Bacteriascape: Synergistic Collaborations Between Design and Bacteria

For centuries, medicine has been engaged in the fight against bacteria by developing antibiotics and disinfectants that have succeeded in reducing the risks of developing diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria in people, animals, and plants. In recent decades, it has emerged that beneficial bacteria and their metabolites can therefore be proven useful for health, but also for developing new production and processing models for artefacts that are more compatible with delicate ecosystem balances. This is the case of lamps produced with bioluminescent bacteria, of self-repairing materials developed through the interaction between fungi and bacteria, or of bacterial cellulose fabrics as a result of the action of acetic bacteria, of waste disposal systems based on bacterial digestion. The paper intends to propose a state of the art on the applications of bacteria in design by highlighting, through a critical filter, the opportunities and limitations related to this intriguing but difficult to approach scenario. The aim of the paper is to come up with a framework of design experiences and opportunities for the application of critical criteria to offer designers a wealth of critical and operational tools with which to approach these new opportunities.