Need to Know
26 : 06 : 18

At this year’s show, many designers presented concepts and scenarios that explored our complex and sometimes absurd relationship with technology. For his project, GOGO’s Dream, Davide Piscitelli adopted a satirical approach to this subject, with the aim of fulfilling the dream of a personal intelligent assistant (PIA).

After the AI device shared its dream to sing with the famous singer Stevie Wonder, Piscitelli enlisted the help of experts and musicians to make this human-like dream a reality. To perform the duet, the designer created a modified version of a Google Home device which, after much development, was able to respond to a human singing with corresponding lyrics.

The project was designed to address the belief that if something is more human-like, it is more intelligent. Exploring the absurdity of this statement, Piscitelli highlights the social, ethical and moral implications of humankind’s mass adoption of these devices.

With the opening of the world’s first commercial space station due in 2020, the once-distant notion of space tourism is fast becoming a reality. At this year’s Material Futures show, designer Andy Dongyoung Kim developed a series of prototypes to communicate the physical limitations of a journey to space.

Prolonged exposure to zero gravity can lead to detrimental effects on the human body, in particular the skeleton. Kim’s designs offer the wearer a better understanding of space travel’s impact on the body, conveying the reality of what to expect when embarking on this journey. For more on how an increased consumer interest in space travel and tourism is affecting the design industry, see our Space-age Materials microtrend.

The exploration of biotechnology in material design was also prominent at this year’s show. Jen Keane examines how microbes such as bacteria and yeast can be used to develop a new generation of hybrid materials. Her project, This is Grown, manipulates the growing process of k.rhaeticus bacteria to form a new type of microbial weaving. The resulting material is strong, lightweight and potentially customisable, with Keane developing a trainer prototype from the material.

As humankind’s impact on the environment intensifies, eco-conscious fashion brands are exploring bio and synthetic materials as more sustainable alternatives. However, as innovation in field continues, Jen Keane questions whether we are collaborating with nature or controlling it. For more on the ethics of lab-grown materials, read our interview with designer Christina Haxholm.

As the concept of the nuclear family becomes increasingly outdated, technology is not only helping to run the household, but becoming part of it. Through her project Made in our Image, Nina Cutler examines whether the act of humanising robots in our day-to-day lives will have a disrupting effect on society.

The artist created Tonii, a fictional humanoid robot that was placed in scenes that explored the concepts of love and cruelty. Love observes the effects of over-empathising with a robot and subsequent feelings of loneliness, trust and replacement. Cruelty, on the other hand, communicates a negative relationship between man and robot through the impact of dehumanisation.

Although consumers are increasingly showing a willingness to accept domestic robots as social entities rather than autonomous devices, Cutler’s project addresses the effects this could have on our relationships with one another, as well as these compliant ‘beings’.