Reimagining Human-Plant Coexistence through Speculative Design

Our speculative design project ventures into the realm of possibilities where plants are no longer perceived as passive entities but as active participants in a shared ecological narrative with humans. What if plants were granted the same rights, care, and emotional attention that we reserve for humans and animals? How would this shift redefine our relationship with nature, and what artifacts might emerge from such a world? Through this project, we aim to challenge existing paradigms and propose alternate futures and presents where plants are treated as equals.

Batool’s Speculation: Plants as Rights Holders

2040 Plants March- Speculated

In my speculative design concepts, I explore a future where plants possess equal rights to humans, including access to care, protection, and emotional support. This future imagines a cultural shift where plants are no longer mere aesthetic or ecological elements but integral beings with needs recognized and addressed by society.

Concept 1: The Winter-Resistant Plant Blanket

This concept revolves around the idea of protecting plants from seasonal adversity. Inspired by the fragility of plants during harsh winters, I propose a blanket woven from gelatin strips that I am developing in the lab. These strips, made from a sustainable and biodegradable material, are customized to create thermal insulation for plants, ensuring their survival through freezing temperatures.

However, this blanket is more than just a physical covering. Embedded with speculative biotechnology, it adapts to a plant's unique biological needs, dynamically regulating temperature and moisture levels. The blanket symbolizes a future where caring for plants during winter is as commonplace as humans donning coats or insulating their homes. This narrative reflects a society that values plant life on par with human life, where technological advancements prioritize coexistence and mutual well-being.

Concept 2: Antidepressants for Plants

Environmental degradation, habitat loss, and neglect can harm plants, not just physically but also metaphorically emotionally. While this concept leans into the speculative, it draws parallels between human emotional health and plant vitality. I propose creating algae-derived antidepressant strips packaged in biodegradable carrageenan bags.

These strips provide plants with nutrients and restorative compounds to counteract the stress caused by human actions such as deforestation, pollution, and climate change. This design embodies the idea of plant therapy, addressing both the visible and invisible scars humans leave on the natural world. In this future, plant care includes emotional rehabilitation, treating plants as beings capable of experiencing and recovering from distress.

Both ideas leverage biomaterial innovation for sustainability and cultural commentary. They are packaged using cutting-edge techniques inspired by Material Driven Design (MDD) and Material Activism, emphasizing not just functionality but also storytelling. The instructions for these products are written in a speculative language, imagining a world where plant care is as sophisticated and ingrained in society as human healthcare practices today.

Santi’s Speculation: A Different Past for a Different Present

While Batool’s ideas focus on future possibilities, my speculative lens explores an alternate present shaped by a different historical trajectory. Imagine if humanity had developed a cultural and ethical framework that prioritized plants as much as animals. This shift in focus would have led to a world where plants occupy a central place in our care systems and societal infrastructure.

Speculative Present: Plant Psychology and Surgery

In this imagined present, plants receive the same level of attention and therapeutic care as animals do today. Institutions such as plant therapy clinics would exist to address the physical and psychological trauma plants endure. Neglected plants from “broken households” could undergo therapy to recover from years of mistreatment, paralleling the role of psychologists and social workers in human contexts.

Physically damaged plants would be treated through innovative procedures, such as grafting synthetic yet organic materials to heal broken stems, leaves, or flowers. Advanced self-assembling biotechnologies could enhance plant resilience and allow for the modification of genetic traits, fostering a new era of plant-human symbiosis.

In this speculative present, plants are no longer passive recipients of care but active collaborators in ecological and technological progress. Their enhanced agency creates a world where human advancement and a return to nature are not mutually exclusive but intertwined. This vision also addresses broader themes of environmental ethics and challenges the anthropocentric hierarchy that dominates current thought.

Materials, Techniques, and Philosophical Frameworks

Our project draws heavily from the methodologies and philosophies outlined in Speculative Everything by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby. This book provides a foundation for using speculative design as a tool for imagining alternate realities and critiquing existing systems. By engaging with speculative narratives, we aim to create objects and scenarios that provoke thought and inspire new ways of perceiving human-plant relationships.

The materials for our designs are rooted in the principles of sustainability and circular economy. For instance:

• Gelatin Strips: These strips are made in the lab, emphasizing biodegradability and adaptability. They serve as the foundation for the Winter-Resistant Plant Blanket.

• Algae and Carrageenan: Algae is the primary material for antidepressant strips, while carrageenan, a plant-based gelatin alternative, forms the packaging. Both materials underscore our commitment to eco-friendly innovation.

• Biotechnology: Speculative self-assembling technologies and genetic modification methods are imagined as the enablers of advanced plant care.

From a methodological standpoint, we incorporate insights from Material Driven Design (MDD) to ensure that the materials and forms we create align with the speculative narratives they support. Techniques such as DIY material fabrication and biodegradable packaging innovation allow us to bridge the gap between concept and tangible artifact.

Course Readings and Connections

This project synthesizes themes from the course readings, particularly:

• Design for Future Coexistences: The concept of symbiotic relationships between humans and plants aligns with the readings’ emphasis on designing for shared futures.

• Material Activism: By creating sustainable biomaterials and exploring their speculative applications, our project contributes to the dialogue on how design can address environmental challenges.

• Speculative Everything (Chapters 1 and 6): These chapters guide our approach to using fiction and imagination as tools for exploring social, ecological, and ethical possibilities.

Our speculative scenarios are not just isolated thought experiments; they are grounded in contemporary concerns about climate change, biodiversity loss, and the need for a more inclusive ethical framework. By blending speculative design with material exploration, we aim to create artifacts that invite audiences to reimagine their relationship with the natural world.

Final Thoughts and Next Steps

This project is an evolving narrative that challenges the status quo of human-plant relationships. Through our concepts, we aim to provoke thought, spark dialogue, and inspire action toward a future where plants are not just seen but heard, cared for, and valued as equals.

As we move forward, we will refine our designs, experiment with materials, and document our journey through sketches, prototypes, and written reflections. These efforts will culminate in a speculative artifact store, showcasing our work and inviting audiences to immerse themselves in this reimagined world.

Together, we ask: What if plants were not silent? What if we truly listened and cared? Let’s explore this possibility, one design at a time.