A space for biodesigning at Aalto University
The bioMakerStudio is a DIY fabrication space, which acts as an incubator for exploring and engaging creatively with the process of biological growing, making, and designing.
We welcome creatives (researchers, students, makers, community) from any discipline who are working with (or would like to try) bio-themed projects.
Our intention is also to be as low-threshold, accessible, flexible and open as possible. We we encourage users to be explorative, scavenge stuff, make their own tools, and try more exploratory encounters that might be otherwise hard to do in a closed lab environment.
Our space develops according to demand, and grows together with the projects and our community.
NEWS
bioMakerStudio Workshop Series
The bioMakerStudio Workshop and Talks Series is a non-profit community engagement initiative funded by the Sustainability Action Booster Grant… [read more]
Where to find us
Otakaari 7, 02150 Espoo, Finland
OUR APPROACH
At the bioMakerStudio, we run on a makerspace philosophy, which includes:
Learning-by-making
You learn through hands-on experiments, and by actively making and growing something. DIY (Do-it-yourself) and DIWO (Do-it-with-others) with communities.
Finding creative workarounds
This is not a scientific lab – meaning that for certain processes, you will have to find creative workarounds. Can you find replacements for tools in everyday objects, for example?
Combine fabrication techniques and fields
How can you combine different fabrication and making techniques? Biofabrication, digital fabrication, crafts, textiles… How can you combine knowledge from different disciplines?
Sharing and lowering barriers to knowledge
With the open-access mindset, you’ll share your processes and results with others, and also learn from others. How can you share your knowledge in ways that can be accessed by more people?
SPACES & EQUIPMENT
bioMakerStudio
Our current inventory includes:
• Workbenches
• Digital incubator
• 3D clay printer (for biomaterials)
• Mini laminar flow hood
• Autoclave
• Transparent growtent
• Darkroom growtent
• Digital microscope (AF)
• Stereo microscope
• Fridge + freezer
• Kettle
• Shelves
• UV light
• Heating pads
• Heating plates
• Humidity gauge
• Vacuum former
• Dehydrator
• Drying fan
• Scales
• Kitchen utensils (stick blender, containers, pots, steamers etc.)
• Lab consumables (petri dishes, test tubes, cotton cloths, pH paper, etc.)
• Kitchen consumables (baking sheets, aluminium foils, paper plates, etc.)
• Ingredients for growth mediums
• Large TV screen with HDMI
• Storage space
• First aid kit
Garden
8m2 community garden plot, currently growing:
• Woad (Isatis tinctoria)
• Japanese Indigo (Persicaria tinctoria)
• Dyer’s chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria)
• Dyer’s greenweed (Genista tinctoria)
• Weld (Ruseda luteola)
• Dyer’s coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)
We also have access to these facilities in the same building:
Dyeing Studio
A splash-proof kitchen-like space for wetwork with:
> Sinks
> Hobs
> Drying cabinet
> Kitchen utensils
For more, visit: https://studios.aalto.fi/product/dyeing-and-surface-manipulation/
FabLab
Digital fabrication laboratory for digital fabrication, with:
> Laser cutter
> CNC machine
> 3D printers
> Electronic workstations
> Programming software
For more info, visit: https://studios.aalto.fi/fablab/
WHAT CAN I WORK WITH?
We allow work with entry-level and food-safe organisms and materials in the bioMakerStudio. Currently, we are working with bacterial cellulose (SCOBY), cyanobacteria (spirulina), slime mould (physarum), mycelium (oyster and reishi), and plants (wild and grown).
Working with organisms that are highly perceptible to contamination would be very challenging in our space, as we cannot create completely aseptic conditions.
The bioMakerStudio is constantly changing. For most recent photos check out our Instagram account: @biomakerstudio
Dyeing with local mushrooms 🍄 from the forest 🌲
It`s the mushroom season in Finland!
The caps of Cortinarius Semisanguineus give a deep red colour, which can be used to dye fabrics and yarns.
Foraging and dyeing process by Harvey Shaw & Co. @areyouharveyshawaboutthat
At the BioMakerStudio, you can also explore where the forest meets the lab, blending traditional local knowledge with sustainable design 🌱
#mushroom #natureart #helsinki #biomakerstudio #biolab #biodesign #naturalcolors #textiles
Dyeing with local mushrooms 🍄 from the forest 🌲
It`s the mushroom season in Finland!
