Becoming cyanobacteria, becoming a biodesigner

Abstract Biodesign scholarship has increasingly emphasised the field’s heterogeneity, noting that contemporary biodesign laboratories no longer operate under a single methodological or epistemic paradigm, but instead diversify according to their objectives, ethical positions, and institutional contexts (Crawford 2023; Ihls and Pollini 2025; Karana 2020; Marseglia et al . 2025). Within this landscape, biodesigners have explored non-anthropocentric and more-than-human (MTH) modes of inquiry through interdisciplinary practices that challenge instrumental approaches to living systems (Kuznetsov et al . 2018; Pollini 2024; Sawa 2016; Stefanova 2021). Recent research has further foregrounded MTH sensibilities through speculative, relational, and posthuman design tools that question dominant human-centred assumptions (Bell et al . 2023; Chen and Pschetz 2024; Kim et al . 2025; Vu et al . 2024). However, a persistent tension remains between these aspirations and the highly specialised, sterilised infrastructures of biological laboratories, where microbial-scale experimentation often reinforces anthropocentric control and optimisation. This demonstration is positioned within this critical gap. This demonstration presents a situated biodesign toolset developed through three years of practice-led research in a BSL-1 biodesign laboratory within an industrial design engineering faculty. The work explores how MTH sensibilities can be surfaced, negotiated, and performed within a conventional biodesign lab environment that is typically optimised for sterilised, human-centred biological experimentation. Adopting the Becoming-with stance toward cyanobacteria informed by the philosophy of becoming (Kim et al . 2024), the author frames the laboratory as a shared field rather than a site of control, attending to cyanobacteria’s phototactic behaviours, optical sensing, and temporal relations at the microbial scale. Through this lens, the author developed experimental tools that mediate between biological experimentation, design practice, and speculative technological interventions. The toolset consists of four main components (see Figure 1). First, a redesigned Biodesign Lab Journal supports documenting interdisciplinary tensions, situated decision-making, and MTH reflections during laboratory practice (Kim et al . 2025). Second, a Phototaxis Toolbox —a DIY physical computing array assembled using 3D-printed components, Raspberry Pi, and CircuitPython—modulates light conditions for cyanobacterial phototaxis experiments. For exhibition purposes, this setup will be displayed with Petri dishes that do not contain living organisms, ensuring biological safety. Third, HoloLens 2 enables hands-free operation in sterile conditions while overlaying experimental information through augmented reality. Fourth, a Meta Quest 3 headset running Cyano Vision , a Unity-based VR application, visually explores the optical sensing of cyanobacteria from a non-human perspective. All tools will be spatially arranged as a coherent biodesign workstation, moving between instrumental and speculative modes. Limited copies of the lab journal will be available for browsing and potential use in participants’ own contexts. The phototaxis toolbox will be displayed in an experimental configuration. Recorded documentation of HoloLens 2 and Meta Quest 3 use in real laboratory settings will be presented via a standing screen; upon request and depending on time constraints, attendees may experience Cyano Vision directly using the Meta Quest 3 (Figure 2). Ideally, the demonstration will be installed in an independent room that juxtaposes familiar biological laboratory paraphernalia with unfamiliar experimental tools. This immersive arrangement will allow attendees to step into the author’s situated experience of biodesign, prompting reflection on the field’s boundaries and future directions beyond anthropocentric ways of biodesigning in laboratory settings. The demonstration requires: * One table (minimum 110 × 60 cm) * One standing screen (approx. 40 inches) * Relocatable power tap (minimum three outlets) * One independent room (minimum 3.3 m 2 , optional)