Bacterial Hygromorphs Primer was a project for the Experimental Architecture studio at Newcastle University. Primers are short, intense periods of combined research and design work which set the tone for themed studios at the School of Architecture. The studio was structured around Bacterial Hygromorphs, intelligent materials produced by coating elastomers with bacterial spores that show a morphological response to humidity changes in their environment.

The primer asked students to produce design responses — in the form of facade panels — to the potentials presented by bacterial spores as architectural technology. The exploration involved spending two days in the microbiology lab, being introduced to basic laboratory techniques and producing and learning how to coat elastomers to produce hygromorphs. The video below shows the final piece presented by the 2015-2016 cohort—an absolute pièce de résistance by our third year guys! The results of the pedagogical practice were published and presented at the 2016 ACADIA conference.