Biodiseño MX: Living Territories explores Mexican biodesign
Curated by Taina Campos, Biodiseño MX: Territorios Vivos brings together more than 74 works by over 60 creatives, including Fernando Laposse, Resting Reef, Emiliano Godoy, Edith Medina and Javier Senosiain, alongside emerging designers and interdisciplinary collectives. Hosted on of Mexico City Museo Franz Mayer, the report organized into five thematic sections, Flora, Fauna, Microbes, Fungi and Bioinspiration, examining how living systems can engage in creative processes and prompting a rethinking of the relationship between design and ecosystems.
At its core, Biodiseño MX: Territorios Vivos proposes a design approach based on collaboration, reciprocity and interdependence, challenging the anthropocentric and extractive models that have contributed to ecological degradation. The exhibition is based on ancestral knowledge rooted in Mexico’s indigenous cultures, bringing these traditions into dialogue with contemporary design, science, technology, craftsmanship and cultural memory. In the works on display, bioengineering presented as a practice that addresses ecological, social and cultural challenges through relationships with living systems.
visitors are greeted by a mud wall made with soil from Oaxaca, created by Mixterra | all images by Alejandro Ramirez Orozco
five exhibition sections examine different areas of bioengineering
Curator Taina Campos explains, “these living areas inspire us to abandon extractive logics and embrace a future where the memory of the territory is expressed through us.” This sentiment resonates throughout the exhibit, which draws from ancestral knowledge deeply rooted in Mexico’s indigenous cultures. Combining these traditions with contemporary design, the works on display create a dialogue between science, technology, craftsmanship and cultural memory, positioning biodesign as a vital practice to address today’s ecological, social and cultural challenges.
The five modules examine different areas of biodesign and the ways in which biological processes can inform material and spatial practices. Flora focuses on plants as partners rather than just resources, showcasing bioplastics and textiles derived from plant fibers alongside traditional crafts that reflect long-standing relationships between humans and plant life. Fauna explores the interactions between humans and animals through projects that include pollinator sanctuaries, natural pigments derived from insects, and bioceramic sculptures made from human ash that help restore coral reefs.
Microbia examines the potential of microscopic organisms, presenting projects that use bacteria, fungi and algae to develop materials and objects, including bacterial cellulose textiles and bioluminescent designs. Funga focuses on the diversity of fungi and their role in sustainable materials practices, from mycelium-based materials to traditional applications in medicine and ritual. The final section, Bioinspiration, examines how design can draw on the collaborative and regenerative processes found in nature to suggest alternative approaches to sustainable living.
the design of the exhibition seeks to create a similarity with the mountainous terrain of Mexico and was made with the recyclable and recycled material, Polyroca, by NEW FIBERS
The Franz Meyer Museum is transformed into a mountain landscape
The museography of the exhibition, designed by Manuel Díaz Tufinio, transforms the interior of the Museo Franz Mayer into a mountainous landscape that references the varied topography of Mexico. Rather than following a conventional linear exhibition arrangement, the spatial arrangement reflects the experimental and regenerative principles explored through the works. The exhibition design also incorporates materials selected for their environmental and material properties.
The walls are finished with Mixterra’s clay-based coatings made from Oaxacan soils, which help regulate temperature and humidity while referencing traditional Mexican construction techniques. The display units are produced from New Fibers panels made from 100 percent recycled and recyclable LDPE, derived from post-industrial waste from plasticized paperboard, including beverage cartons and food packaging. Recycled and recycled materials such as New Fibers’ Polyroca are also used to construct the exhibition’s mountainous forms, integrating museography with the exhibition’s wider focus on ecological responsibility.
Through the combination of biological materials, ancestral knowledge, modern technologies and experimental design practices, Biodiseño MX: Territorios Vivos presents biodesign as a framework for rethinking the relationship between human activity and the ecosystems in which it operates. The exhibition positions living systems not only as sources of material or inspiration, but as active participants in the design process.
pieces in the Flora and Fauna curatorial themes use materials of plant and animal origin or function as habitats for specific species
masks from the Ruth D. Lechuga collection, displayed on an earthen wall, rites of reference and dances that celebrated harvest seasons
traditional costumes made of organic materials turned the exhibition into cultural memory
3D printed earth seats by SEED Collective invite visitors to engage with the tactile and regenerative potential of earth materials within the audiovisual room
“Patachón” by Fernando Laposse, a light sculpture made of agave fibers
Funga includes immersive installations such as “Cena con Micelio” (Dinner with mycelium) by Proyector, in collaboration with Radial and LABVA, where mycelium and yeasts form a living table
like a cabinet of curiosities, the sample wall showcases the experimental processes behind some of the works on display
at Bioinspiration, visitors encounter works made from waste, such as 3D printed bioceramic pieces made from used eggshells by MANUFACTURA or the soil 3D printed sculpture by Alfredo Salazar-Caro
in Microbia, there are projects showing textiles made from bacterial cellulose and bioluminescence
from Oaxacan clay to bacterial cellulose, Biodiseño MX explores design with living systems
project information:
name: Biodesign MX: Living Territories
curator: Taina Kampos | @tainacampos.design
exhibition design: Manuel Diaz Tufinio
graphic identity: Maria Fernanda Puig
assistant curators: Mariana Espino Velasco, Eunice Arizmendi, Amador Mariscal
museographic production: Constructions Re Lo Ruíz, Lolalab, NEW FIBERS, Mixterra, SEED, RECOS
venue: Franz Meyer Museum | @museofranzmayer
location: Mexico City, Mexico
dates: May 27 – October 11, 2026
photographer: Alejandro Ramirez Orozco
designboom received this project from us DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. See more project submissions from our readers here.
editor: Christina Vergopoulou | designboom
