The practice-based design research project »SymbiOcean« by Rasa Weber explores cultivating marine habitats with/in other-than-human marine environments as a form of »Sympoïetic Design«.
Inspired by the process of ocean mineral accretion by electrolysis for the construction of artificial reefs developed by Wolf Hilbertz and Thomas Goreau under the name Biorock (1970), the project brings together design, anthropology and marine biology to develop a new approach to the creation of artificial reefs. Through methods of ecological attunement, co-design and marine fieldwork through scuba diving, the project develops forms of critical ecological practice and thinking in the seascape. The work looks at convivial conservation as a new model for shaping the future of coral reefs through the lens of queer ecologies.
This PhD project funded by the Swiss National Science Fund project "Interfacing the Ocean” led by Prof. Dr. Karmen Franinović and Dr. Roman Kirschner at Zurich University of the Art, conducted together with PhD researchers Antoine Berlin and Anthea Oestreicher.
The doctorate takes place within the practice-based PhD program cooperation between Zurich University of the Arts and University of Arts and Design Linz, with first supervisor Prof. Dr. Karmen Franinović and second supervisor Dr. Karin Harrasser . As Associated Member, Rasa Weber has joined Matters of Activity cluster in 2022 and is part of the PhD research cohort.