Studio better matter

This year marks the launch of Studio Better Matter, a new interdisciplinary bachelor studio at Design Academy Eindhoven, co-led by Vlasta Kubušová (Crafting Plastics! Studio) together with Charles Gateau and Odin Visser (Studio LoopLoop).

Rooted in a shared commitment to sustainable and responsible design, the studio invites students to rethink the role of the designer within the broader context of material transformation. Positioned at the intersection of design, science, technology, and ecology, Studio Better Matter bridges laboratory research, field observation, and studio experimentation.

The program encourages a hands-on approach to bio-based, circular, and regenerative materials, combining practical making with critical inquiry. Students explore not only the technical and aesthetic potential of emerging materials but also the ethical and ecological systems they are part of.

From biopolymer blends and algae-based composites to mycelium, chitin, silk protein, and bacterial cellulose, the studio opens space for experimentation across scales and disciplines. It challenges students to question industrial paradigms and to imagine new material cultures grounded in care, responsibility, and long-term sustainability.

“We want students to see materials not as passive matter, but as active collaborators,” says Vlasta Kubušová. “Design today is not just about creating objects — it’s about transforming systems.”

Studio Better Matter opens this fall at Design Academy Eindhoven.

Read more about the ideas behind the studio in the interview with its founders → [link to interview].