University of Macau

Acoustic Symbiosis

FINALIST Project

LAI CHI NGOU TINA, Wang Xiaoyu, Zhang Jinhua, HUANG YUHAO, LI Xinyue, Luo Jiawen, CHEN SIYI, Zhou Qing, Wei Lanyu

Silver Medal Recognition for Narrative and Concept

Acoustic Symbiosis is a bio-digital design system that transforms urban noise into carbon-negative acoustic panels. Through an interactive platform, environmental soundscapes are analyzed using FFT and bio-inspired algorithms to generate custom 3D molds. Agricultural waste inoculated with mycelium is shaped within these molds, creating lightweight, biodegradable panels tailored to local acoustic conditions. By combining computational design and biological fabrication, the project reimagines noise as a resource, producing sustainable materials that enhance indoor environments and acoustic well-being.

Dr. Hongtao ZHOU is a Full Professor and Design Programme Leader at the University of Macau. Previously, he served as Shanghai Oriental Distinguished Professor and Vice Dean at Tongji University College of Design and Innovation, and Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. He is a Scientific Director of the Permanent Collection SaloneSatellite and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. 

Hongtao ZHOU is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and scholar of Art, Design, and Built Environment. His work intersects art, design, architecture, science, and social innovation. He has exhibited his work at Centre Pompidou, the Venice Biennale, and the Milan Triennial. 

Atticus Sims is Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Research in Artificial Intelligence and Design at the Faculty of Design, University of Macau, and founder of the Creative Intelligence Lab. Previously, he was specially appointed Associate Professor at Kyoto Seika University and founder of Kyoto VR, producing immersive media for UNESCO World Heritage sites in collaboration with Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Sims is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator working at the intersection of generative AI, design, and contemporary creative practice. His research draws on traditions in computational creativity and information aesthetics, examining questions of agency, authorship, and aesthetic experience in machine-generated work. He is co-founder of Studio Pollen, an art-science studio spanning Hong Kong, Macau, and Kyoto.

Dr. Michael Whittle is an Associate Professor of Contemporary Art in the Department of Arts and Design. His research-based artworks, inspired by scientific and technological discoveries, reflect both his unique background in biochemistry and fine art and his dedication to fostering public understanding of these fields. His recent projects include a large-scale installation at the 2022 Changwon Sculpture Biennale, developed with an astrophysicist at NASA, and “Perpetual Motion” (2020), exploring movement and memory with Nobel laureates in neuroscience. He co-founded “Pollen,” an AI-powered creative studio in Kyoto, and co-initiated the Art Futures Asia Prize.