Bioreactors

Kathryn Larsen has finished the first series of bioreactors prototypes. The jellyfish shaped shells were designed in TU Delft's Maker Space and will host the glass in which the micro-algae will be grown with Richard Groen in the second part of her residency!

This is the first step of her material based research on the effect of different light wavelength on the colour of microalgae colonies to produce bio-based pigments. These pigments will then be incorporated into her design practice in the form of translucent and colourful panels.

For now Kathryn leaves us to continue her design and architecture practice in Denmark! There she will continue to research the vernacular design practices in Denmark before returning to the Netherlands to complete the second part of her residency.

Kathryn Larsen

Profile

Kathryn Larsen is an architect and bio-designer. Her practice draws on often forgotten traditional construction techniques and natural building materials. Her research focuses on the use of seaweed and seagrass in architecture. She combines her practical architectural technologist education with a tactile design process, that involves sketching, drawing by hand, and material experimentation.

Kathryn graduated from TU Delft in 2022 and received several grants from Boligfonden Kubens Spirekasse to fund her experimental research practice. She presented her work at several conferences, including the Dutch Design Week in 2019, Design Indaba in 2020 and Biobaserede Byggematerialer in 2021.

Her 2018 thesis, "Seaweed Thatch Reimagined" was nominated as a finalist for several awards, including the 2020 SDG Copenhagen Tech Award’s People’s Choice. In 2021, her collective design and architecture work with eelgrass and kelp was a finalist for the 2021 Green Concept Award.