The caps of Cortinarius Semisanguineus give a deep red colour, which can be used to dye fabrics and yarns.
Foraging and dyeing process by Harvey Shaw & Co. @areyouharveyshawaboutthat
At the BioMakerStudio, you can also explore where the forest meets the lab, blending traditional local knowledge with sustainable design 🌱
#mushroom #natureart #helsinki #biomakerstudio #biolab #biodesign #naturalcolors #textiles
Looking back at exhibited works at Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025!
………………………
"Marimo", by Müge Yildiz @bioarchaeometry
SEEweed and Marimo are films in which kelp and seaweed leaves are explored as living materials for image-making, cultivating a symbiotic relationship between biomaterials. In these works, the potential of algae in generating moving images is examined, positioning them not only as material surfaces but as active participants in the cinematic process.
Marimo was produced through the transformation of a half-meter strip of seaweed into 16mm material using cyanotype techniques. Through these processes, the boundaries between natural life and cinematic expression are blurred, and new possibilities for bio-material image practices are articulated.
…………………………………………..
BioMakerStudio`s "Living Panels" exhibition at Designs for a Cooler Planet @helsinkidesignweek
#designsforacoolerplanet #helsinkidesignweek #coolerplanet #coolerplanetexhibition #biomakerstudio #biolabs #biodesign #biofabrication #seaweed #algae #filmmaking #teamaking #cocoonbio
Looking back at exhibited works at Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025!
………………………
"Marimo", by Müge Yildiz @bioarchaeometry
SEEweed and Marimo are films in which kelp and seaweed leaves are explored as living materials for image-making, cultivating a symbiotic relationship between biomaterials. In these works, the potential of algae in generating moving images is examined, positioning them not only as material surfaces but as active participants in the cinematic process.
Marimo was produced through the transformation of a half-meter strip of seaweed into 16mm material using cyanotype techniques. Through these processes, the boundaries between natural life and cinematic expression are blurred, and new possibilities for bio-material image practices are articulated.
…………………………………………..
BioMakerStudio`s "Living Panels" exhibition at Designs for a Cooler Planet @helsinkidesignweek
#designsforacoolerplanet #helsinkidesignweek #coolerplanet #coolerplanetexhibition #biomakerstudio #biolabs #biodesign #biofabrication #seaweed #algae #filmmaking #teamaking #cocoonbio
Introducing exhibited works at Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025!
…………. Introducing …………..
"Otaniemi Urban Infusions", by Ronja Tammenpää @ronjatammenpaa
The collection consists of two dried wild herb mixes: SMTea and JMTea. The consumable plants for the teas are collected along the two main streets in Otaniemi student village: Servin Maijan tie (SMT) and Jämeräntaival (JMT). Each tea mix is unique to the availability of the plants at the time of collection and their specific location. The work invites to reconsider an immediate urban surrounding as a location for foraging medicinal and edible plants. It plays with the idea of free and abundant natural resources turned into a “product” by putting a label on it. The “tea bags” hanging in line also becomes a decorative element, a living panel, before its use. After consumption the plants can be decomposed, even by returning them directly to the ditch at JMT or SMT where they came from.
…………………………………………..
BioMakerStudio`s "Living Panels" exhibition at Designs for a Cooler Planet @helsinkidesignweek
📆 5 September – 9 October 2025
📍 Väre (Otaniementie 14 02150), Ground Floor F-Lobby
📸 Photo @marcelo_guajardod
…………………………………………..
#designsforacoolerplanet #helsinkidesignweek #coolerplanet #coolerplanetexhibition #biomakerstudio #biolabs #biodesign #biofabrication #localplants #teamaking #cocoonbio
Introducing exhibited works at Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025!
…………. Introducing …………..
