我们认为，将简化的“增长”概念奉为一切问题的解决方案，根源在于想象力的匮乏以及对资本主义逻辑的内化。这构成了人类与企业作为市场行为主体所表现出的短视、掠夺性行为的根本基础。我们认为，《物质 matters》（Matter Matters）旨在重燃想象力，并基于气候危机、碳中和目标以及我们共同推进社会正义的责任等紧迫现实，从一套新兴的价值观出发，重新审视材料与实践。

We believe it was a failure of imagination and the internalization of the logic of capitalism that makes a simplified notion of “growth” the answer to every problem. This is the foundation block of the myopic, extractive behavior of people and companies as the agents of markets. We see Matter Matters as a rekindling of imagination and an examination of materials and practices from an emergent set of new values, made urgent in light of the climate crisis, goals of carbon neutrality, and our shared responsibility to advance social justice.

我们认为，问题根源在于想象力的匮乏，以及对资本主义逻辑的内化——这种逻辑将简化的“增长”概念奉为一切问题的万能解药。这正是市场行为主体（即个人与企业）目光短浅、掠夺式行为的根本成因。我们视《物质即意义》（Matter Matters）为一次想象力的重燃，亦是一场基于新兴价值体系、对材料与实践展开的审慎审视；而气候危机、碳中和目标，以及我们共同肩负的社会正义推进责任，正使这一审视变得尤为迫切。 好消息是：过去十年间，公众对上述变革的接纳度与参与意愿已出现显著转变。用当下诸多营销人员的话说：“消费者正渴望这一切！”尽管这或许并非我们理想中的战斗号角，但它可能是我们当下理应接受、也必须倚赖的现实支点。它指向一种生物整合式（biologically integrated）的制造与建造方式——不仅支持生态系统，更力求在可行范围内对其加以增强。其路径已超越对自然的简单模仿，转向真正的有机融合，致力于在自然环境与建成环境之间建立更积极的协作关系，使之协同而非对抗生命体与天然材料固有的内在倾向。 本项目所探索的材料表明：以生物学为出发点的设计，天然促发跨学科协作，播下合作精神与审慎设计并存的未来之种。 《树宅》（Fab Tree Hab）由艺术、建筑与城市设计研究团体Terraform ONE以活体材料构筑，是一组专为人类与动物共栖而设的结构。该项目旨在打造可与地貌无缝融合的居所原型，因而以生物基替代材料取代工业材料——例如经蜂蜡或松脂密封处理的雪松或黄麻，以防止腐朽。结构外立面嵌有盛载动植物的生物塑料容器，彻底消融了室内外的边界。 此类大型尺度的生物设计雄心勃勃，常令人驻足沉思：这些材料能否融入现有基础设施？抑或我们必须从零开始重建？建筑、道路、人行道及其他城市基础设施，往往受困于地基沉降与不可持续建材的双重制约。倘若建材本身即可实现更可持续的生产，并具备更高柔性，又当如何？ 建筑之外的生物设计，或令人联想到Mycoworks研发的菌丝体皮革制品、住宅屋顶集成的水培花园，抑或由细菌与酵母共生培养体（SCOBY）培育而成、用于酿造康普茶的纤维织物。这些可见的生物设计实践，仅是该领域工作的一个侧面。《物质即意义》将其中诸多案例，连同其他大量作品一并呈现，使其与DHub馆藏的历史器物展开对话——既昭示充满希望的未来图景，亦重新诠释过往之作。通过将何者“重要”（what ‘matters’）置于全新语境中加以并置观照，我们得以以不同视角理解设计，有时甚至能发现那些曾被时代忽略的卓然洞见。 这正指向一个更光明、更具生物整合性的世界的关键之一：日益敏锐地觉察当下既有范式的局限所在。

We believe it was a failure of imagination and the internalization of the logic of capitalism that makes a simplified notion of “growth” the answer to every problem. This is the foundation block of the myopic, extractive behavior of people and companies as the agents of markets. We see Matter Matters as a rekindling of imagination and an examination of materials and practices from an emergent set of new values, made urgent in light of the climate crisis, goals of carbon neutrality, and our shared responsibility to advance social justice. The good news: it seems that in the last 10 years there has been a marked shift in people’s acceptance of and willingness to participate in the changes suggested above. In the words of many a marketer today: “consumers want this!” And while this may not be the battlecry we’re looking for, it may be the one we deserve and it will have to do. It points to a desire for biologically integrated approaches to making and building, while supporting ecosystems, even enhancing them whenever possible. It moves beyond imitation to incorporation, establishing a more active collaboration between the natural and built environments to work with, not against, the innate inclinations of living things and natural materials. The materials explored here illustrate how designing with biology lends itself to cross-field collaboration, sowing the seeds of a future ripe with cooperation and thoughtful design. Fab Tree Hab, fabricated from living material by art, architecture and urban design research group Terraform ONE, is a collection of structures designed for human and animal cohabitation. Aiming to prototype a dwelling that integrates seamlessly with the landscape, the firm replaced industrial materials with bio-based alternatives including cedar or jute sealed with beeswax or pine resin to prevent decay. Bioplastic tureens home to flora and fauna line the exterior of the structure, dissolving the boundary between outside and in. These large-scale biodesigns are deeply ambitious, and often create pause. Is it possible to integrate these materials into our existing infrastructure, or do we need to build from the ground up? Buildings, roads, sidewalks, and other urban infrastructure often suffers from shifting ground and unsustainable building materials. What if construction materials were more sustainably produced and flexible? Biodesign beyond architecture may make you think of mushroom leather goods produced by Mycoworks, the integration of hydroponic gardens on residential rooftops, or fabric grown from a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) used to make kombucha. These visible demonstrations of biodesign are but one facet of the work. Some of these works are brought together with many others in Matter Matters, staging dialogue with objects in the DHub’s historical collection, both pointing the way towards a hopeful future and re-framing the older works. By situating what ‘matters’ in a new light by proximity, we can see design in a different way, sometimes observing brilliance unrecognized in its time. Herein lies one of the keys to a brighter, more bio-integrated world: growing more sensitive to the limitations of our current conventions.