Bio-Integrated Design

Cirrus Intensive on the coastline of Saaremaa Island
16-20 August, 2022

Start your Autumn Semester with a 5-day intensive on how to incorporate the principles of ecology and living system thinking into bio-integrated and -informed design processes. 

Coinciding with the season of seaweed foraging in Estonia, the intensive is embedded within the biosphere of Saaremaa Island, where algae and algae-derived materials can be explored in the broadest sense – from open-ended design speculation to hands-on craftsmanship.

Upon completion of the intensive, you will:

– have an overview of the emerging technologies in algae biology, biomass production, cultivation, harvesting, and extraction (on the example of a local seaweed industry and farm;

– understand the impacts of their (design) decisions into the environment and the society; 

– be able to derive material-specific concepts and applications for algal biomasses.

Part of a semester-long course originally developed as a MA-level studio at the Faculty of Design at Academy of Arts, Bio-integrated Design is co-led by the designers’ collective Studio Aine (Kärt Ojavee, Annika Kaldoja, Marie Vihmar), and equals to 3 ECTS.

Applications to the intensive will be accepted on a rolling basis until 27 June 2022 (23:59 GMT+3). The number of IC participants is limited. 

No previous field knowledge is required.
To apply for the intensive, please follow the link here.

 Image: MA Faculty of Design student work from Bio-integrated Design course in Spring ´22. Photo: Mari Volens

Students are eligible to receive a travel grant of either €330 or €660 (Icelandic students only) towards the costs of travel from the location of their home university to the destination (Saaremaa Island) and back as well as a weekly allowance of €70. Grant payments might be subject to taxes.

For more information, contact: anna-liisa.laarits@artun.ee