A Milieux Speculative Life Biolab x MaSH Lab Workshop

Hosted by Lucie Leroux (Laboratoire Textile, Montreal), in collaboration with Concordia University Co-investigator Members Alice Jarry and Miranda Smitheram.

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This four-hour workshop introduces bio-inspired folding as a research-creation methodology at the intersection of design, engineering, and living systems.

Moving beyond the representation of natural phenomena, participants will explore folding as a performative, speculative, and relational process that translates principles of growth, locomotion, deployability, adaptation, and responsiveness into material form. Through hands-on experimentation and an introduction to accessible techniques, participants will prototype paper and fabric structures, foregrounding folding as a medium for developing soft and adaptive applications.

This workshop is part of the Milieux Reimagining Research Workshop Series. A series of four hands-on session offering students a chance to expand their skill set through diverse exploratory workshops.

• Limited to 12 participants
• The workshop is free
• Materials and tools will be supplied.

Part of the New Frontiers in Research Funds (NFRF) project Origami-inspired Deployable Sensoriactuator Soft Robots, co-directed by Hamid Akbarzadeh, Alice Jarry, Miranda Smitheram, Marta Cerruti, and David Meger. The event is supported by the Hexagram Network.

This workshop is part of the Milieux Reimagining Research Workshop Series, a series of four hands-on session offering students a chance to expand their skill set through diverse exploratory workshops.

Questions : alice.jarry@concordia.ca

About Lucie Leroux

Trained in design and architecture in France, Lucie Leroux began her career in architectural lighting before moving to Montreal, where she discovered textile printing.

It was while working on large-scale projects such as the Shanghai World Expo that she began to take an interest in light and patterns. After working on costumes for Cirque du Soleil, she collaborated on several projects, ranging from fashion to documentary, presented throughout Quebec at venues such as the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Civilization in Quebec City. In 2012, she launched Laboratoire Textile, a creative space where she explores textile design through various research and creative projects. She has also been a lecturer at the Atelier Textile since 2014 and at the Centre des Textiles Contemporains de Montréal since 2024.

Cover image: courtesy of Lucie Leroux

Published on March 23, 2026

Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)