"How will WE live together ?", asked Hashim Sarkis to the architectural community gathered in Venice for the 17th Architectural Biennale. Let's imagine an expanded notion of WE, to include, alongside humans, the plethora of complex synthetic organisms currently inhabiting our Urbansphere. In our current design practice, we deploy this sensibility to access the in-human dimension of the WE and to enrich our perception of it. This shift has the power to expand the space of design solutions we can conceive by re-problematizing given problems. Even before providing solutions, we think the fundamental societal role of our designs now is to ask new questions about the "known" problems of the Urban sphere we all inhabit. More

The talk will introduce the audience to Shahar Livne body of works from recent years and her practice as a conceptual material designer. The first part of the lecture will focus on the different methodologies she works with to tell the stories of materials and how ecophilosophy takes part in it. The second part will focus on her ongoing investigation into semi-natural materials and geological mimicry by introducing her project "METAMORPHISM" and the thought process behind it. More

As our natural and technological environments rapidly evolve, so too do the tools that allow designers to explore beyond the conventions of their field to address our generation's most pressing issue: Culture's divergence from the natural world. In this lecture, Sutherlin Santo will present their recent work in bio-materials and novel digital fabrication processes, and discuss the necessity for designers to not only bring environmental issues to public attention, but use their skills to develop solutions to our collapsing ecosystem. More

In countries of high population density and small area of land, ossuaries are a common ritual for the passed. The urn, where the bones are rested, have a simple and fixed design. In this lecture we will talk about eco friendly urn designs students of Industrial Design of Carleton University have created and a Masters Degree students project about a possible change of funeral culture from a IoT perspective. More

In this talk, Heather will speak about her entrepreneurial journey and what inspired her to start her recycling design business. She will be discussing the importance of the circular economy, and the role Re4m plays within the sustainable design sector.

"'It's amazing what you can do with what you already have' - I love this saying because it inspires me to create. More specifically, create with essentially 'waste'. The idea of sharing, repurposing, reusing and recycling just makes so much sense to me. I like to think the saying may inspire others as well" More

In this lecture Hyejung will share her journey in translating nature, a common language of people, into modern jewelry. Through this journey various stories with nature, imagination into infinite worlds and multiple mistakes and hours are conversed. And everything comes together as layers of cold metal becoming a new form of nature. More More

Junghwa will discuss about methods of communicating environmental and social messages within a unspoken ambience. Through jewelry we are able to capture stories and beautify our thoughts by looking inwards. More

Every biologic organism has a unique body pattern such as fingerprints, irises, palm prints, and faces. In this digital era, the main problems with the use of biometric data are the misuse of personal data and privacy issues since the data contains information acquired from individuals. As more digital applications request people to input their biometric data as a more convenient and secure method of identification, the possibility of losing their personal data and identities may increase. The phenomenon of biometric data abuse causes one to question what the notion of "real" identity means and what methods can be used to define identity and hidden narratives. The questions of identification and the insecurity of biometric data have become my inspiration, providing artistic approaches to the manipulation of biometric data and having the potential to suggest new directions for solving the problems.

In this lecture, we will examine the various approaches of visualizing and sniffing biometric data to understand hidden narratives and explore possible answers for a question about the "problem of disembodied identities' in the digital era through the existence of audiovisual representations of individuals. More

Working as an illustrator and graphic designer Pooroni has great interest in animals and plants. Many of her works include shapes derived from animals and plants and repeated and altered scenery. Drawing from all living and searching the drawings to form patterns have been a important part of her work. In the lecture, Pooroni will share her inspiration and stories behind her work. More

Through ever-evolving plants can be seen as form of long-term design. As a result the beauty within plants exceed their form and have an enigmatic wonder. In the lecture Hye Woo will talk about the beauty of living forms from both an artist and botanist point of view. More