Laura Maria Gonzalez

Laura Maria Gonzalez is an architect and multidisciplinary designer whose work spans the fields of generative design, computation, synthetic biology, and additive manufacturing. She is a teaching fellow in the Department of Architecture at MIT and a research collaborator at the MIT Media Lab. Her current work leverages emerging technologies in computation and synthetic biology to design and fabricate living materials that address the environmental impact of the building sector - opening a dialogue between humans and microorganisms.

Projects
Microbes Make Mountains
Microbes Make Mountains present a bold, imaginative journey into the wondrous world of microbial life and its fascinating connections with the mineral realm. These microbes are able to naturally harden without the need for cement or binder, presenting a unique opportunity to collaborate with these organisms across scales. The subtle yet powerful interactions between these tiny architects and the geological materials they inhabit result in a remarkable array of colors, textures, and structures. This project seeks to stimulate curiosity about the incredible potential of the microbial world and speculate on our shared future.

Microbes Make Mountains was supported by a grant from the Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT) with funding from the MIT Department of Architecture. Project collaborators: Justin Buck, Donald Galler, Tejumola Bayowa, Christopher Dewart, and Amir B Jahanbin. Keller Gallery Exhibition Team: Amanda Moore, Jim Harrington, and Joél Carela.