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Julia Lohmann is Professor of Contemporary Design Practices at Aalto University and the founder of the Department of Seaweed, a transdisciplinary community of practice investigating the potential of macro algae as a design material. She uses her artistic practice as research through design to explore the ethical and material value systems underlying our relationship with flora and fauna. Lohmann is developing empathic, collaborative and co-speculative approaches to design. She promotes more-than-human-centric, regenerative practices benefitting socio-ecological systems. On this subject she co-curated the exhibition Critical Tide at the Design Museum Helsinki in 2019, focussing on the ocean. In Aalto ARTS, Lohmann teaches the MA courses Critical Design Practices and co-teaches Materials and Living Systems together with Anna van der Lei. Together with Professor Lucy Davies and Sanni Saarimäki she is also teaching TAI-E3161 - Field Ecology Intensive. Lohmann's research interests include regenerative design, biomaterials, transdisciplinary communities of practice and museums as co-speculative places of design. She is a researcher in the Academy of Finland funded Biocolour research project on natural dyes, a creative practitioner in the EU Horizon 2020 funded CreaTures research on how creative practices can help achieve the SDG goals and a researcher in the Nordplus funded Nordark research project that investigates non-human needs in relation to after-dark outdoor lighting in Nordic countries.
Julia Lohmann is Professor of Practice in Contemporary Design at Aalto University and founder of the Department of Seaweed, a transdisciplinary community of practice investigating the potential of macro algae as a design material. She uses her artistic practice as research through design to explore the ethical and material value systems underlying our relationship with flora and fauna. Lohmann is developing empathic, collaborative and co-speculative approaches to design. She promotes more-than-human-centric, regenerative practices benefitting socio-ecological systems. On this subject she co-curated the exhibition Critical Tide at the Design Museum Helsinki in 2019, focussing on the ocean. In Aalto ARTS, Lohmann teaches the courses Critical Design Practices and Design Practices in Social Context, the latter in cooperation with KTH Stockholm and Kristineberg Marine Research Station in Sweden. Lohmann is also researching natural dyes on biodegradable materials as part of the BioColour research project funded by the Academy of Finland.
Since 2004 I have run my studio Julia Lohmann Studio first in the UK, then in Germany and since 2018 in collaboration with Gero Grundmann in Finland. From 2011-2018 I was appointed professor of design foundations at HFBK Hamburg in Germany. I grew up in Germany and received my design education in the UK, first in my BA in Communication Design, then the MA at the RCA in Design Products. In 2018, I completed my doctoral studies in Innovation Design Engineering at the Royal College of Art in London in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum. You can download my thesis 'The Department of Seaweed – Co-Speculative Design in a Museum Residency' here: https://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/3704/
I was Professor for the foundation in design at HFBK Hamburg, Germany. I am a PhD graduate from the Royal College of Art in London, UK.
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