vaguely amphibian critter of MEUW by Jaemo Lee and Lisa Schober
Three squishy, vaguely amphibian creatures appeared in dank, tile-lined room in the abandoned Baggio Military Hospital in Milan. Softly illuminated by the warm glow of overhead spotlights, the near translucent critters look as though they had been newly discovered in this little corner of Alcova’s eclectic exhibition on the occasion of Milan Design Week 2026. This is the work of MEUW (Socius novus), a project by Jaemo Lee and Lisa Schober that was exhibited as part of HEAD –Genève’s Master in Interior Architecture (MAIA) group show, No One Sees Them Like We Do. Notes on Animal Interiors. In the soft lumps and slick surface, their display puts into question what are the instigators and limits of human-animal bonds.
all images by Raphaelle Mueller and Sylvain Leurent, courtesy of HEAD – Genève
milan SHOW rethinks RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMANS AND ANIMALS
The course exhibition was led by Youri Kravtchenko (architect, professor at HEAD –Genève and founder of Bureau Ykra) alongside assistants David Valadomiu Ceballos and Marie Schild. MEUW sits among six projects that were developed to, ‘give rise to as many spatial narratives, each grounded in a fable understood as a speculative tool for rethinking relationships between humans, animals, and environments.’ In each of the works, which span pigeons, dogs, rats, and frogs, the students materialize a non-anthropocentric paradigm for these creatures to thrive, imagine, dance, and dwell in.
In conversation with designboom, Lee and Schoeber unpack the process behind their slippery friends and how they came to life in the exhibition. In fact, the beings they create are not in fact a pet or a robot, but objects that simulate companionship. The closeness felt with these pale pink objects is imparted through their texture, heaviness, and perceived cuteness. In their writing about the work, the duo notes, ‘the project questions whether intimacy can be simulated without domination, and whether replacing the animal might reveal both a desire for connection and an inability to sustain coexistence with the living.’
MEUW (Socius novus) is a project by Jaemo Lee and Lisa Schober
Lee and Schoeber in conversation with designboom
designboom (DB): What was the starting point for your research on this project? Are there any key references that motivated the work?
Jaemo Lee and Lisa Schober (JL + LS): The starting point of the project was a critical observation of the reptile pet industry, especially the way leopard geckos are bred, classified, and traded through their morphs: their skin colors, patterns, and eye colors. We were interested in how these animals are often transformed into collectible or decorative objects, almost like accessories, while their conditions of captivity remain highly artificial.
From there, we began to question why humans continue to desire and possess animals as pets, even when the relationship is often based more on projection, aesthetics, or status than on mutual emotional connection. One key reference was Carlo Mollino’s Walking Dragon from 1964, which imagined a non-animal companion as an alternative to the lap dog, shifting attention from the animal itself to the symbolic role it plays in human life.
We also looked at David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, especially the game pod as a strange body connected companion that is carried, cared for, and almost treated like a living being. These references helped us imagine MEUW as a speculative object that questions the desire to own, project onto, and emotionally attach to another form of life.
the object proposes an alternative form of relation that requires no care, no habitat and no responsibility toward a living being
oversized creatures prompt visitor interaction
DB: When you exhibited the work, how did you see audiences react to your creatures?
JL + LS: It was fascinating to observe people’s reactions. At first, many were hesitant to approach the creatures, but they were also clearly intrigued by them. An important aspect was helping visitors understand that they were allowed to touch and interact with them, as the haptic experience creates an immediate sense of connection.
Regardless of age, visitors seemed to have an instinctive urge to pet, hold, and care for the creatures. Once people picked them up, their own movements were transferred to the MEUW, making it feel as though the creature had come to life. The weight also played a significant role in this experience, the largest MEUW weighs nearly 12 kg, giving it a strong physical presence and further reinforcing the feeling of interacting with a living being.
colored 3d printed silicone makes up pet stand-ins
DB: Can you tell us a story about manufacturing the pieces? How did you make them?
JL + LS: They are made entirely out of colored silicone, without any internal structure. This means that all the movement, flexibility, and tactile feedback come directly from the material itself. The process began with designing a family of creatures in different sizes and forms, inspired by the evolving bodies of reptiles. We developed them using different tools, from sketching and 3D modelling to Grasshopper and AI.
We then created custom 3D printed molds for each body and carefully cast the final forms by hand using transparent silicone mixed with pigments. One of the most interesting aspects of the process was working with a material that hardens very quickly, which meant that we only had around 10 minutes to pour the silicone into the molds before it set. This created a very intense and time sensitive workflow. We spent a lot of time experimenting with different degrees of hardness, textures, and colors, as these qualities strongly influenced how people wanted to touch, hold, and interact with the creatures.
custom 3D printed molds were created for each creature’s body