NOTBAD — Niches for Organic Territories in Bio-Augmented Design — is a research project that brings together expertise in microbiology, infectious diseases, architectural research and material development. It explores the challenges of integrating microbes in materials and maintaining their viability over time, and questions how these materials might be received by users and in wider cultural contexts. The project uses an interdisciplinary approach, combining epistemologies and techniques from biology and design, and operates in the context of contemporary efforts to tackle the growing threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which describes microorganisms that cause diseases and have evolved to develop resistance to medicine and antimicrobials commonly used to control their spread. The emergence of drug-resistant organisms, often referred to as ‘super-bugs’, is estimated to cause hundreds of thousands of deaths each year by conditions such as pneumonia and urinary tract infections which should be otherwise treatable.

NOTBAD aims to develop materials that contain living microbial communities with a natural antimicrobial effect, reducing the opportunity for super-bugs to develop. This work frames itself as a departure from existing approaches to create antimicrobial surfaces or applications for surfaces whereby the aim is to prevent any bacterial presence - a so called ‘kill-all’ approach.  The project involves two phases. The first focuses on the development of materials, especially porous ceramics, which are designed to support and proliferate the growth of benign bacteria. The second phase revolves around the application of seeded materials in a specific design and cultural settings.

The project was exhibited at the Barbican in July 2019 at the Biological Buildings, Bio-Augmented Materiality exhibition.