Final Design
Link to the Demo Video
Scales
Our system is expressed in two scales: both family scale and a global scale
Family Scale: Kit Design
We were very interested in the multigenerational maintenance because after research on the relationship between microbiome and human, we found that:
- First: microbiome are maternally inherited from mother to infant.
- Second: Cohabiting family members share microbiota with each other.
These indicate that microbiome could be a family unit’s identity in a micro level. Considering the old sayings of “mom’s dishes”, “home’s taste”, which takes parents’ cooking as family heritage, we found the sense in exploring hand microbiome as a kind of heritage that pass along to the next generation who can make food out of it.
Intuitive holding object for collecting
Use kitchen utensil instead of lab tools
Clear instructions through layout & labels
Information Design
We also designed a new kind of family lineage book: the family’s microbiome lineage book, along with fermented food recipe We have considered several possible scenario for the use of the book:
- Travel
- Family member relocation
- Wedding gift from parent to children
A) Note family lineage, microbiome code and member’s physical location
B) Record each time hand microbiome is collected
C) Receipes for different fermented food and record which hand microbiome sample is used in cooking
Global Scale: Architecture Design
Our vault is inspired by the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, which was built in fear of the loss of plant diversity. In the same vein, loss of microbial biodviersity is equally important but isn’t something that we talk about. Without a system in place, we do not know at what rate and how microbial diversity has changed. We therefore designed a microbial vault to maintain microbial diversity and educate the public about its importance.
Unlike the Seed Vault, which was very cold in appearance, we wanted to create a warm and open environment through architectural and interior design
Key Function
- Microbiome preservation
- Cultural and educational program about microbiome
Sketch
A) Area for microbiome preservation
B) Area for cultural and educational program
RISK:
With the microbial vault, we acknowledge if hand microbiome is more commonly seen as an indentificial tool, there is a risk of it becoming a surveillance tool and a question of security in terms of terms who will have access and ownership over the samples. Hence, if we were to build a vault, it will have to be located in a relatively conflict-free geographic location.