Academic Journal

The materialised temporality of dust: developing a biodesign methodology to spatialise time and temporalise space

Bibliographic Details
Title: The materialised temporality of dust: developing a biodesign methodology to spatialise time and temporalise space
Authors: Carolina Ramirez-Figueroa, Antony Nevin, Campbell Orme
Source: Research Directions: Biotechnology Design. 3
Publisher Information: Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: W290 Design studies not elsewhere classified, K900 Others in Architecture
Description: The paper uses the material and conceptual figure of dust and matter out of place to amplify more-than-human perspectives of time, to trace the changing orientations and ethos of a site. Dust contains a complex mixture of inorganic and organic material, made up of an exuberance of microbial life such as Penicillium, Aspergillus and Cladosporium and around 20 other fungal sources. We are interested in dust as a material and metaphorical device to situate and critique temporality and the way we narrate and investigate the past and future, from a non-human, microbial point of view. Dust implies residual matter, a contradiction to order often associated with dirt. It indicates something that needs to be removed, or rearranged, something that is “out of place,” an element that does not fit. Dust also indicates time and space and signals movement and life: dust hosts a medley of non-human particles and microbial communities that engage in their own worldmaking practices. The paper brings together methods of “un-cleaning” with archival research and spatial methods of 3D scanning, modelling and mapping, as an opportunity to decentre human hubris and explore the ways in which non-humans have and continue to inhabit “our” spaces.
Document Type: Article
File Description: text
Language: English
ISSN: 2752-9452
DOI: 10.1017/btd.2024.21
Rights: CC BY
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....03e37f556f73dd8a6d54bec334a6b2c6
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
ISSN:27529452
DOI:10.1017/btd.2024.21