Thora Arnardottir

Dr. Thora Arnardottir completed her Master of Architecture at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, where early work with living systems set the foundation for a research trajectory centred on microbial processes in design. After working across interdisciplinary design studios, she began her doctoral research in 2018, focusing on microbial mineralisation and the role of biological activity in shaping material formation. Her PhD, completed at Newcastle University, established an experimental framework for casting with Sporosarcina pasteurii, demonstrating how mould configuration, flow conditions and cementation gradients co-produce form and providing the empirical basis for her later theoretical development of formation-finding and moulds as fields of influence.

She subsequently joined the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment (HBBE) at Newcastle University as a Research Associate in the Living Construction group, where she led microbial fabrication experiments for the early phases of the EPSRC Living Manufacture project and directed advanced biological facilities within the HBBE laboratories. During this period she also taught on the MA Biodesign programme at Central Saint Martins, integrating studio-led experimentation with foundational biological practice. Her research at Newcastle delivered two key advances: a novel bacterial cellulose fabrication method using mesh-based scaffolds and intermittent nutrient delivery, enabling controlled thickening and new structural possibilities; and the Water Kiln column prototype (EmbryOme 1), which demonstrated submerged MICP casting as an architectural technique shaped through nutrient flow, boundary conditions and microbial activity.

Currently, she works at Northumbria University within the Living Construction group as a Co-investigator on the second Living Manufacture grant. She also contributes to interdisciplinary initiatives including the EU Horizon project BIOARC, focusing on microbial mineralisation and bioregional material development for architectural applications.