Building with Life: New Frontiers in Biomaterials and Sustainable Architecture

​As the climate crisis reshapes how we think about the built environment, a new generation of designers and researchers is turning to biology itself as a design partner. This panel brings together two leading voices working at the intersection of biotechnology, material science, and architecture to explore what it means to build with, rather than against, living systems.

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About the panellists

​Selenia Marinelli, PhD, a bio-architect, researcher, and self-described material activist, treats materials not as static building blocks but as dynamic biological systems. Her work merges scientific research with architectural fabrication to develop sustainable biomaterials, challenging conventional practice and advocating for a radical rethink of how we source, deploy, and live alongside our structures.

​Hana Cvelbar, a biodesigner and sustainable biotechnology researcher, works at the crossroads of circular economy principles and creative design, from growing microorganisms on 3D-printed scaffolds using agro-industrial waste like sugarcane bagasse, to harnessing regenerative soil bacteria such as Streptomyces to produce sustainable microbial pigments.

​Together, we will discuss the latest developments in biomaterials for architecture and design, the ecological and aesthetic possibilities of living materials, and what a genuinely circular, bio-based future for our built environments could look like.