How can we embed accountability into the materials we use?
Google sought novel and inventive ways to create a more sustainable hardware ecosystem. Partnering with the Biodesign Challenge (BDC), they ran the “Biodesign Sprint,” where our project The Material Provenance Project emerged.
Over the course of a 4-week design sprint, we assembled a team from scratch, developed a concept, a formal global data specification system, and a vision film.
Mapping the Ecosystem for Accountability
The Material Provenance Project is imagined as a nonprofit serving a global catalog of material data and an eco-label specification for reuse — powered by a real DNA-based encoding system that embeds metadata directly into materials.
Embedding Material with DNA-based Metadata
Our concept explored how the principles of synthetic biology can help to navigate the complexities of global e-waste. By making provenance, properties, and journeys visible, the catalog lets anyone trace material flows, identify supply chain leaks, and hold corporations accountable for their impact on the planet.
Project Credits & Information
- Project type
- Platform
- Partner
- Google · Biodesign Challenge
- Agency
- Biodesign Challenge
- Role
- Production, Research
- Credits
- Maximilian Lauter, Sara Nejad, Chris Lunney, Celeste Rose, Wiena Lin, Tess Adams, Michael Lee
- Press
- —
- Website
- Biodesign Sprint
- Date
- 2021
