NEW SILK: Studying experimental touchpoints between material science, synthetic biology, design and art

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Temes de Disseny #34 - Material interactions in the human-made milieu
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Kirsi Niinimäki
Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9759-7098
Camilla Groth
Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4729-2317
Pirjo Kääriäinen
Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture

This article presents a study in which new materials are developed through experimental knowledge construction and knowledge exchange between different disciplines. The New Silk research project (2017-2020) is the building block for the research. New Silk aims to produce new types of silk-like materials in the context of synthetic biology. In this article we discuss the initial experimental touchpoints between material science, synthetic biology, design and art encountered during the project’s first year. Firstly, the study shows that shared material experiences in the setting of workshops build foundational understanding of perceived material agency leading to discussion on material activity and research ethics. Secondly, our research identified that all of these disciplines, material science, synthetic biology, design and art, approach materials research through experimental methods, even if the goal of the research differs in each discipline.

Keywords:

interdisciplinarity, design research, new Materialism, synthetic biology, experimental knowledge, designing materials

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How to Cite
Niinimäki, Kirsi et al. “NEW SILK: Studying experimental touchpoints between material science, synthetic biology, design and art”. Temes de Disseny, no. 34, pp. 34-43, doi:10.46467/TdD34.2018.34-43.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

(c) Kirsi Niinimäki, Camilla Groth, Pirjo Kääriäinen, 2018

Author Biographies

Kirsi Niinimäki, Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture

Associate Professor in Design, especially Fashion research. Her research focuses on holistic understanding of the sustainable fashion and textile fields and connections between design, manufacturing, business models and consumption. Currently she is building new knowledge for design strategies in the circular economy and systems thinking. She runs the Fashion/Textile Futures research group in Aalto University and is the head of the Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design MA programme and Fashion BA major. Kirsi Niinimäki has deep expertise and long experience in the textile industry as an in-house textile designer, as well as entrepreneur in Design studio TRIARTE. She has wide international experience as a designer, entrepreneur, teacher and researcher.

Camilla Groth, Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture

Designer, researcher and teacher with a traditional training in ceramic crafts. Her work has been exhibited in Tokyo, London, Paris, New York and Helsinki and has been acquired by the Finnish state art commission. She is currently conducting her post-doctoral research and her main research interests lie in haptic experiences and embodied cognition in design and craft practice, with a focus on materiality and material engagement. As a member of the Fashion/Textile Futures research group she will conduct research on senso aesthetics in relation to textiles as part of the research project Rhythms in Infant Brain: Wearables for Computational Diagnostics and Mobile Monitoring of Treatment (RIB).

 

Pirjo Kääriäinen, Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture

Professor of Practice, Design-driven Fibre Innovation. She is a Finnish textile specialist and practitioner, currently developing interdisciplinary collaboration between design and science at Aalto University. In 2008-2014 Pirjo Kääriäinen worked as professor in Textile Art and Design and as the head of the textile and fashion degree programmes. Kääriäinen has been actively developing higher education studies in Finland in the field of textiles and design towards new frontiers including materials research, wearable electronics and novel production methods. Before her career in academia, Kääriäinen worked eighteen years for the Scandinavian textile industry and gained experience also as an entrepreneur and consultant.

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