Sexy Biomaterials, Shared Consequences
Creating responsible desire in a world of living materials
What happens when sustainable materials stop behaving and start seducing?
Biomaterials aren’t just necessary alternatives to plastics or petroleum-based products. They are living systems: grown, cultivated, negotiated with. They shimmer, glow, age, respond and sometimes resist. Making them desirable is not a cosmetic choice, it is a cultural intervention. Because desire shapes behaviour. And behaviour shapes systems.
At this edition of the EHV Innovation Café, we explore what happens when sexy biomaterials meet shared responsibility. How can desire accelerate sustainable transformation without repeating extractive patterns? And what shifts when we stop designing materials as objects — and start relating to them as systems we take part in?
Featuring
Beatriz Sandini & Alessia Pasquini (Materia Futura)
Designing biomaterials that prove sustainability can be seductive, expressive and emotionally engaging — while remaining deeply connected to care, craft and living systems.
Sam Edens (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences)
Reframing biomaterials as living relationships — and developing the methods, spaces and practices needed to work with them responsibly at scale.
Expect bold insights, honest reflections and an open, welcoming conversation.
Whether you’re a founder, designer, technologist, policymaker, educator or curious do-er, this is your space to listen, learn and connect.
We are Inclusive by Default and Give to Grow.
Stop Making Materials. Start Making Relationships.
Moderated by Charlotte Grün
@ Kazerne Downtown Eindhoven
Walk in from 17:30, Start 18:00.
English spoken, Free entrance, Open to All.
Special Guests
Beatriz Sandini & Alessia Pasquini (Materia Futura)
Designing desire for biomaterials —connecting care, craft and responsibility.
Materia Futura is an experimental design and research project that redefines the visual and sensory language of sustainable materials. Through iridescent, glossy and brightly coloured biopolymers, they prove that sustainability does not have to look rough or understated.
By merging biobased chemistry, traditional craftsmanship and immersive storytelling, Materia Futura creates fashionable materials that are sensory, playful and emotionally engaging — while deeply rooted in ecological awareness.
Their work asks a radical question:
What if sustainable materials didn’t just perform better — but felt irresistible?
Beatriz Sandini
Translating indigenous knowledge and regenerative thinking into materials
Beatriz Sandini is a Brazilian-born designer and researcher based in Amsterdam, working at the intersection of material innovation, sustainability and speculative design. As a co-founding designer of Materia Futura, she leads research into biobased materials, regenerative systems and traditional knowledge. Her practice combines hands-on material exploration with experience in fashion, education and independent design, exploring how materials, systems and stories can shape more regenerative futures.
Alessia Pasquini
Bridging the language of fashion and luxury with bio-based material and craft
Alessia Pasquini is an Italian designer and artist based between Amsterdam and Florence. With a background in textile, embroidery and luxury fashion, her work focuses on material research and development rooted in craft expertise. As a co-founding designer of Materia Futura, she explores new material formulations and alternative textile solutions, reinterpreting traditional techniques through bio-based and experimental processes.
“In Materia Futura, we aim to create biomaterials that show sustainable design can be sexy, expressive and desirable.”
Sam Edens (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences)
Turning biomaterials into relationships rather than solutions
Sam Edens is a biodesigner and researcher working at the intersection of design, biology and culture. With a background in product design and cultural studies, Sam explores living and biobased materials such as algae, fungi, yeasts and bacteria. At the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Sam works on projects that rethink how materials are grown, cultivated and understood, and coordinates the Biomaterials Studio — a hands-on research environment where designers, students and researchers experiment with living materials.
Exploring how living biomaterials reshape our cultural, technological and ecological relationships — from the lab to education and practice.
Context
Sustainable materials have long been framed as a matter of restraint — modest in appearance, neutral in tone, careful not to ask too much. Not because they have to be, but because lowering expectations has often felt like the most responsible option.
But transformation rarely happens without desire.
As biomaterials become more expressive, colourful and sensorial, they challenge this logic. Living materials are not inert substances we simply design and deploy. They grow, change, degrade and demand care. They resist full control and disrupt the systems they enter.
Making biomaterials desirable therefore comes with shared consequences. It affects how they scale, how they circulate, and how people relate to them. This evening explores that tension — not to resolve it, but to sit with it.
Because if desire shapes behaviour, and behaviour shapes systems, then aesthetics are never neutral. They are signals, accelerators and cultural forces.
This Tech & Design Meetup brings together designers and researchers working at the forefront of biomaterials, biobased design and living systems. From iridescent biopolymers to algae, fungi and microbial cultures, they challenge the idea that sustainability must look raw, beige or boring — while refusing to ignore the consequences of making biomaterials desirable.
This evening is not about solutions, but about relationships.
Because the real shift is this: Stop Making Materials. Start Making Relationships.
Our city is full of hidden Tech & Design gems that fuel transformation. Now is the time to unite their superpowers. What visions do they hold for creating an attractive, sustainable world for us and future generations? What groundbreaking experiments and prototypes are they developing to boost our society forward? How can we learn from each other and contribute to this shared mission? Join us for an inspiring event where ideas and connections come to life!
Join the EHV Innovation Café Tech & Design Meetup
Do you want be a part of the Future of Eindhoven? Mark the event in your calendar and secure your free ticket here. Walk in is also possible but the seats for the debat are limited. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!
26 February 2026
17:30 Walk-in and networking, we’ll offer a free drink and a bite
18:00 Introduction to the Special Guests followed by a moderated debate
19:00 Networking
20:00 Meet-up dinner with the speakers
English spoken, of course