MATERIALDESIGN Design Research Symposium (18. July 2025)

Materialdesign expands and challenges the disciplinary boundaries and the understanding of design. Designing with materials is inherently a practice of researching, experimentation and crossing traditional disciplinary borders. The dialogue with materials encourages the exploration of novel forms, techniques, and fosters innovative outcomes – in this way, materialdesign drives the evolution of new paradigms and approaches in design practice and research.

The Symposium explores the evolving roles of materials design of generating knowledge through practice. By bringing together international researchers working in this scope, we aim to provide a holistic overview of this evolving field, to discuss the future roles of materialdesign in the design study.

Register here

Schedule

9:00 Doors Open
9:15 Arrival Bus Shuttle from Offenbach
9:30 – 9:45 Greeting Speech (Prof. Dr. Brigitte Franzen, President HfG Offenbach)
9:45 – 10:00 Greeting Speech ( Prof. Dr. Marlus Holzbach, Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling)
10:00 – 11:00 Keynote (Prof. Dr. Valentina Rognoli)
11:00 -11:30 coffee break and workshop tour
11:30 – 13:00 MATERIALDESIGN – Boundaries
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 15:30 MATERIALDESIGN – Capabilities
15:30 – 17:00 MATERIALDESIGN Perspectives
From 17:00 Shuttle Departure to
Rundgang at HfG Offenbach

Designing Materials for Transition: A Multispecies and Regenerative Future Through Materials
Keynote by Prof. Dr. Valentina Rognoli – Politecnico di Milano

As the climate crisis intensifies and the Anthropocene paradigm becomes increasingly inadequate, the role of materials in shaping future design scenarios is becoming increasingly important. This speech introduces the Materials Design for Transition framework, which is being developed as a research and pedagogical tool to guide material innovation towards multispecies care, ecological restoration and regenerative futures. Based on a multidisciplinary and practice-based approach, the framework considers materials to be active agents embedded in social, ecological and technological systems, rather than merely inert substances to be selected. Through selected case studies from the Materials Design for Transition research group, we demonstrate how the DIY Materials approach, involving material tinkering and biotinkering, can catalyse transformative processes, from the development of circular materials using renewable resources or waste to the design of biofabricated systems designed for coexistence. This speech calls for a collective reorientation of material practices in design, bringing together designers, scientists, educators and local communities in a shared pursuit to reimagine design for thriving futures.

Sessions

MATERIALDESIGN – Boundaries

Emma Sicher
Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten
Carolin Pertsch

MATERIALDESIGN – Capabilities

Malu Lücking
Steffen Reiter
Sofia Soledad Duarte Poblete

MATERIALDESIGN – Perspectives

Dr. Ziyu Zhou
Meri Zirkelbach
Valentin Brück

About

The Institute for Materialdesign and Advanced Material Studies IMD at the university of art and design in Offenbach works in the experimental and interdisciplinary intersection of design and materialization. The focus of the work is the role of the material in the design process. Material-appropriate design becomes „design with designed materials“.

The teaching area of Design Theory explores the epistemic dimensions of design research along its theoretical and practical interfaces.

Organizers

Prof. Dr. Markus Holzbach
Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling
Dr. Ziyu Zhou
Valentin Brück

Symposium Location:

IMD Institute for Materialdesign and Advanced Material Studies
Palleskestraße 32
65929 Frankfurt am Main

Rundgang opening location (afterwards):

HfG Offenbach
Universtity of Art and Design HfG Offenbach
Schloßstraße 31
63065 Offenbach am Main

After the symposium, we’ll head to our campus in Offenbach (roughly 1 hour from Frankfurt) for the opening of our annual Rundgang exhibition, while students present their projects from the past two semesters in the following two days.

Transport:

We’ve arranged shuttle buses between both venues on the day, one in the Morning, departing at 8:00 from the campus in offenbach, and one back to offenbach at 17:00.

Public connections include S1 and S2 train and regional trains to „Frankfurt Höchst“ station,
Tram line 11 to „Zuckschwerdtstraße“ in Frankfurt Höchst, and the Bus Stop „Auerstraße“.