Rasa Weber

Rasa Weber is a designer specializing in bio-based materials and interdisciplinary research. She is currently a researcher in the Interaction Design department at Zürich University of the Arts.

In her thesis Symbiocean, supervised by Prof. Dr. Karmen Franinović (ZHdK) and Prof. Dr. Karin Harrasser (University of the Arts Linz), she investigates the process of underwater mineral accretion and its sympoietic potential for creating ecological marine habitats. At the intersection of marine biology, anthropology, and design, her research explores the concept of Interspecies Architecture by examining sympoietic design processes that involve humans, animals, and microbial actors in the ocean.

Through the project Material Form Function, she extends ecological material development from the confines of the laboratory to the open ocean using interdisciplinary field methods, in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior. By exploring applications and production processes for post-extractive material development—from mining strategies to future methods of material growth—her work critically engages with the concept of active matter, addressing ecological and architectural challenges.