Episode 33 | Architecture & Microbes with Rachel Armstrong at FEMS MICRO Milan 2025
Description
In this episode, recorded during FEMS MICRO Milan 2025, we hear from Rachel Armstrong, Professor of Regenerative Architecture at KU Leuven (Belgium). We learn about the deep relationship between microbes and the built environment and discuss Rachel's Design Studio workshop at FEMS MICRO.
While FEMS was in Milan, Prof. Armstrong was involved with a microbe focused exhibition at the world famous Triennale di Milano museum of art and design. They created an innovative structure born from a collaboration between KU Leuven’s research group RAAD (Regenerative Architecture, Arts & Design) and Belgian product development studio PrintPlace which formed part of the 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition.
Titled Inequalities this exhibition gathers visionary global projects addressing urgent social, environmental, and urban disparities - We the Bacteria. Notes Toward Biotic Architecture, curated by Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, includes SPIKA as a central installation exploring how architecture can engage with life on a microbial level.
Throughout this episode of Microbes & Us, we learn how art, science, and surfaces create the prefect trifecta for exploring a sustainable future for life and architecture.
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