Radical Softness in the lab
At Friedman Benda in New York, where designboom met Joris Laarman ahead of the opening of Symbio, the Dutch designer described his work as a study in material intelligence and collaboration with living systems.
‘The Symbio Benches are experimental works exploring how concrete can become symbiotic,‘ Laarman tells designboom as he points toward a future where design coexists with its environment instead of just occupying it — exemplifying the concept of Radical Softness which designboom is currently exploring.
For Laarman, that shift belongs to what he calls the ‘Symbioscene,’ a speculative era after the Anthropocene, ‘where nature and technology merge into something actually sustainable.‘
Across the exhibition, this idea takes two distinct material forms: 3D-printed concrete Symbio benches designed to host moss and lichen are displayed alongside the Ply Loop series, where engineered wood is pushed into fluid, computational curves through a biodegradable resin. Symbio is on view at Friedman Benda’s New York gallery until July 24th, 2026.
Symbio benches on view at Friedman Benda. image by designboom
joris laarman rethinks Concrete as habitat
The Symbio benches by Joris Laarman carry the immediate presence of landscape objects. Their long, rounded forms sit low to the ground, with surfaces cut by dark green channels that look somewhere between natural markings and digital code. Those lines are more than surface pattern.
‘The pattern itself is very three-dimensional, which means it also helps drain water,‘ the Dutch designer explains. ‘Underneath the first layer, there are hollow channels integrated into the structure.‘
Those channels hold a bio-active substrate developed with Respyre, a Dutch startup working with Mosscrete. He describes the material: ‘It’s a porous type of concrete that retains water very effectively and was originally designed to support moss growth.‘
Over time, the benches are meant to gather life across their recessed markings, supporting mosses, lichens, insects, and bird activity. The object becomes a small ecological platform, shaped by both computation and weather.
Joris Laarman at Friedman Benda, image by designboom
A Turing pattern in concrete
The surface language of Symbio comes from reaction-diffusion systems, also known as Turing patterns. Laarman traces their symbolic weight back to Alan Turing’s research in the 1950s, when early computational thinking began to describe patterns already visible across living organisms.
‘There is something symbolic in merging natural growth patterns with computer language,‘ he says. ‘You find these patterns everywhere in nature. They feel organic, but also highly technological.‘
That symbolic overlap gives the work its charge. Joris Laarman uses the computer here as a way to approach natural behavior, while the concrete moves toward softness through porosity, water retention, and biological use. The benches suggest that advanced fabrication can operate as a host, giving built matter a role within larger living cycles.
Symbio benches on view at Friedman Benda. image by designboom
Toward carbon-storing construction
The environmental research behind the benches reaches beyond gallery scale. Laarman is testing additives that allow concrete to store carbon, a direction he sees as crucial for construction.
‘Once concrete becomes carbon negative, it permanently stores carbon instead of emitting enormous amounts of CO2,‘ he explains, noting that concrete currently accounts for around 8% of global carbon emissions.
The studio is exploring mineralization processes within cement as well as materials such as biochar, which can increase the amount of stored carbon. Powder-bed printing expands that research because it can work with different aggregates, from lighter mineral mixtures to darker carbon-rich compositions. For Joris Laarman, the bench becomes a proof of concept for architecture, one that could eventually inform facades and and public spaces.
Ply Loop Shelf (Wall) on view at Friedman Benda. image by designboom
Architecture for more species
This architectural ambition appears in Laarman’s idea for future facades shaped around multiple forms of life. ‘We imagine buildings that create a biophilic experience, where nature actively becomes part of the architecture,‘ he continues. The concept includes openings for birds, wild bees, bats, and other species, with dimensions adjusted to their needs.
Here, Symbio moves into a broader conversation about hospitality in the built environment. The project asks what happens when a building component is designed for human touch and nonhuman habitation at the same time. ‘The Symbioscene is really about working together with nature. With these symbiotic objects, we try to collaborate with nature in a very literal sense.‘
Ply Loop Chair 2.0 on view at Friedman Benda. image by designboom
Plywood with a second life
The exhibition’s second body of work, Ply Loop, brings the same thinking indoors through wood. At Friedman Benda, the series includes a chair, console, freestanding bookcase, and wall shelf, each made from oak and walnut veneer with a thermoset bio-resin. Their forms appear almost impossible for plywood, with thin surfaces bending into loops, shells, and flowing structural spans.
Laarman is direct about the contradiction inside engineered wood: ‘Many people assume wood is always natural, but engineered woods often contain huge amounts of glue, especially plywood and chipboard.‘
Conventional construction timber can be difficult to recycle and is often burned at the end of its life. By working with Plantics, Laarman uses a fully recyclable and biodegradable resin that gives plywood a different material future.