Recap of the 'Towards Integrative Design' Symposium in Innsbruck

We are so grateful to everyone that participated in the ‘Towards Integrative Design: Bio-Integrated & Digitally Fabricated’ Symposium organised by Integrative Design | Extremes at the University of Innsbruck and Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats. We received over 60 abstracts and we welcomed close to 100 international researchers, designers, engineers, artists, architects and students. The two days were filled with an incredible programme packed with inspiring talks and surrounded by beautiful posters, biomaterial pieces, and the mountains.

The Symposium highlighted that the future is both bio-integrated and digitally fabricated in the broadest and richest sense of integrating the sciences, the mythic and magic. Presentations showcased technical innovations from new advancements in bio-welding and utilising local blue biomass to broader reflections on the need for frameworks and a common language to co-design multispecies worlds.

A heartfelt thank you to our three keynotes — Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen, Alexander Bismarck, and Fabio Gramazio — for giving us insights into their research process and what motivates their practice to advance new sustainable technologies.

We want to thank all participants for their incredibly inspiring contributions, and especially for creating an atmosphere where thoughts and comments from different perspectives sparked meaningful discussions — on topics such as scaling-out rather than scaling-up and embracing prototypes as essential to the research process.

Full papers will be published in the new rendition of the Biotechnology Design journal over the next year.

We closed the Symposium with a Social Day in the beautiful mountains. Despite the clouds, the sky opened just in time to reveal a breathtaking view of the valley below Nordkette. Thank you to everyone who braved the elements — it was a fitting end to a symposium that invited us all to think, feel, and build under extreme conditions. 

We look forward to connecting and continuing the discussion in the future. Please reach out to us if you would like to collaborate!

Thank you from the organising team.

Lead: Barbara Imhof

Coordinator & Scientific programme lead: Layla van Ellen

Programme co-lead : Monika Brandić Lipińska

Space & poster coordinator: Mathias Bank

Media and outreach: Anne-Sofie Belling

Exhibition: Natalia Piórecka & Judith Ascher-Jenull

Tutors (various tasks from graphics to the poster panels): Ash Reitsamer, Finn Seethaler, Florenz Marks & Henning Dörfler

Scientific committee: Barbara Imhof, Layla van Ellen, Monika Brandić Lipińska, Natalia Piórecka & Judith Ascher-Jenull

Moderators: Barbara Imhof, Layla van Ellen, Monika Brandić Lipińska, Mathias Bank, Andreas Körner

Supported by: School of Architecture (University of Innsbruck), Nordkettebahn & MRCA