Amphibios is a synthetic organism, a techno-biological companion that lives, evolves and interacts with the environment. It questions the dichotomy between natural and artificial, inert object and living artifact, exploring the very meaning of life.
It is a new species. It manifests mutualistic behaviors, caring for its ecosystem while requiring care in return. It is neither possessed nor controlled by individuals but cared for by the community through a collective commitment that generates responsibility and interdependence.
At an eidetic level, Amphibios embodies its amphibian nature - from above, the recourse to marine-inspired biomimetics are evident, while its lateral profile echoes urban architecture.
Its techno-biological structure is composed of innovative materials, living and inert, meticulously designed using local, renewable and recycled resources derived from materials that would otherwise become waste. The living materials are assembled partly through microbial activity, a new category of hybrid materials called HLM (Hybrid Living Materials). The microorganisms are selected through extensive research to create self-sufficient and mutualistic consortia, capable of forming the material but also of bringing benefits to the ecosystem through their intrinsic capacities. Thanks to these characteristics, Amphibios can produce energy through the metabolic activity of its materials. It also performs roles of bioremediation, biosensing, antifouling and glows at night through bioluminescence.
Internally it is conceived as a probiotic holobiome, a uterine-shaped space where inhabitants can recalibrate their bodies and minds. The living materials in the cabin breathe, adapt and envelop passengers in a transcorporeal experience where the rhythms of different species, of the hybrid ecosystem, synchronize, transforming the transport experience and the perception of travel time. The urban context thus enriches itself with new typologies of spaces, new forms of locus amoenus, capable of providing wellbeing to the entire community, both during transport and in moments of rest.
Imagining protopian habitats
Amphibious exists 25 years in the future in a city located in the northern Adriatic Sea.
In this scenario, the urgency and crises of climate change are addressed through regenerative and resilient urbanism.
Challenges are met with the desire and will to collaborate with nature through an integrated living system, designed primarily for care, coexistence and multispecies connection rather than accumulation and profit.
A new approach to production systems.
The factory where Amphibious takes form and comes alive operates within a system where the production is decentralized, aligning with endemic ecological limits and community priorities rather than generating surplus and profit.
Its principles are founded on care: care for the people who work there, for the materials used and for the environment in which it operates. Inside, biolaboratories dedicated to citizen science offer firsthand experience of co-creating with nature. The space provides research facilities, cultural events, and educational activities that engage the community.
Most emblematic is where Amphibious's living material takes shape: the incubator, conceived as a lush, luminous greenhouse where visitors witness an extraordinary process—the genesis of Amphibious.
Amphibious emerges from extensive scientific research alongside artistic and design experimentation. Given its complexity, we present this work as speculative design and bioart—an artistic installation accompanied by video documentation and a comprehensive research volume. This work serves as a starting point for collaborations with research institutes, foundations and companies to transition from design to prototype.
