Living Construction at London Design Biennale 2025

Northumbria University & UCL
Living Assembly: Building with Biology

We are thrilled to announce our participation in the 2025 London Design Biennale at Somerset House, taking place from 5–29 June. Collaboration with Living Construction team at Northumbria University and Beckett Lab at UCL, our exhibition, Living Assembly: Building with Biology, is featured within the Biennale’s Eureka programme, which highlights pioneering research-led design initiatives .

Introducing Living Assembly: Building with Biology

Living Assembly explores the potential of bio-fabricated materials. Our approach envisions a future where buildings are not constructed but grown, utilising the capabilities of living organisms to create dynamic, responsive, and ecologically integrated systems.

The installation includes bulk materials made from mycelium—the root network of fungi—as well as microbial leather, genetically engineered to self-pigment. Alongside these are materials in active formation, responsive to their environment and forming new biological niches. Spanning from the molecular to the architectural scale, the exhibition offers a unique look at finished biomaterials and experimental systems still in development.

These include bacterial cement grown inside custom casing vessels, microbial cellulose shaped into emergent complex forms, and a bacteria-based latex embedded with spores that shift in response to humidity. Other prototypes explore biologically active ceramics infused with beneficial microbes that support both human and environmental health.

Together, these innovations gesture toward a future of construction where materials are cultivated, buildings self-assemble using both hard and soft tissues, and the built environment remains sensate and alive.

Aligning with the Theme: ‘Surface Reflections’

Curated by Artistic Director Dr Samuel Ross MBE, the 2025 Biennale’s theme, Surface Reflections, delves into how design is influenced by both internal experiences and external environments. Living Assembly embodies this theme by demonstrating how biological processes can inform architectural practices, leading to structures that reflect the natural world’s complexity and adaptability .

Join Us at Somerset House

We invite you to experience Living Assembly and engage with the possibilities of bio-integrated design. The London Design Biennale 2025 runs from 5–29 June at Somerset House, London. For more information and to book tickets, please visit the official website.

Read more about here: link

Northumbria University Design Team

Martyn Dade-Robertson, Meng Zhang, Thora Arnardottir, Emily Birch, Katie Gilmour, Jamie Haystead, Aileen Hoenerloh, Dilan Ozkan, Liv Tsim, Fang Zheng, Subhadeep Paul, Mingaile Jackson

UCL Design Team

Richard Beckett, Sean Nair, Aileen Hoenerloh, Arely Leyton Dominguez, Hangchuan Wei, Will Scott, Christopher Whiteside
RC7 Students: Rui Wang, Can Yadimci, Yumo Zhao, Iravati Wagle, Yiming Yao, Qing Wang, Roba Abdelhak, Miruna Porosnicu, Shu Zhang, Ziyi Liu, Wei Zhange, Qingxuan Li, Yoayao Yang, Zhiyuan Wu, Yuchen Lu, Yumeng Wang

Collaborators

Cornell University, Laura Gonzalez
CRESCO Biotech
EM Glass, Charlie and Amelia Burke
APL Workshop, Newcastle University, Oliver Perry
HBBE, Newcastle University

Supporting Bodies

This work has been supported by UK Research and Innovation, including funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), University College London, and Northumbria University