Biophilic design products for collective cyber-gardening
The PhotoSynthetica Collection is conceived and produced by ecoLogicStudio and the PhotoSynthetica Consortium, a bio-design innovation platform developed by ecoLogicStudio in collaboration with academic partners, the Urban Morphogenesis Lab at UCL London and the Synthetic Landscape Lab at the University of Innsbruck.
The PhotoSynthetica Collection merges design, biotechnology, and digital fabrication to develop a new breed of gardening products made of re-metabolised pollution. It aims to transform interiors, balconies, and shared spaces into a living infrastructure, a site of photosynthetic activity, material regeneration, and ritual participation.
“This collection is born from the dream of growing the products of the future from the waste and pollution of our current fossil civilization. More than products these first seven objects are tools to start a collective process of urban re-metabolization.”
Dr. Marco Poletto, co-founder
Products' Family
The AIReactor is now part of a broader gardening toolkit that makes regenerative living tactile, playful, and accessible. All products are designed for zero-waste and 3D printed using compostable, algae-based biopolymers.
The collection includes:
Earth Pot and the algorithm of nature: algae based 3D-printed pot for soil-based plant cultivation.
EARTHpot reinterprets the cellular growth of mycelium into a sculptural form, serving as a breathable, compostable shell that accommodates standard nursery pots while elevating the aesthetics and ecology of indoor gardening.
As the other products of the Collection, it comes in a natural color and is 3d printed with a bespoke, algae-based PLA/PHA filament developed using the by-product of air-purification process driven by living microalgae.
AIR Pot: A minimal cradle for air plants, designed for optimal air feeding and hanging.
The AIRpot is an hanging piece designed to grow airplants, and is one of the byproduct of Algae Gardens, perpetuating the idea that CO2 and urban air pollution can actually be “mined from the air” and re-metabolized into valuable biodegradable products, locking in the carbon into a virtuous material cycle.
Aerial plants lack roots and feed on the moisture and chemicals in the air, which is why they are very efficient at capturing air pollutants, contributing in the metabolization of C02, a process that is also the basis of the pot containing them, printed with microalgae-based biopolymer.
Reimagining the practice of gardening in the domestic environment as an act of caring for and understanding natural systems through biotechnology, the AIRpot is designed using advanced parametric modeling and bio-digital fabrication, inspired by the natural growth patterns.
Water Pot: A small watering vessel for domestic gardening rituals.
Each large Water.POT can contain 500ml of water and allows for precise micro-doses to be delivered to small and medium plants, fostering daily rituals of water conservation and plants growth.
Rooting Pot: Designed for rooting cuttings.
Inspired by the cellular growth of cyanobacteria, this sculptural vase structure merges organic form and scientific utility, offering a biodegradable support for propagating saplings in a laboratory-style glass insert.
The Rooting Pot transforms the domestic environment into a hybrid space of cultivation and observation — merging the symbolism of natural growth with the rituals of scientific inquiry. At its center, a transparent glass test tube evokes the aesthetics of the laboratory, reframing propagation as a process of learning and experimentation. This interplay between nature and science supports the development of eco-literacy, encouraging users to engage with plant growth not just as decoration, but as an unfolding, observable cycle.
By making all stages of propagation — from cuttings to roots to transplanting — visible and integrated into daily life, the Rooting Pot nurtures a mindful, reflective culture of care, curiosity, and ecological awareness.
Algae Spoon: Essential in the Spirulina harvesting kitchen.
The Harvesting Spoon is a multitool for microalgae cultivation. It is designed with processes of algae gardening in mind, its base reimagining a secchi disk to monitor the transparency of a microalgae solution. Its flat top is designed to harvest algae from the bioreactors filter.
By combining two essential functions — monitoring and harvesting — into a single, minimal tool, it cultivates both practical engagement and ecological awareness. In using the spoon, individuals participate in photosynthetic processes, observe biological rhythms, and intervene in cycles of growth and transformation.
Community & Cyber-Gardening
This modular, design-driven products collection offers multiple entry points for users at different price levels and helps cultivate a biophilic lifestyle centred on care, experimentation, and ecological imagination. Each product is a portal into a growing PhotoSynthetica network, where users become cyber-gardeners — capturing carbon, sharing cultivation tips, exchanging biomass recipes, and visualizing their cumulative climate impact. In the near future, a generative, AI-powered, platform will support, Carbon data visualization, Cultivation diagnostics, Biomass tracking and uses, Community challenges and rituals.
“We are now more and more aware that our own nature is cyborgian and collective, and that our own identities extend far beyond the limits of our bodies. We are microbial ecosystems, we are algorithmic networks. It is a necessary consequence that our home becomes an extension of these ecosystems and networks. Our home is our microbiome.”
Prof. Claudia Pasquero, co-founder