Regen Primär funktion: Biodesignkommunikation by Sofia Porto Iannuzzi is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award i Brons in Hållbara Produkter, Projekt och Grön Design Competition Category.
BronsHållbar produkt· 2026
Regen Primär funktion: Biodesignkommunikation
Client: Universidad de Monterrey
A' Design Award i Brons Winner in Hållbar produkt Category
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The Design
About Regen Primär funktion: Biodesignkommunikation
Boktext: Regen introducerar ett grafiskt system där levande rotstrukturer fungerar som både visuellt språk och materiellt substrat. Istället för att trycka på inerta ytor uppstår kommunikation genom kontrollerad biologisk tillväxt. Varje artefakt fungerar samtidigt som ett visuellt budskap, en levande organism och ett biologiskt nedbrytbart resultat. Genom att anpassa läsbarhet till ekologiska kretslopp omformulerar projektet grafisk produktion som en regenerativ process, och föreslår en alternativ modell där kommunikation utvecklas, förvandlas och återintegreras i naturliga system istället för att generera avfall.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award i Brons
Regen Primär funktion: Biodesignkommunikation är vinnare av A' Design Award i Brons, ett högst prestigefyllt erkännande som tilldelas enastående designverk som utmärker sig genom kreativitet, uppfinningsrikedom och klokhet. Bronsvinnare är mycket skickliga och slående kreativa föremål som styrker formgivarnas stora erfarenhet, fantasi och påhittighet. Regen Primär funktion: Biodesignkommunikation förväntas vara ett högt skattat, beundrat och älskat föremål som är anmärkningsvärt professionellt och innovativt. Detta vinnande verk i A' Design Award i Brons införlivar bästa praxis inom konst, vetenskap, design och teknik och är utmärkt genom sin omsorg om detaljer. Regen Primär funktion: Biodesignkommunikation tillfredsställer fantastiskt behov, rör vid längtan, charmar känslor och väcker nyfikenhet.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Regen uses cultivated root structures as both visual language and material substrate for communication. Instead of printing on inert surfaces, the message emerges through controlled biological growth. The project replaces linear production logic with a regenerative cycle: cultivation, communication, transformation, and natural reintegration. Each artifact operates simultaneously as a graphic piece, living organism, and biodegradable outcome. Regen positions biological growth as a design medium, proposing a scalable approach to regenerative visual communication.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Artifact dimensions vary according to biological growth. Poster-scale applications range from approximately 300 × 420 mm to 500 × 700 mm. Thickness depends on root density accumulation. All materials are plant-based, compostable, and designed for full biological reintegration.
- Tags
- Regenerative Design, Biodesign, Visual Communication, Living Materials, Circular Systems, Material Innovation
- Production Technology
- The project utilizes root domestication techniques, biodegradable substrates, controlled humidity environments, and mold-guided growth systems to direct biological formation into legible graphic structures. Analog prototyping, material testing, and circularity assessment were integrated to align organic growth with visual clarity and structural stability.
- Design Challenge
- The main challenge was reconciling graphic precision with biological unpredictability. Root growth is inherently variable, requiring a design approach that balances control and emergence. Constraints included growth variability, time dependency, structural fragility, and environmental sensitivity. The solution required designing adaptive systems rather than fixed compositions.
- Research
- Regen investigates root domestication as a reproducible substrate for graphic communication. Through iterative cultivation and material testing, the project evaluates structural integrity, visual legibility, and ecological performance. Circularity was assessed using the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI), demonstrating measurable improvements across prototype iterations and identifying pathways to eliminate remaining linear support materials.
Circularity was assessed using the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI), demonstrating quantifiable improvement across prototype iterations and identifying pathways to eliminate remaining linear support materials. - Inspiration
- Regen transforms biological growth into a functional medium for communication, replacing inert graphic surfaces with living systems. Instead of relying on extractive, synthetic, and disposable substrates, the project proposes a regenerative alternative rooted in living processes. Informed by biodesign research and circular thinking, Regen studies root growth behavior and material life cycles to develop living graphic substrates. The result is a shift from static surfaces toward evolving visual systems that actively participate in ecological regeneration.
- Project Duration
- Developed between January and November 2024 in Monterrey, Mexico, Regen was produced through experimental research and prototyping at Universidad de Monterrey as part of an academic design research initiative focused on regenerative graphic systems.
- Operation Flow
- Regen artifacts are cultivated through guided root domestication rather than mechanically assembled. Growth patterns are influenced through mold-guided pathways and environmental calibration, including humidity, light, and substrate density. Interaction occurs over time, as viewers experience gradual transformation, texture emergence, and organic variability. After fulfilling its communicative function, the artifact decomposes naturally, completing a regenerative material cycle.
- Patents
- All visual, material and graphic components of the Regen project are protected under academic and creative authorship. No patents or trademarks have been registered for this project.
- Team Members
- Sofia Porto Iannuzzi
- Image Credits
- Main: Photographer Sofia Porto, Living Poster Series, 2025.
Image #1: Photographer Sofia Porto, Root-Based Artifact, 2025.
Image #2: Photographer Sofia Porto, Root Structure Close-Up, 2025.
Image #3: Photographer Sofia Porto, Biodegradable Artifact Detail, 2025.
Image #4: Photographer Sofia Porto, Biodesign Poster Outdoor, 2025.
Image #5Photographer Sofia Porto, Root Textile Surface, 2025.
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