Weronika Turowska
Profession
MA Biodesign alum
College
Central Saint Martins
Person Type
Student
Biography
Weronika is a Polish biodesigner and material researcher based in London. A 2025 graduate of MA Biodesign at Central Saint Martins, her practice focuses on living systems and climate-conscious material innovation.
Interview
Why did you choose to study MA Biodesign and why CSM?
As a designer, I have always been deeply connected to materiality. Over time, I began questioning what materials are made of, where they come from, and how they could be sourced more sustainably. This led me to realise that most manufacturers don’t disclose what goes into their materials, leaving us unaware of their environmental impact. That curiosity pushed me to start making my own materials: experimenting with kitchen waste biomaterials, kombucha cultures, and other living systems, which naturally led me to explore biodesign. I became increasingly aware of the enormous potential of working with biological systems to develop climate-conscious solutions, making the intersection of biology and design a clear path for me to follow.
What’s the most interesting project you’ve worked on so far? What made it so interesting to work on?
I’d say my graduate project "Payonke" has been the most complex and rewarding project I’ve undertaken so far. The process itself was an interesting journey: I brought together my Polish heritage, in-depth material research, and microbial cultivation to explore probiotic bacteria as a living, responsive material. Watching the material evolve: shifting in movement and behaviour, allowed me to think beyond static matter and consider materials as more agential, dynamic entities.
Alongside this, I researched Slavic folk craft, particularly the tradition of making hanging mobiles. Movement plays both a symbolic and functional role in this craft, and I was interested in reviving it through microbial motion. Through this work, I also began to reflect on how living materials might reconnect us with the unseen microbial world, encouraging us to see environments not as sterile spaces but as sites of interdependence and cohabitation. Moreover, the partnership with Dr. Emily Birch at HBBE’s Living Construction Hub has provided invaluable insights, further informing the development of my project.
Another significant part of the project involved designing and building tools to support the microbial material. I designed and constructed a humidity chamber to enable the material’s successful responsiveness, and I built a DIY “lab shed” where I could apply bacterial spores to various substrates. This hands-on experimentation has directly informed my current MEAD Fellowship project, which explores how designers and artists can work with biological processes and laboratory practices outside of traditional lab settings.
Lastly, having my project "Payonke" exhibited at the BioFab Fair (Biofabricate) during the London Design Festival 2025 was an incredibly special moment. Witnessing the biodesign industry grow and evolve firsthand gives me hope that it will continue to expand and guide the future of design in meaningful and responsible directions.
What important piece of advice would you give to students thinking of studying this course?
If you’re interested in climate-focused solutions and are willing to work hands-on with living systems, biodesign can be a very rewarding path. Be prepared to experiment a lot: try different methods, materials, and organisms, and don’t worry if things fail before they work. Much of the learning comes through testing and iteration rather than having clear answers from the start. At the same time, keep returning to the bigger questions: why you’re designing, what impact your work could have, and what responsible futures might look like. The course is demanding but offers the space and tools to explore these questions in depth, so staying curious, patient, and open to collaboration is key.
What has been the highlight of your CSM experience so far?
The facilities are the kind you realise you miss once you graduate. The workshops are exceptionally well-equipped, providing all the tools and spaces to experiment, expand, and push the boundaries of our practices. The true highlight for me was the Grow Lab, a space where I learned how to cultivate, grow and care for microbes. I must acknowledge the incredible staff and technicians, whose guidance made complex scientific processes feel accessible and even effortless.
What are your career aspirations? Where would you like to be in five years time?
For now, I’m particularly interested in material research and development, especially working with living and bio-based systems. I’d like to continue building a practice that sits between design, science, and making: developing new materials, testing them, and understanding how they can be applied in real-world contexts. Alongside this, I’m increasingly engaged in participatory design and in translating emerging biotechnologies into meaningful material, cultural, and industrial applications. I also design, organise, and facilitate workshops that bring biodesign closer to wider audiences, creating accessible ways for people to engage with living materials and understand their potential.
In the next five years, I hope to be working within a collaborative environment: whether a research lab, design studio, or cross-disciplinary collective, where I can contribute to projects focused on regenerative material innovation. I’m interested in roles that combine hands-on experimentation with critical thinking around how these materials can be responsibly implemented and communicated. Ultimately, I’d like to position myself as a biodesigner-researcher working on material development while continuing to run workshops and public-facing activities that make biodesign more accessible and widely understood.
What is the most important thing you've learnt on the course so far?
One of the most important things I’ve learned is how to stay focused and grounded while working across disciplines, and to accept that the processes I’m engaging with are rarely linear. When you work with living systems, unpredictability is part of the practice, so what might look like failure often becomes valuable knowledge for the next iteration. Biology has a way of humbling designers: it forces patience, care, and adaptability, but that’s also what makes it such a rewarding path.
Links
View Weronika's website to see her work
Follow Weronika on Instagram
Connect with Weronika on LinkedIn