dieDAS Fellowship Program 2021, Symbiotic Habitat - Growing Regenerative Connections

Chosen by the prestigious dieDAS selection committee, a small group of practitioners was invited to participate as fellows in the summer program under the direction of Artistic Director Maurizio Montalti supported by Head Mentor Eugenia Morpurgo. The curriculum was built upon the participation of selected lecturers and mentors and animated by critical debates as well as excursions into the surrounding region. It involved both theoretical and practical hands-on experimentation—including a site-specific collaborative building project using mycelium, a regenerative biomaterial.

‍Together, under the 2021 theme of “Symbiotic Habitat,” we studied and challenge existing anthropocentric perspectives, confronting the ambiguous notion of nature as it relates to current ecological, economical, technological, social, and political developments. The program did explore opportunities that favor integration between the natural and the manmade, thus possibly revealing their inherent coexistence beyond any form of ruthless domestication. By using materiality and a multidisciplinary approach to design as tools for investigating a sustainably integrated future, the dieDAS 2021 Fellowship served as a space for critical, creative production that encourages fellows to actively engage in questioning dominant narratives and traditional practices through the collision of ideas, perspectives, and techniques.