Digital walks with microbes by Ioana Man

Multidisciplinary designer Ioana Man explores how architecture can collaborate with biology to create a more sustainable built environment that embodies health and justice. She makes microscopic ecologies of urban green spaces visible, illustrating that microbes are an integral part of nature. In 2 interactive digital walks that reveal the microbial diversity that exists within the everyday urban spaces that we inhabit. On these walks, you are invited to imagine a future where urban agriculture is essential to public life.

The Designers in Residence is an annual residency programme and has been the core part of the Design Museum’s activity since 2007. The annual residency provides designers with the time, finance and space to build a new body of work in response to an annual theme.

The theme for the 2020 residency programme was ‘Care’. In this new decade – characterised by technological acceleration, 24/7 working, climate uncertainty and now a pandemic that has irrevocably transformed how we live, work and interact – there is a crucial role for design in supporting the ways we care for ourselves, each other and the planet.

This year’s residents are Abiola Onabule, Cynthia Voza Lusilu, Enni-Kukka Tuomala and Ioana Man. They have designed new tools for protecting and restoring land – from soil, trees and indigo leaves, to territorial rights and civic infrastructure – for the welfare of its many inhabitants. In rethinking design’s relationship with empathy, microbes, local textile production and mental health provision, their projects invite us to imagine a different future. One that is governed by holistic systems for encouraging slower living and social bonding, and for distributing resources sustainably and equitably.

Ioana Man is a designer and researcher working between architecture, strategic design and critical practice. Since graduating from the Architectural Association, she has been developing tools, experiences and multimedia narratives that highlight the importance of microbial biodiversity in the built environment and the necessity of distributing its benefits fairly.

For this residency with the Design Museum, Ioana has designed a new body of work exploring how architecture can collaborate with biology to create a more sustainable built environment that embodies health and justice. Using new scientific technology, her work makes visible the microscopic ecologies of urban green spaces, demonstrating that humans and cities are part of nature, and that microbes are an integral part of life. Visit With Microbes: From Germs to Companions in Urban Harvests.

Although AccuCities usual customers are medium-size and large architectural, engineering and construction companies, our 3D city maps are useful to many other industries. We have seen a lot of interest from scientists working on artificial intelligence systems but also from artists, VR / AR storytellers and many more creators at various stages of development of their ideas.

“We absolutely love what Ioana has illustrated here.”, says Rachel Rowson, AccuCities Operations Manager. “She obviously upgraded our 3D London model to a high degree but using accurate 3D city model she kept to the scientific nature of the project. Beside the microbes DNA sequencing and identification, taking into account the existing urban density & land use were clearly pivotal to this project. We are really pleased that we were able to assist and hope to see this project going forward. It is always both encouraging and welcome to see another way of looking at how we should design our cities to be more livable. Superb work Ioana!”

If your project could benefit from being based on the state-of-the-art 3D mapping data, have a look at our sample free CAD city models. If you would like to know the cost and delivery times for a particular area, use our Quoting Tool for instant estimates.

Visit Designers in Residence Showcase here. Online until August 2021.