"Otaniemi Urban Infusions", by Ronja Tammenpää @ronjatammenpaa
The collection consists of two dried wild herb mixes: SMTea and JMTea. The consumable plants for the teas are collected along the two main streets in Otaniemi student village: Servin Maijan tie (SMT) and Jämeräntaival (JMT). Each tea mix is unique to the availability of the plants at the time of collection and their specific location. The work invites to reconsider an immediate urban surrounding as a location for foraging medicinal and edible plants. It plays with the idea of free and abundant natural resources turned into a “product” by putting a label on it. The “tea bags” hanging in line also becomes a decorative element, a living panel, before its use. After consumption the plants can be decomposed, even by returning them directly to the ditch at JMT or SMT where they came from.
…………………………………………..
BioMakerStudio`s "Living Panels" exhibition at Designs for a Cooler Planet @helsinkidesignweek
📆 5 September – 9 October 2025
📍 Väre (Otaniementie 14 02150), Ground Floor F-Lobby
📸 Photo @marcelo_guajardod
…………………………………………..
#designsforacoolerplanet #helsinkidesignweek #coolerplanet #coolerplanetexhibition #biomakerstudio #biolabs #biodesign #biofabrication #localplants #teamaking #cocoonbio
How can we incorporate visions of interconnectedness, responsability, reciprocity, and care in our design practices? 🌿
Join us for a special guest talk by Carla Paoliello, "A Shift Towards Nature-Centred Design Practice"
🗓️ Fri Oct 3rd, 10:30 – 11:30
📍BioMakerStudio, Otakaari 7B, 02150 Espoo, Finland
🌐 English, open to all and free!
𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 https://luma.com/0l3g1zad
Or link in bio ⬆️
Speaker Bio:
Carla Paoliello is an Assistant Professor at UÉvora, Portugal, focused on collaboration, traditional practices, eco-consciousness, care, identities, and territory dynamics. She is currently investigating Nature-Centred Design.
#biodesign #sustainability @aaltoarts #biomakerstudio
How can we incorporate visions of interconnectedness, responsability, reciprocity, and care in our design practices? 🌿
Join us for a special guest talk by Carla Paoliello, "A Shift Towards Nature-Centred Design Practice"
🗓️ Fri Oct 3rd, 10:30 – 11:30
📍BioMakerStudio, Otakaari 7B, 02150 Espoo, Finland
🌐 English, open to all and free!
𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 https://luma.com/0l3g1zad
Or link in bio ⬆️
Speaker Bio:
Carla Paoliello is an Assistant Professor at UÉvora, Portugal, focused on collaboration, traditional practices, eco-consciousness, care, identities, and territory dynamics. She is currently investigating Nature-Centred Design.
#biodesign #sustainability @aaltoarts #biomakerstudio
Introducing exhibited works at Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025!
…………. Introducing …………..
"Bioreceptive Tapestry", by Edoardo Brunelli @edoardobrunellidesigner
Bioreceptive Tapestry is a collaborative project developed as the final outcome of the "Bioreceptive Textile workshop". Conceived as an experimental and interdisciplinary activity, the workshop invited participants to explore how textiles can interact with living organisms through hands-on practice. The tapestry brings together individual experiments in which participants inoculated and cultivated organisms such as fungi, microgreens, algae, and slime mold on different textile substrates. When assembled, these pieces form a collective patchwork that showcases diverse approaches and outcomes, functioning as a small material library of bioreceptive textiles to inspire further research and experimentation in the field.
…………………………………………..
BioMakerStudio`s "Living Panels" exhibition at Designs for a Cooler Planet @helsinkidesignweek
📆 5 September – 10 October 2025
📍 Väre (Otaniementie 14 02150), Ground Floor F-Lobby
📸 Photo @marcelo_guajardod
Introducing exhibited works at Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025!
…………. Introducing …………..
"Bioreceptive Tapestry", by Edoardo Brunelli @edoardobrunellidesigner
Bioreceptive Tapestry is a collaborative project developed as the final outcome of the "Bioreceptive Textile workshop". Conceived as an experimental and interdisciplinary activity, the workshop invited participants to explore how textiles can interact with living organisms through hands-on practice. The tapestry brings together individual experiments in which participants inoculated and cultivated organisms such as fungi, microgreens, algae, and slime mold on different textile substrates. When assembled, these pieces form a collective patchwork that showcases diverse approaches and outcomes, functioning as a small material library of bioreceptive textiles to inspire further research and experimentation in the field.
…………………………………………..
