Translating Soil Vibrancy
data-enabled engagement for more-than-human care
[design research] [data-driven design] [MtHD] [critical design]
September 2023 - December 2023
The concept of living artefacts envisions everyday objects that incorporate living organisms for functional purposes and beyond. In this research-through-design inquiry, the role of data in designing and living with such an artefact, specifically soil-based microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is explored. MFCs produce a current by capturing electrons released by electrogenic bacteria found in soil.
By exploring alternate roles of data in this increasingly data driven world, this project broadens the understanding of data to include interdependencies between humans and electrogenic bacteria by designing a living artefact.
Chakri, a companion artefact working together with an MFC, crafts an alternative way of engaging with electrogenic bacteria, their metabolic activities, and the shared home environment. Through first-person perspectives and critical reflections, the project examines how these mediated encounters stimulated care for the bacterial community and its vibrancy, inviting others to navigate the space between functional living artefacts and more-than-human care through pluralizing data encounters.
Design research project at Industrial Design master’s program at Eindhoven University of Technology (Supervisor: Bahareh Barati)
Two artefacts- Chakri and MFC. The human cares for the bacterial community in the MFC. Activity of bacteria is reflected in the movement of the disks.
Latency of bacterial activity in response to change in environmental conditions translated into movement, trace shown by the relative position of the three disks
