Currently, 3,654 plant species worldwide are classified as endangered. As humanity focuses increasingly on reaching new planets rather than safeguarding our own, this critical issue becomes ever more urgent.
To address this, we created Exo-Plantae a generative design project that raises awareness by envisioning fictional plant species. These imagined creations are categorized into four groups: blind plants, tropical plants, magic plants, and quantum plants.
Through this project, we aim to inspire reflection and action to protect our planet's biodiversity.
The Exo-Plantae project has cataloged a variety of species that have evolved unique mechanisms to thrive on these exoplanets. The researchers have classified these species into several categories, each with its own distinctive traits and survival strategies:
Resilora: Plants that heal themselves.
Oblivivine: Plants with amnesia.
Echoflora: Plants that bloom by listening to words.
Special Plants: Echolocation a physiological process for locating distant or invisible objects by means of sound waves reflected back to the emitter by the objects.
Walking through the Exo-gardens was like cleaning her glasses; it tasted of grape syrup and fuzzy words.
She new that when shouting an abrupt change in gravity would happen. It was the era of black holes. The no-go areas called to her, and imagining a new color in this gardens was like seeing a new sound emerging from a whale's skin.
When she returned home from her last exo-nautical expedition, she had a flower. It was the strangest species she had ever seen—a blind flower, this flower did not rotate with the movement of the sun.
She planted it so she could nourish it by talking to it about the sun.
The year is 2733, and researcher Laura Fonseca is at the forefront of a new exploration. The blind flower was a new specie for her encyclopedia of exo-plantae, she knew it was the only one of its kind.
Exo-Plantae embraces cutting-edge technology, utilizing advanced software to bring these fictional plants to life. Through generative design and digital tools, we explore new ways of visualizing and imagining plant species, blending creativity and innovation to amplify awareness of endangered biodiversity.
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Instituto Europeo de Design
Master in Graphic Design Focus in New Media
2024
Laura Fonseca
Professor:
Cosimo Lorenzo Pancini
2025