AA alumna Ioana Man (AADipl 2019) has been named as one of the four designers in residence this year at the Design Museum. The 13th edition of this programme of design residencies sees an all female cohort responding to the theme of ‘Care’, with virtual design work leading to a physical installation at the museum.

For her residency, Ioana intends to develop a new body of work exploring how architecture can work with biology to create a more sustainable built environment that embodies health and justice. She intends to chart the ways in which current planning and construction practices create zones of biological inequality and to develop alternatives that can protect ecosystems, create community around urban nature and reduce environmental stressors. Ioana believes that if we were to care for microorganisms, rather than fear them, we could lead healthier lives in the city.

Her work continues to develop themes from her Diploma project,'The Architectural Exposome: cross scale, cross species and cross time', which sought to break down barriers of scale and understand the vibrant complexity of microbial life on which our ecological system depends. These provocative and intriguing ideas only seem more relevant and important in light of the events of the last year.

Ioana will be joining a talented group of designers for this year’s residency, including: Abiola Onabule, a London-based fashion designer creating clothing inspired by elements of her Nigerian cultural heritage; Cynthia Voza Lusilu, a designer and researcher using collaborative and transdisciplinary practices to explore care and repair as vehicles for supporting mental health, emotional wellness and sense of place; and Enni-Kukka Tuomala, a Finnish designer working on the anthropocenic empathy deficit.