Research
Material Ecologies, Craft Futures & Radical Biomaterials
Kathryn Larsen’s research explores how algae, seaweed, shells and seagrass can shape new biobased construction methods, reconnect contemporary architecture with vernacular knowledge, and support ecological and cultural resilience. Through iterative prototyping, fieldwork, and collaboration with heritage specialists and scientists, her work positions materials as both engineered systems and cultural artefacts.
Her methodology combines material-driven design, research-by-design, craft knowledge, and oral histories, forming a practice that treats materials as living carriers of memory, climate knowledge, and identity.
Seagrass Architecture
Prefabrication & Contemporary Adaptation
Larsen’s foundational research investigated how historic eelgrass construction techniques could be reimagined for the 21st century. Instead of treating seagrass as a niche or nostalgic material, she explored it as a structural and architectural system.
Her contributions include:
two full-scale test pavilions in Copenhagen designed, financed and built with teams of former classmates
developing a prefabricated building element model to make seagrass construction scalable and adaptable in contemporary contexts
documenting and translating historic Læsø seaweed craft techniques into modern design language
promoting bioregional materials as viable alternatives to industrial building products
These prototypes demonstrated how seagrass can function within modular construction, reduce material waste, and reintroduce vernacular intelligence into the built environment.
Algae, Shell & Seaweed
Materials for the Anthropocene
In parallel, Larsen developed a series of experimental materials derived from macroalgae, shell and seaweed. This work investigated how traditional craft knowledge- from Danish eelgrass houses to Japanese seaweed harvesting- could inform contemporary biobased material innovation. Through iterative prototyping, she created algae-based binders, coatings, sheet materials, and pigments, exploring their potential as alternatives to petroleum-based products.
This research culminated in her master’s thesis at TU Delft in Architecture, as well a chapter for Being Algae (Brill, 2024), positioning algae as both a cultural material and an ecological design partner.
Venice Lagoon Studies (2021)
Invasive Algae as Architectural Material
In 2021, Kathryn Larsen created a fieldwork sketchbook for the Venice Architecture Biennale, made entirely from handmade seaweed paper and plant material gathered directly from the lagoon. The research examined the spread of invasive wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) and sargassum (Sargassum muticum), whose spores hitchhike on boat hulls before anchoring themselves along the city’s tidal edges. The work expanded into an investigation of Venice’s intertwined ecologies and infrastructures — from historic freshwater wells to the shifting gradients of the lagoon.
Through site drawings, species mapping, and material prototyping, Larsen documented how invasive algae colonize stone steps, boat surfaces, and intertidal ecologies. She later transformed harvested wakame into a form of “seaweed leather,” exploring its potential as a locally sourced, regenerative design material.
These studies form part of Larsen’s ongoing research into biomaterials, vernacular coastal knowledge, and the ecological impacts of human movement across marine environments.
Research-by-Design - Prototypes as Method
At the heart of Larsen’s approach is research-by-design: using full-scale prototypes as a form of inquiry.
Each experiment becomes a way to test construction logic, spatial potential, and ecological narratives through making.
This practice blurs the boundary between scientific research, craft, and architectural design, allowing materials to shape questions as much as they shape buildings.
The Seaweed Selfie Wall (2023)
In Larsen’s practice, full-scale prototypes function as active research tools that combine material testing with public engagement. The seaweed selfie wall - a modular installation developed for UIA World Architecture Congress 2023 served not only to test seaweed-based binders, surface treatments, and assembly logic, but also to examine how people interact with emerging biomaterials.
By inviting visitors to touch, photograph, and share the installation on social media, the prototype became a digital feedback system: a way to observe public reactions, gauge material acceptance, and gather informal user-input at scale.
Through this approach, research-by-design becomes both a technical and social method - using built prototypes to explore material behavior while also studying how communities respond to new ecological materials offline and online. In Larsen’s work, prototypes operate as laboratories, communicators, and cultural sensors, revealing how biomaterials can move from experimentation into public imagination.
Oral Histories & Vernacular Knowledge
Larsen often grounds her material research in oral histories and community memory. Her peer-reviewed chapter for the UIA World Congress investigates vernacular architecture in Vieques, Puerto Rico, through interviews, family stories, and inherited craft knowledge. This method informs her material practice as well: listening to coastal communities, craft traditions, and non-academic knowledge systems to understand how materials carry cultural meaning.
By documenting and amplifying these voices, she positions vernacular intelligence as a critical part of architectural research.
Where Materials Meet Memory
Across all material systems, Larsen’s work asks how architecture can emerge from ecological responsibility, cultural continuity, and locally grounded design. Her research has been published by Springer Nature and Brill, and continues to grow through collaborations with universities, municipalities, and coastal communities.