Weronika Turowska
3D Design BA (Hons)
Grays School of Art Robert Gordon University
Graduates: 2023
Specialisms: Sustainable Design / Product Design / Design Research
My location: Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Weronika Turowska
First Name: Weronika
Last Name: Turowska
University / College: Grays School of Art Robert Gordon University
Course / Program: 3D Design BA (Hons)
Graduates: 2023
Specialisms: Sustainable Design / Product Design / Design Research
My Location: Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Website: Click To See Website
About
Weronika is a product and material designer interested in regenerative design principles, innovation and sustainable alternatives. She has recently graduated from 3D Design (Hons) at Gray's School of Art RGU in Aberdeen, Scotland UK. That has led her to pursue an MA Biodesign at Central Saint Martins in London. Her interests span across biomaterials, food and waste and environmentalism. She believes that material literacy and biomaterials are the basis of navigating sustainable design transitions.
SYMBI is a calming tactile ball/pillow made from grown bacterial cellulose and aquafaba/algae bioleather. Anthropocentric concern with human health has made us question the world we have shaped through design. Symbi questions our material culture, but also how we live with chronic pain - how tactility can help with conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia when a user constantly feels pain - through touch and a soft, calming, tactile feeling. The necessity of finding alternatives to currently available PVC and PU-based non-biodegradable vegan leathers has led to exploring the potential of utilising commonly perceived as waste bacterial cellulose film from kombucha drink and waste aquafaba. The inside of the ball is stuffed with kapok, which comes from the fibres of a kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra). Natural colouring was achieved from charcoal and hibiscus plant. Our bodies are host to vast populations of microorganisms. Based on the knowledge that we are the microbes we try to fight, the design challenges the perception of how we can collaborate with microorganisms to design a softer, more symbiotic world. Just as the calming ball can biodegrade, so is the hope that the chronic pain will find its cure too.
Competitions
