Lars Dittrich is a designer, researcher and maker whose craft spans biotechnology and material research.
His practice explores the material cultivation of mycelium, exploring its unique qualities and rethinking how to adapt it while the material is alive.
With a background in fashion, colour, materials and finish (CMF) design, Lars approaches new materials through wearable objects such as footwear and accessories. He uses them as the first site where novel material aesthetics and qualities are tested and understood. Independently, he works as a Knowledge Transfer Specialist for the Microbiology Research Group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. His work has been presented at Milan and Dutch Design Week, as well as at Nationalmuseum Stockholm and the Neues Museum Berlin.
During his residency, Lars will ask how pure mycelium can be worked by hand while it is still growing. Through iterative material development, he will expand upon his practice of growing pure mycelium sheets in the lab, exploring new making techniques through the lens of craft. Using medical tools and materials that allow precise handwork, he will investigate how to work precisely with living mycelium without contaminating it. Drawing on the expertise of surgical instrument makers, he will develop tools and techniques that work with the organism’s capacity to fuse and self-heal.
