Last year Fab Lab Reykjavík and Fjölbrautarskólinn í Breiðholti collaborated with incredible partners to develop the CoCoon project. We are glad to announce that the Erasmus+ fund has approved our CoCoon project, ensuring funding of 1 million euros under the central actions in the category of forward-looking projects. Therefore, Fab Lab Reykjavík will soon offer even more opportunities for green prototyping.
The project name is "COCOON – Co-Creating greener futures; developing and transferring innovative bio-design modules for education to accelerate the green transition". The project group will select bio-design methods ready to be transferred into practical modules and workshops. After development, we will implement our bio-design modules into design and carpentry courses in secondary schools, universities, and Fab Labs.
The partners of the project are:
The University of Lucofona will lead the project.
Fjölbrautarskólinn í in Breiðholti, which will be responsible for implementing the secondary school level curriculum, is a crucial element in the green transformation of construction and design subjects.
These partners are home to three of Europe's leading Fab Labs, which will lead the implementation of bio-design methods for entrepreneurs and the public. The project will allow us to offer various bio-design workshops and foster the development of green prototypes with our makers.
The Fab Labs of the project are:
The project's research centres are leaders in bio-design and innovation ecosystems:
The project aims to speed up the green transformation in the design and construction industries and enable people to find other ways to create more environmentally friendly products. The project also focuses on formulating a strategy for open access to green workshops (GreenLabs), just like Fab Labs. Open access to prototyping workshops allows people to develop and test technologically complex innovations based on scientific solutions. Such solutions are needed from all areas of design and construction to initiate the green transformation. Pushing forward creative green solutions is the project's guiding light throughout the three-year lifespan of the project.
In CoCoon, ten modules based on different methods of bio-design will be developed and implemented into formal courses and Fab Lab workshops. The implementation aims to reach entrepreneurs, designers, teachers, and university and secondary school students. We expect to develop 50 green bio-design prototypes with our students, entrepreneurs, and creative participants in the project.
Þóra Óskarsdóttir and Bryndís Steina are now in Lisbon to officially start the project with the project team. In the coming months, increased opportunities for bio-design will manifest themselves in Fab Lab Reykjavík. We count on you to get creative green ideas.
Biodesign is constantly evolving, and to keep up with the dynamic environment of green innovation, researchers from other research centres will also participate in the project. Of note are the following:
Þóra Hafdís Arnardóttir is a researcher at the Hub for Biotechnology for the Built Environment and a Visiting Practitioner at the University of Central Saint Martins. In her research, Arnardóttir explores the potential for using microbes to advance architecture.
Dr Jorge Lopez is a professor at PUC University in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he directs the NEXT laboratory.
AALTO University is already searching for prospective PhD students who want to participate in the project. Interested designers, biologists, and educators can apply here.
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