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Accepted manuscript

Seasonal Biodesign: Real-world Studies with Living Artefacts for Urban Biodiversity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2026

Eduard Groutars*
Affiliation:
Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
Joana Martins
Affiliation:
Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
Iohanna Nicenboim
Affiliation:
Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
Elvin Karana
Affiliation:
Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
*
*Author for correspondence. Email: e.g.groutars@tudelft.nl
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Abstract

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Living artefacts situated in real-world contexts hold potential to support regenerative ecologies, for instance by enabling multispecies interactions and promoting biodiversity. However, a gap between theory and practice remains in demonstrating this potential, partly due to absent methodological frameworks that enable biodesigners to systematically engage with ecosystems and the unpredictable biotic and abiotic factors they entail. In response, we present an approach that integrates field studies and laboratory experiments, demonstrated through studies across four seasons in which living artefacts were situated in urban garden contexts. By harnessing the habitabilities of bacterial cellulose, these artefacts were designed to attract, host and surface local biodiversity. Through photography and DNA analysis, the study reveals a rich diversity of multispecies interactions, varying across artefacts, gardens and seasons. Our findings highlight prospects for biodesigners to thoughtfully tune ecological habitabilities and interactions through living artefacts and offer guidance on navigating tensions between intentionality and openness.

Information

Type
Full Paper: Biodesign Conference
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press