In New York, visionary Dutch designer Joris Laarman unveils SYMBIO at Friedman Benda – an exhibition that feels less like a traditional design presentation and more like a glimpse into the future. Blurring the boundaries between nature, technology, craftsmanship and architecture, the show introduces a new generation of objects designed not only to exist within the environment, but to actively evolve with it.

After nearly a decade since his celebrated New York retrospective at the Cooper Hewitt Museum, Laarman returns with a body of work that is both intellectually ambitious and visually hypnotic. His latest creations explore the idea of regenerative design through advanced fabrication methods, biodegradable materials, and living organic systems. Yet despite the scientific precision behind the works, the atmosphere remains deeply emotional, almost dreamlike.

At the center of the exhibition are the extraordinary Symbio Benches – sculptural seating elements produced with recycled 3D-printed concrete capable of storing carbon instead of releasing it. Designed with intricate channels encouraging the growth of mosses and lichens, the pieces slowly transform over time, becoming living organisms as much as furniture. Their fluid labyrinth-like patterns create a surreal visual language somewhere between artificial intelligence and nature reclaiming space.

When Technology Becomes Poetic

Alongside the benches, Laarman presents works from his Ply Loop series, including a chair, console and shelving pieces whose flowing silhouettes seem almost impossible to construct. Crafted using innovative biodegradable bio-resins and digitally guided fabrication processes, the objects possess an extraordinary lightness and sensuality. They feel sculpted by wind rather than machines.

What makes SYMBIO particularly fascinating is the way it rejects the coldness often associated with futuristic design. Laarman’s universe is highly technological, yet profoundly human. There is warmth in the curves, softness in the materials, and optimism in the vision he proposes. Rather than presenting sustainability as sacrifice, he imagines a world where ecological intelligence can also be luxurious, emotional and breathtakingly beautiful.

For years, the Amsterdam-based designer has stood at the forefront of experimental design, collaborating with engineers, coders and artisans to push the boundaries of what contemporary objects can become. But SYMBIO may be his most relevant exhibition yet – arriving at a moment where the future of design is no longer simply about aesthetics, but about coexistence.

A Regenerative Vision of Luxury

Perhaps the true power of SYMBIO lies in the emotion it leaves behind. In a cultural landscape often dominated by anxiety around climate and technology, Laarman offers another perspective entirely: one rooted in harmony, reinvention and possibility.

The exhibition suggests that the future of luxury may no longer be defined by excess, but by intelligence. Objects that breathe. Materials that regenerate. Spaces that grow. A design language where innovation does not dominate nature, but learns from it.

And somehow, within this deeply conceptual world, Laarman still manages to create pieces of extraordinary beauty.

IMAGES – Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman Lab

Photography by Izzy Leung

For more information:
www.friedmanbenda.com