BioMakerStudio`s "Living Panels" exhibition at Designs for a Cooler Planet @helsinkidesignweek
📆 5 September – 10 October 2025
📍 Väre (Otaniementie 14 02150), Ground Floor F-Lobby
📸 Photo @marcelo_guajardod
Introducing exhibited works at Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025!
…………. Introducing …………..
"Spirulina Biolamp", by Wai In Wong
Spirulina Biolamp is a living light installation that merges biology and design. It consists of transparent acrylic cylinders filled with living spirulina algae, illuminated by LED strips. The light not only reveals the natural gradient of green shades produced by spirulina at different growth stages but also provides the necessary energy for photosynthesis. The piece explores the dual function of light as both sustenance and illumination, suggesting a future where everyday objects may embody living systems that nourish us visually, ecologically, and even nutritionally. The lamp changes over time as the spirulina grows, creating a dynamic green landscape that transforms the aesthetic of the object and opens a dialogue about what “living design” could mean.
…………………………………………..
BioMakerStudio`s "Living Panels" exhibition at Designs for a Cooler Planet @helsinkidesignweek
📆 5 September – 10 October 2025
📍 Väre (Otaniementie 14 02150), Ground Floor F-Lobby
Join us for the opening on 5 Sep at 16.00!!
…………………………………………..
#designsforacoolerplanet #helsinkidesignweek #coolerplanet #coolerplanetexhibition #biomakerstudio #biolabs #biodesign #biofabrication #spirulina #algae #cyanobacteria #cocoonbio
Introducing exhibited works at Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025!
…………. Introducing …………..
"Spirulina Biolamp", by Wai In Wong
Spirulina Biolamp is a living light installation that merges biology and design. It consists of transparent acrylic cylinders filled with living spirulina algae, illuminated by LED strips. The light not only reveals the natural gradient of green shades produced by spirulina at different growth stages but also provides the necessary energy for photosynthesis. The piece explores the dual function of light as both sustenance and illumination, suggesting a future where everyday objects may embody living systems that nourish us visually, ecologically, and even nutritionally. The lamp changes over time as the spirulina grows, creating a dynamic green landscape that transforms the aesthetic of the object and opens a dialogue about what “living design” could mean.
…………………………………………..
BioMakerStudio`s "Living Panels" exhibition at Designs for a Cooler Planet @helsinkidesignweek
📆 5 September – 10 October 2025
📍 Väre (Otaniementie 14 02150), Ground Floor F-Lobby
Join us for the opening on 5 Sep at 16.00!!
…………………………………………..
#designsforacoolerplanet #helsinkidesignweek #coolerplanet #coolerplanetexhibition #biomakerstudio #biolabs #biodesign #biofabrication #spirulina #algae #cyanobacteria #cocoonbio
Introducing exhibited works at Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025!
…………. Introducing …………..
"In Memoriam: Transient Relics", Alba Arillo @alba.arillo
This series reimagines mourning through artefacts that are both fragile and sacred, crafted from microbial cellulose and modified with natural pigments and other organic agents. Shaped through digital fabrication—laser cutting and engraving—they weave together ancestral craft, technological precision, and organic decay. The Mourning Tapestry recalls filet crochet lace, historically tied to mourning attire and gestures of care and heritage. Cut into microbial cellulose, it becomes a delicate veil: textile-like yet perishable, wavering between cloth, skin, and soil. It may also be read as part of a parting trousseau—a funerary dowry offered back to the earth. The Devotional Cutout draws on folded paper cutouts, a childhood craft of symmetry and surprise, while also evoking embossed reliquary cards. Cut into fragile motifs, it unfolds like both letter and keepsake, holding space for grief and farewell. Together, these works form a constellation of transient relics: ephemeral memorials that refuse permanence. Each is accompanied by a specimen card and symbolic death certificate, underscoring their role as tokens of remembrance, tribute and decomposition. They invite us to mourn through materials that, like bodies, are meant to pass—reminding us that memory endures not in what resists decay, but in what returns.
…………………………………………..
BioMakerStudio`s "Living Panels" exhibition at Designs for a Cooler Planet @helsinkidesignweek
📆 5 September – 10 October 2025
📍 Väre (Otaniementie 14 02150), Ground Floor F-Lobby
Join us for the opening on 5 Sep at 16.00!!
