Speculative design practices for more-than-human material imaginaries

The essay examines speculative design as a methodology for cultivating post-anthropocentric awareness, intersecting design culture, neo-materialist philosophy, and materials science. Grounded in the "Designing with More-Than-Humans" research project, the work challenges the traditional human-centered paradigm by investigating the fluid boundaries between organic and inorganic matter within the Anthropocene. The research presents three primary speculative practices: Six Kingdoms, Living Stone, and Interspecies Haptics. Six Kingdoms utilizes drone-captured immersive video and AI-driven narratives to illustrate the delicate interconnectedness of six ecological realms, emphasizing the vital role of non-human entities like minerals and bacteria. Living Stone employs 3D scanning and digital fabrication to reinterpret minerals as metamorphic, "living" substances, subverting their perception as passive, extractable resources. Finally, Interspecies Haptics utilizes multisensory, copper-electroformed assemblages to foster reciprocity through touch and sound, facilitating a "becoming-with" between humans and diverse material actors. These practices redefine the designer as a mediator within a plural ecology, where artifacts serve as "open things" that trigger divergent thinking and ecological care. Ultimately, the project advocates for a connectionist ontology that dissolves rigid distinctions between subject and object, fostering a relational understanding of the planet's intertwined existences.