MORPHO
A platform that uses bio-inspired catalytic paints to make artworks that can purify air
MISSION - Working in collaboration with a lab on campus, identify an opportunity for innovation with a chosen technology from the lab and design a solution
TIMEFRAME - Fall semester 2018 continuing on through Spring/Summer 2019
CONTEXT - Harvard Graduate School of Design course Nano Micro Macro: Adaptive Materials Laboratory, Biodesign Challenge 2019 (NYC)
TEAM - Margaret George, Mitsue Guerrero Monsalve, and Oliver Luo
The journey began at CATALIGHT, the final project for the Nano Micro Macro: Adaptive Material Laboratories course. Read about that project here.
PROBLEM REDEFINITION
In submission of our CATALIGHT design to the Biodesign Challenge, an international competition inviting students to envision the future of biotechnology, our team changed (some members left due to other obligations, and we found a new member eager to start), and the solution space shifted as well—we decided to focus on the nanostructure itself and the process of deposition. The process was challenging: we have undergone several rounds of diverging and converging, both in search of a well-defined problem statement and a solution that we all felt compelled to submit as our entry. We have presented several times in front of the Master in Design Engineering program committee, and we consulted our project advisor Jonathan and worked closely with our lead scientist Tanya, revising and refining after each round of feedback.
Early idea of a printing bot deposit an ivy-like material on a vertical surface.
Early ideas of a self-sustained structure that seeks out sources of VOCs and conducts bio-remediation (cred. Margaret George).
DESIGN BREAKTHROUGH
I still remember vividly the aha-moment when we landed on a design that we were eager to pursue. It felt exhilarating to have finally emerged with something we could all stand proudly behind, and it also felt comforting to know that all the ideas that did not survive the rounds of revisions have shown us new perspectives of looking at the problem. In the weeks leading up to the competition in NYC, we divided and conquered: Mitsue refined the physical product design and 3D printing prototype, Maggie crafted the narrative and checked the science, and I designed the service platform and designed/engineered an Arduino-powered prototype that demonstrates the mechanism and movement of the main chassis. With the responsibilities divided, we maintained close communication with each other, and I stepped up several times to make sure that we were all on the same page pushing this forward.
PRESENTATION AT BIODESIGN SUMMIT
In June of 2019, we presented our product/service platform MORPHO at the BDC Summit at Parsons. MORPHO is a platform that uses bio-inspired catalytic paint to make artworks that can clean air. The concept is a service where a material printer and canvas assembly is delivered to your home, the setup detects the specific composition of VOCs present in your indoor space, and over a period of several days creates a custom canvas with the iridescent paint that targets the detected pollutants. We also envisioned opportunities for the printing system to create art based on your aesthetic preferences, to collaborate with artists in arriving at designs, and to close the loop by encouraging users to return the components after the print is finished. Our speculative design was received very enthusiastically, and the conversations we had around the project gave us many considerations for further refinements.
Close-up render of the MORPHO system covering a canvas with a customized pattern of catalytic paint.
Render of the MORPHO system quietly printing away n a living room.
Rendering of the MORPHO print module exploded to reveal the core components within for VOC detection and paint deposition.
The 3D printed chassis of MORPHO, displayed along with volumes covered in dichroic film to represent cartridges.
The prototype in action during exhibition at Parsons.
We qualified as a finalist team and got the opportunity to present MORPHO to a full auditorium of members of the design, art, and biology community in MoMA. The project later traveled back to Cambridge, to the Global Community Bio Summit 3.0 hosted at the MIT Media Lab, where it was exhibited. Currently, MORPHO is taking up a residency in the Tanya’s lab at the Wyss Institute, awaiting its next journey.
Mitsue and Maggie showing the iridescent structural color on the Morpho butterfly (photo cred. Valery Rizzo).
Mitsue and I present the MORPHO project in MoMA to a captivated audience (photo cred. Valery Rizzo).
Promo video of the MORPHO platform in our presentations to Biodesign Challenge 2019.
Many thanks to Jonathan Grinham, Tanya Shirman, Veena Vijayakumar, Daniel Grushkin, Biodesign Challenge Committee, Martin Bechthold, Fawwaz Habbal, Jock Herron, Nabil Harfoush, Janessa Mulepati, Joanna Aizenberg, James Weaver, Jack Alvarenga, Pamela Cabrera, Anahide Nahhal, David Gomez-Gil, Robert Wang, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and the Aizenberg Biomineralization and Biomimetics Lab.