emma sicher grows materials with microbes

Berlin-based biodesigner Emma Sicher is experimenting with materials grown by bacteria and yeast, turning microbial cellulose into everything from translucent packaging to edible food prototypes. Some of her samples resemble crinkled pieces of pink glass, while others form glossy, gelatinous spheres. Their unusual colors and textures emerge through fermentation, a process in which microorganisms help produce the material itself.

At the center of her practice is SCOBY, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast commonly associated with kombucha. As the microorganisms grow in a nutrient-rich liquid, cellulose-producing bacteria form a gelatinous membrane at the surface.…