MA Biodesign at Central Saint Martins, launched in 2019, is the first masters in Biodesign in the world. The teaching team is an interdisciplinary team of scientists and designers pioneering Biodesign education. The aim of the course is to develop impactful and feasible sustainable design solutions to help rebalance planetary health. By developing rigorous lab experimental protocols that integrate living biological systems into creative design solutions, the course aims to expand proven scientific methods and translate them into Biodesign outputs.

Around the world life is changing. Climate change is transforming rain patterns and with them the vital force that fuels our food systems. As socities adapt to this new world, they must also evolve. The MA Biodesign program, in collaboration with Maison/0 and LVMH in this year’s Challenge Fund, has been responding to this reality with equal measures of resilience and optimism. This effort culminate in ‘Future Harvest’: an exploration of the future of food in London. 

Beginning with harvesting rain and tracing the flow of water as it nourishes plants, and helps cultivate different strains of algae, the project speculated on scenarios to manage food production in the face of extreme weather. Future Harvest took place on Thursday 30th May, on the Central Saint Martin’s Roof Terrace, where guests were invited to an immersive guided presentation of culinary experiments ranging from mobile mushrooms to algal teas, cryo-therapuetic sorbets, and microbial mists. 

Note: While the dishes are food safe in theory, they are straight from the lab, and and were therefore a feast for the eyes only.

The four projects presented were: 

Aqualibrium by Saundra Liemantoro, Jenna Handley, Lily Batchelor, Lotte Plumb, Rosa Zaunberger Melo, Joanna Cheng, Terry Xia, Echo Zhou mentored by Niki Dimova. 

Designed in response to the changing climate, Aqualibrium is inspired by the mental and physical benefits of water to transform and elevate London’s rainwater into future frozen desserts with algal-based toppings. The exploration culminates in an immersive multisensory experience that elevates and celebrates water—its benefits, its states, and its future. 

The project starts with the rainwater that falls onto the CSM rooftop. The design of the rainwater harvesting and purifying system is inspired by the fog-catching web woven by the feather-legged-lace-weaver spider and the Arrowleaf balsamroot plant, which channels water down into its center. The collected water is used to hydroponically grow and propagate resilient and nutritious ‘weeds’ like nettles and dandelions, which serve as the main ingredients for a sorbet. Additionally, algae found on the rooftop and cultivated in the GrowLab to enrich, colour, and form the sorbet’s toppings. 

At the event, participants were invited to cool their body temperatures with hydrogel patches containing live algae, to reconnect with rainwater through all their senses, and to internalise water’s precarity in our world and its current systems.

Low Tea by Akir Hall, Harry Mann, Lorenza Di Battista, Kirsten Tingle, Haoran Niu, Radhika Amit Khandelwal, Yixuan Song, Sylvie Qiu, Zhiyi Zhou mentored by Shijia Huang.

‘Low Tea’ re-imagines the British tradition of ‘High Tea’ as a low-resource food experience. Through rainwater harvesting, permaculture, and cultivation of micro-algae, this food system reduces the 30 litres of water typically required for a single cup of tea to zero. It points towards a future for food that eliminates the need for transport and excessive energy use. The full menu is made from native tea herbs and micro-algae grown on-site, and is served alongside a fully edible tabletop and bioreactor. Low Tea offers a novel luxury experience designed to embody core values of hyperlocality, health, and heritage.

NOU by Elie Al-Marji, Andrea Carrera, Weronika Turowska, Teresa Colombo, Shom Shah Peichin Lin, Fiona Fu, Xinnuo Du, Yingying Lu mentored by Chris Bellamy. 

Can Microalgae and rainwater revolutionize the way we think about nutrition and beauty? This question started a journey into the unseen—a micro world falling from the sky meeting another often seen as fishy and green. The aim was to reveal the power of rainwater and microalgae, showing them as vital sources of beauty and nutrition for the future. 

This is how NOU was born. An eco-luxury booster made from microalgae nurtured in rainwater. NOU functions both as a body mist that preserves the skin microbiome and as an ingestible spray for mental wellbeing. 

The cultivated microalgae species, known for their health benefits, have a pink hue with floral and fruity aromas, making them pleasant to spray on the skin and to taste. This project is a testament that true luxury lies in harmony with nature. 

NOU, for eco-luxury regenerative beauty. NOU, for nourishment, for us.

Terragelli by Rui Batista Cordeiro, Antonina Wojtaszek, Kirry Li, Yikun Ma, Ying Yu and Huiminzi Li.

In the year 2050, with resources severely depleted, society has embraced a nomadic lifestyle, relying on foraged rainwater as the new currency. Nomadic citizens carry water-collecting bags essential for their survival, trading the precious rainwater for nutritional confectioneries at various locations. These confectioneries are crafted from oyster mushrooms, cultivated using the harvested rainwater, which also helps to break down pollutants like microplastics. Mycelium is used to create sustainable packaging, while the mushroom’s fruiting body is utilized for its health benefits and incorporated into the confections. 

The flavor palate is inspired by traditional British pick-and-mix, featuring modern confectionery flavors from local British aromatics such as lavender, rosemary, elderflower, and mint which enhance the benefits of oyster mushrooms. The confectioneries are shaped like Tetris pieces, encouraging an endless combination of shapes, flavors, and health benefits. This innovative approach not only addresses environmental challenges but also provides a unique, health-conscious solution for a sustainable future.

MA Biodesign Teaching Team: Nancy Diniz, Dr Alice Taylor, Dr Lorraine Archer, Dr Alejandron Luna, Lucrezia Alessandroni, Jon Flint, Mia Luong with the Grow Lab Technical Support from Dr Shem Johnson and Dr Barbara Paes. 

Compiled + written by Dr Alice Taylor, Lecturer in Biology and Living Systems, MA Biodesign. 

This project was supported by Maison/0 as part of the Challenge Fund at Central Saint Martins, UAL.