Dominic Coles Saffirio
bsc architecture
University College London
Specialisms: Architecture / Material Innovation / Art Curation
Location: London, United Kingdom
Dominic Coles Saffirio
First Name: Dominic
Last Name: Coles Saffirio
Specialisms: Architecture / Material Innovation / Art Curation
Sectors:
My Location: London, United Kingdom
University / College: University College London
Course / Program Title: bsc architecture
About
I am half-British, half-Chilean, and specialise in researching and cultivating biomaterials. Over the past two years, my work has focused on exploring how kombucha cultures can transform waste into bioleather for use in construction. I am particularly interested in reinterpreting traditional crafts and industries through biomaterial cultivation and fabrication, and in exploring their relationship to the body and consumption.
The flayed circus: a speculative metabolism of waste to flesh
Haringey is at a crossroads. With its rich industrial heritage and vast nature reserves the borough is poised for a spectacle to bring the community together. Waste from the Beavertown Brewery and the disused canal is metabolised by a culture of kombucha bacteria and yeast, transforming it into a cellulose mat. This flesh-like material, once dried becomes a golden translucent leather, that slowly envelopes the scaffolding structure that houses the Jackson’s Lane circus troupe. Spotlights project the acrobats onto the building’s skin, a way of celebrating both the fleshy material of kombucha, the dynamism of the human body and how it moves within the space.