Symbi
Tactile pillow from two bio-leathers
Anthropocentric concern with human health has made us question the world we have shaped through design. Symbi questions our material culture, but also how we live with chronic pain - how tactility can help with conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia when a user constantly feels pain - through touch and a soft, calming, tactile feeling. The necessity of finding alternatives to currently available PVC and PU-based non-biodegradable vegan leathers has led to exploring the potential of utilising commonly perceived as waste bacterial cellulose film from kombucha drink and aquafaba/algae.
Company/Institution
Gray's School of Art, Robert Gordon University
Gray's School of Art is the Robert Gordon University's art school, located in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of the oldest established fine art institutions in Scotland and one of Scotland's five art schools today.
Country
United Kingdom
Designer(s)
Weronika Turowska
Weronika is a product and material designer interested in regenerative design principles, innovation and sustainable alternatives. She has recently graduated from 3D Design (Hons) at Gray's School of Art RGU in Aberdeen, Scotland UK. That has led her to pursue an MA Biodesign at Central Saint Martins in London. Her interests span across biomaterials, food and waste and environmentalism. She believes that material literacy and biomaterials are the basis of navigating sustainable design transitions.