14.12.08

esteostudio - synthetic osteogenesis



Hybridization in biological approach integrates and generates new species that hardly to be categorized in Darwinism. Breakthrough in synthetic DNA in laboratory of Synthetic Genomics that leads by Craig Venter has created opportunity for future generation to basically create new species out of scratch. It means we are coming to an end of Darwinian Age and we are no longer limited to what "God" has "created" (if there is God).



Esteostudio (Skeletal Structural Design Laboratory) takes skeleton and bone structure design in an architectural context. By taking human and other organisms as precedent studies, skeletons and bones are being treated as structural material in both architectural and biological designs to create new possibilities. Biomimicry approach is being treated as a basic for understanding what is the best that nature has to offer. There is no clear boundary between future human and object, nature and artificial, organic and non-organic when comes to designing. With advancement in genetic, nano-technology, synthetic biology, semi-living materials and plasmatic design, designers and architects could take skeletal design as the principle to define the forms and functions of semi-living products. By breaking down the biomimicking process allows us to understand limitations in this material. However, the limitation also meant to be challenged. What nature has created is the harmony in design. Therefore both top-down and bottom-up design methodologies are being tested and executed along with the design process, while the nature rules is playing its part as the guidance for design constrains as well as ethical issues.

Homo-chiroptera




1.12.08

The end of the Darwinian interlude?

After Rachel Armstrong's Systems Architecture lecture, I looked into biotechnology more deeply and what got me excited in the past few weeks were:

1. What is going in J. Craig Venter Institute, which started with four basic chemicals that form an DNA and the first synthetic bacterial genome "born" in the laboratory this year.

2. Darwin v.s. Venter; the juxtaposition which Darwinian Theory shows that human wasn't made by God and Venter who is aclaimed playing the role of "God" by creating new life form.

3. Bottom up design method where molecular design in nano-scale defines the possible or unknown outcomes.

4. Success of Craig Venter may turn into what Freeman Dyson argued as "the end of the Darwinian interlude" (www.edge.org)

5. Works shown in Design and the Elastic Mind in MoMA New York ended in May even though I missed it but the online exhibition is available.

6. Development of DNA design software that allows anyone to design new species out of scratch, i.e. Gene Designer Software at https://www.dna20.com

7. With genomic technology, new life forms that could be created out of GenBank's database that contained over 65 billion nucleotide bases in more than 61 million sequences (2006).