…………………………………………..
#designsforacoolerplanet #helsinkidesignweek #coolerplanet #coolerplanetexhibition #biomakerstudio #biolabs #biodesign #biofabrication #scoby #cocoonbio
Introducing exhibited works at Designs for a Cooler Planet 2025!
…………. Introducing …………..
"In Memoriam: Transient Relics", Alba Arillo @alba.arillo
This series reimagines mourning through artefacts that are both fragile and sacred, crafted from microbial cellulose and modified with natural pigments and other organic agents. Shaped through digital fabrication—laser cutting and engraving—they weave together ancestral craft, technological precision, and organic decay. The Mourning Tapestry recalls filet crochet lace, historically tied to mourning attire and gestures of care and heritage. Cut into microbial cellulose, it becomes a delicate veil: textile-like yet perishable, wavering between cloth, skin, and soil. It may also be read as part of a parting trousseau—a funerary dowry offered back to the earth. The Devotional Cutout draws on folded paper cutouts, a childhood craft of symmetry and surprise, while also evoking embossed reliquary cards. Cut into fragile motifs, it unfolds like both letter and keepsake, holding space for grief and farewell. Together, these works form a constellation of transient relics: ephemeral memorials that refuse permanence. Each is accompanied by a specimen card and symbolic death certificate, underscoring their role as tokens of remembrance, tribute and decomposition. They invite us to mourn through materials that, like bodies, are meant to pass—reminding us that memory endures not in what resists decay, but in what returns.
…………………………………………..
BioMakerStudio`s "Living Panels" exhibition at Designs for a Cooler Planet @helsinkidesignweek
📆 5 September – 10 October 2025
📍 Väre (Otaniementie 14 02150), Ground Floor F-Lobby
Join us for the opening on 5 Sep at 16.00!!
…………………………………………..
#designsforacoolerplanet #helsinkidesignweek #coolerplanet #coolerplanetexhibition #biomakerstudio #biolabs #biodesign #biofabrication #scoby #cocoonbio
Join us for BioMakerStudio`s exhibition @helsinkidesignweek as part of Designs for a Cooler Planet!
📍 Aalto University, Väre, F-Lobby Level 0
🗓️ Sept 5 – Oct 10
🌱 Free entry
How can we rethink what it means to not only explore sustain-ability, but also the heal-ability of ecological systems through creative partnerships?
How can microbes, fungi, algae, plants, and post-living matter guide us in exploring new forms of designing, care, and regeneration?
"Living Panels" showcases community-led projects explore how design objects can evolve, adapt, and participate in ecological processes beyond human needs.
Thank you to @cocoon.bio, @sustainability_action_booster and @aaltoarts for all your support!
📷 Design by Ariane Carde
#helsinkidesignweek #cocoonbio #biodesign #helsinkidesign #designweek #biofabrication #designexhibition #biolab #biomakerstudio #aaltouniversity
Join us for BioMakerStudio`s exhibition @helsinkidesignweek as part of Designs for a Cooler Planet!
📍 Aalto University, Väre, F-Lobby Level 0
🗓️ Sept 5 – Oct 10
🌱 Free entry
How can we rethink what it means to not only explore sustain-ability, but also the heal-ability of ecological systems through creative partnerships?
How can microbes, fungi, algae, plants, and post-living matter guide us in exploring new forms of designing, care, and regeneration?
"Living Panels" showcases community-led projects explore how design objects can evolve, adapt, and participate in ecological processes beyond human needs.
Thank you to @cocoon.bio, @sustainability_action_booster and @aaltoarts for all your support!
📷 Design by Ariane Carde
#helsinkidesignweek #cocoonbio #biodesign #helsinkidesign #designweek #biofabrication #designexhibition #biolab #biomakerstudio #aaltouniversity
CONTACT
If you are interested in using the bioMakerStudio or have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We are always looking to expand our inventory of equipment and materials through recycled or second-hand goods. If you have any lab / makerspace equipment that you would like to donate, please let us know!
Interested in the bioMakerStudio? Contact
Ena Naito
Doctoral Researcher
ena.naito@aalto.fi
+358 50 464 4304
Co-funded by
