What does it mean to design with life? In this seminar, we'll make as much as possible with as much as possible of a single tree in an attempt to find out. The quarter is a collective experimental process and design challenge: working together, how much of this material can we transform into "useful" artifacts, and what do those transformations reveal? We'll explore across scales, from the micro to the macro. And experiment with and develop processes, tools, and methods such as milling, handtools, joinery, papermaking, printing, natural dyes, biochar, fibers, and substrates for next-generation bio-based materials. This hands-on investigation allows us to explore fundamental questions. Where are the real limits of "circularity"? How does structure create properties? How might natural selection and biological evolution inspire and constrain design and the creative process? What kinds of new knowledge and innovative ideas can be generated through making? What might a more-than-human-centered design process look like? By investigating the relationship between the biological and the material, we'll cultivate curious, experimental, and prototyping mindsets that are foundational skills to both biology and design. By building bridges between biology and design, we will find insights and opportunities in interdisciplinarity to understand and create in new ways. Class sessions mix field visits, hands-on work, labs, and structured documentation and reflection. By quarter's end, you'll contribute to a body of experimental processes for local, small-scale material craft and manufacturing and to a collective exhibition tracing our tree's many possible futures. You'll leave with foundational skills in fabrication and material inquiry, experience in embodied research, bio-based materials, and an orientation to advanced scientific and creative research. No background in biology, craft, or design required. Just curiosity and a commitment to learning through doing.
3 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit
What does it mean to design with life? In this seminar, we'll make as much as possible with as much as possible of a single tree in an attempt to find out. The quarter is a collective experimental process and design challenge: working together, how much of this material can we transform into "useful" artifacts, and what do those transformations reveal? We'll explore across scales, from the micro to the macro. And experiment with and develop processes, tools, and methods such as milling, handtools, joinery, papermaking, printing, natural dyes, biochar, fibers, and substrates for next-generation bio-based materials. This hands-on investigation allows us to explore fundamental questions. Where are the real limits of "circularity"? How does structure create properties? How might natural selection and biological evolution inspire and constrain design and the creative process? What kinds of new knowledge and innovative ideas can be generated through making? What might a more-than-human-centered design process look like? By investigating the relationship between the biological and the material, we'll cultivate curious, experimental, and prototyping mindsets that are foundational skills to both biology and design. By building bridges between biology and design, we will find insights and opportunities in interdisciplinarity to understand and create in new ways. Class sessions mix field visits, hands-on work, labs, and structured documentation and reflection. By quarter's end, you'll contribute to a body of experimental processes for local, small-scale material craft and manufacturing and to a collective exhibition tracing our tree's many possible futures. You'll leave with foundational skills in fabrication and material inquiry, experience in embodied research, bio-based materials, and an orientation to advanced scientific and creative research. No background in biology, craft, or design required. Just curiosity and a commitment to learning through doing.
Offered in Spring 2027 at Stanford University.