Material world: Biofacture the future of textiles

London– During our Re-enlightenment Design Network Evening, held at The Future Laboratory HQ last week, LS:N Global visual editor Joanna Tulej interviewed Caroline Till, leader of the MA Textile Futures course at Central Saint Martins, about using science to create new sustainable materials.

The MA in Textile Futures is a two-year course studying the future of materiality through a variety of disciplines – sociology, archaeology and biology – to inform design. Till talked about one element of this, biofacture, which many students are exploring to see how biological materials and systems can give rise to new materials.

This synergy between science and art is not just about designing things better, but about ‘trying to redesign from the essence of the building blocks’, said Till. ‘So don’t just make things a little better, reconsider the essence of how you do something.’

For more on what we can learn from the biofacture studies of Textile Futures students, watch the video above. For more on the convergence of science and art, read our Re-enlightenment Rising macrotrend.