3d Printed Wearables, Neri Oxman and her team from MIT Media Lab have created Wanderers: An Astrobiological Exploration, which consists in 3d printed wearable items that are designed to enable humans to survive on other planets. Each of the pieces from the collection is created with different plastic densities, each of them being designed for a particular planet.
Courtesy of Mediated Matter Group
With the help of synthetic biology, the pieces would be used to create micro-habitats that would help people explore other planets, without being exposed to lethal situations, with the aim of creating augmented extensions to our bodies and dissolving the line between the environment and ourselves. “Each piece intends to hold life-sustaining elements contained within 3D-printed vascular structures with internal cavities,” said Oxman.
Courtesy of Mediated Matter Group
“Living matter within these structures will ultimately transform oxygen for breathing, photons for seeing, biomass for eating, biofuels for moving and calcium for building.” The Mushtari piece is created for Jupiter, and it imitates the shape of animal intestines, being positioned around the lower abdomen, designed for purposes such as absorbing nutrients. Zuhal is created to resist on vortex storms from Saturn, being covered with a surface that converts the plant’s hydrocarbons to edible matter, while Otareed is designed for Mercury, and is formed by an exoskeleton helmet for the head.
Courtesy of Mediated Matter Group
The fourth prototype is Al-Qamar, which is fitted around the neck and shoulders, and is considered a “wearable biodome”, with its exterios algae air purifying system, and capacity to produce or store oxygen. Beautiful prototypes, beautiful concept, beautiful design, these are the perfect words to describe Neri Oxman’s collection.
Lidia Ratoi is a Romanian architect, educator, and researcher, currently serving as Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Architecture. With a background in both architectural design and theory, her work explores the intersections of technology, media, and politics in the built environment. Ratoi’s research focuses on the aesthetics of power, surveillance, and virtuality, with a strong interest in critical and speculative design. She has practiced internationally and exhibited in venues across Europe and Asia. Passionate about challenging conventional narratives, Ratoi integrates digital tools with philosophical inquiry, encouraging experimental approaches to architecture. Her contributions continue to shape emerging discourses in design and architectural pedagogy.