The "Food Futures" course introduced life sciences and biotechnologies to designers and artists through critical debates and empirical investigations. Investigators got asked to think, define and create new approaches for the future of food.
Humans have combined biological processes with progressive technological advancements to produce, process, and create. For example, the domestication of plants and animals resulted in human settlements. Our evolution from hunter-gatherers to farmers some 13,000 years ago can be seen as the start of using organisms as a tool and fuel. Since then, food and its production have played a key role in society. Nevertheless, our actions have often affected our natural environment negatively because of the missing consideration of social, cultural, and ecological interconnections.
Lecture series included:
Miranda Vane
Design Historian of the Contemporary
Talk: Designing the Delicious: A Design History of Contemporary Food Making
Alexandra Diasy Ginsberg
Designer, Artist and Writer
Dr. Richard Kelwick
Research Associate Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London
Talk: Cell-Free Systems
Phoebe Tickell
Science disruptor, Facilitator and Social Entrepreneur
Future Farm LabTalk Title
Imperial iGEM team 2016
Students, Imperial College London
Talk: Ecolibrium
Dr. Oscar Ces and Tatiana Trantidou
Professor of Chemical Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London
Talk: Artificial Cells and Microfluidics
Prof. Jim Haseloff
Haseloff Lab, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge Talk: Plant Synthetic Biology
Lauren Bowker
Alchemist and founder of the UNSEEN Talk: THE UNSEEN
Dr. Lining Yao and Dr. Wen Wang
TalkL: BioLogic - Natto Cells as Nanoactuators for Shape Changing Interfaces
Dr. Keith Pardee
Associate professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy University of Toronto, Canada
Research Chair in Synthetic Biology and Human HealthCo-Director, PRiME, Precision Medicine Initiative
New technologies allow us to manipulate, design, understand, protect, and interact with our natural environment.
Through critical debates and empirical investigations, this project introduced life sciences and biotechnologies to designers and artists. Investigators got asked to think, define and create new approaches for the future of food.
Our food supply chain combines science, technology, and culture. It blurs the borders between disciplines and fields. Participants will interact with the biological, physical, and computer sciences to help understand the practicalities and innovations of the food supply chain. This will occur alongside contextualization through cultural and economic factors. Furthermore, an ideal project will conceive of collaboration between scientific, anthropological, and design disciplines to produce a sustainable food future that supports our entire ecosystem.
Mentors included:
Prof. Paul Freemont
Co-Director of the Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation Imperial College London Co-Director of the UK Innovation and Knowledge Centre for Synthetic Biology SynbiCITE - Imperial College London
Dr. Kirsten Jensen
Senior Research Officer/Project Manager SynbiCITE - Imperial College London
Dr. Michael Crone
Research assistant - Imperial College London
Lauren Bowker
Alchemist and founder of the UNSEEN
Charlotte Jarvis
Charlotte is an artist who collaborates with scientists and teaches at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College.
Louise Benetts
Fashion
Emily Candela
History of Design and Information Experience Design