

The designer Jonas Edvard also use mushroom mycelium for his project "Myx" (2013 - 2019), culture of a lamp, a stool and textile, on plant fibers. The mushroom organism comes from a commercial mushroom farm.

Chair shaped by crystallization, when a block of polyester fibers, in the shape of a seat, is immersed in a tank filled with a liquid solution of minerals (Tokujin Yoshioka, "Cristallized Chair Venus", 2008).

Digitally manufactured textiles, from the molecular components of trees, insects or bones, as pectin, chitosan, cellulose, etc. (Neri Oxman & The Mediated Matter Group – MIT Media Lab - MIT, “Aguahoja Artifacts”, 2015 – 2018).

Digital printing of organic matter (seeds, algae, agar-agar) to form bio-architectural constructions, with patterns generated by algorithms (Allison Kudla, “Capacity for <Urban Eden , Human Error>”, 2010). 

The designer Natsai Audrey Chieza works with scientists to develop organic textile materials, as an alternative to fashion pollution. Her "Coelicolor: Scale" project (2017 - 2018) uses traditional dyeing methods, with streptomyces Coelicolor bacteria grown on silk for several weeks, to produce bio-pigments with varied tones. 

Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao's DuoSkin project, in collaboration with MIT Media Lab (2016), is a connected tattoo, made of gilded metal sheets, allowing the skin to be used, as a computer keyboard. Based on the NFC (Near Field Communication) system, this interface directly applied to the body, has a chip with the ability to control a mobile device, as well as display and store information.

The designer Tim Van Cromvoirt was inspired by thermophoresis (phenomenon by which some particles migrate from a warmer zone to another colder, depending on temperature changes) to design corals, able to modulate their colors, according to the thermal evolutions of their environment (“Thermophores”, 2019). 

The exhibition "La Fabrique du vivant" takes place at Centre Pompidou, in Paris, until April 15, 2019, as part of the 3rd edition of the prospective event "Mutations/Creations", questioning the links between art, science, engineering and innovation. Website here.