Matter in transition: From underutilized biomass to robotically fabricated architectural material for resource-efficient renovation

Licentiate thesis, 2026

Architecture is increasingly required to operate across disciplinary boundaries in response to an urgent transition shifting from fossil-based construction systems toward resource-efficient and renewable alternatives. While emerging biobased materials offer such possibilities, they also challenge predictability and standardization, demanding new, interdisciplinary, material-driven design methodologies. In this context, this licentiate thesis aims to investigate how a novel biobased material, derived from underutilized biomass, can be developed, fabricated, and translated into architectural applications.
Focusing on the formulation and upscaling of a yeast-cellulose hydrogel, the thesis positions material as an active element whose behaviours must be negotiated during design and fabrication. This highlights the architect's role as a mediator at the crossover of biotechnology, material science, and architectural design. Therefore, the study employs a research-by-design methodology in which making serves as inquiry, establishing an iterative workflow in which material formulation, computational toolpath design, and robotic fabrication are studied together through iterative, micro-, meso-, and macroscale prototypes. This framework addresses three interconnected inquiries: the formulation and characterization of the yeast-cellulose hydrogel (RQ1); the development of fabrication strategies that respond to material agency (RQ2); and the exploration of architectural applications enabled by this co-development (RQ3).
The research findings lead to two proof-of-concept, architectural applications: a tiling system and an early-stage timber coating. These prototypes reveal how the material’s aesthetic and physical characteristics translate to spatial, tactile, and visual architectural expressions. Moving beyond laboratory conditions, the research situates the material in context through public exhibitions and testbed installations, providing early observations on environmental exposure and user perception.
Overall, the thesis proposes an alternative approach in which interdisciplinary knowledge, material response, and digitally mediated craft reshape how architecture addresses environmental challenges. Future research will build on these findings through further optimization of the yeast‑cellulose hydrogel and fabrication parameters, investigating material performance, environmental aging, and user perception, supporting the development and architectural integration.