Mijn weg naar biodesign | Lieke Kaspers | TEDxDenBosch

Quick Overview

Lieke Kaspers shares her journey into biodesign, detailing how her early curiosity about what she wanted to be evolved into a passionate pursuit of using mycelium, a fungal network, as a sustainable, living material for design, moving past initial confusion and fear to actively developing bio-based materials.

Key Points: Kaspers initially struggled with the question of what she wanted to be, considering princess, cook, or veterinarian. Her path shifted when she became fascinated by mycelium, the underground fungal network that connects nature and design. She attended workshops, including one on bio-based materials, which solidified her interest in exploring living materials. A pivotal moment occurred when she realized the potential of growing materials like mycelium on substrates like banana peels, which she later applied to her graduation project. Her project involved growing mycelium on an agar-agar substrate and then growing it further on banana peels for a better texture, which was a significant learning experience. The speaker emphasizes that the real excitement came from realizing that nature and design can work together, opening new doors for her career. She concludes that having passion and curiosity, even without knowing the exact answer, leads to unexpected opportunities and growth.

Context: Lieke Kaspers delivers a TEDx talk at TEDxDenBosch about her personal journey and discovery of bio-design, specifically focusing on the potential of mycelium (the underground root network of fungi) as a sustainable material. The presentation traces her transition from childhood career uncertainty to finding a true passion in material science and design that works in harmony with nature.

Detailed Analysis

Lieke Kaspers opens her talk by reflecting on the common childhood question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"—a question she often heard, whether it was princess, cook, or veterinarian. She admits that as a child, she always felt compelled to have an answer, but grew to realize the difficulty of committing to a single path when one does not yet know what they truly want to be. This uncertainty led her to explore various fields, including attending open days for everything from culinary arts to technology. The turning point arrived when she discovered the field of bio-design, particularly through an open day workshop focusing on bio-based materials. She became captivated by mycelium, the thread-like root network of fungi, recognizing its potential to connect nature and design. This led her to actively research and experiment, starting with growing mycelium on agar-agar and later successfully cultivating it on banana peels to achieve a desirable texture, which she used for her graduation project. This experience, driven by curiosity rather than a pre-defined goal, opened new doors, including being invited for a podcast interview and receiving an offer for a follow-up project focusing on mycelium. The core message is that embracing curiosity, even when facing uncertainty or initial setbacks (like her laptop crashing), leads to unexpected opportunities and the discovery of one's true passion, which in her case was realizing the collaborative potential between nature and design.