Professor Martyn Dade-Robertson

Martyn Dade-Robertson is Professor of Emerging Technology at Northumbria University, and Co-Lead of the Living Construction group where his research explores the theory and practice of biofabrication, engineered living materials, and new forms of scientific knowledge production. His work sits at the intersection of architecture, biotechnology, computation, and design research, combining experimental fabrication with conceptual frameworks for understanding agency, growth, and complexity in living systems.

A central focus of his practice-based research is biofabrication as a design methodology rather than a purely technical process. This work reframes fabrication as a dialogue with ‘agential matter’, where form emerges through the interaction of genetic rules, environmental gradients, and historical contingency. His research contributes to the theory of biofabrication by articulating concepts such as developmental time, phenotypic plasticity, and controllability, and by positioning design as an act of steering rather than direct control.

His broader interest in Bio Design has lead him to develop new research platforms including founding the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment (HBBE) and the Cambridge University press journal: Biotechnology Design,

Alongside this material and biological work, Dade-Robertson has developed a parallel strand of research in metascience, data visualisation, and research intelligence. He is the founder of Semantic Space and the creator of Macroscope, a large-scale analytical platform for mapping, analysing, and interpreting academic research landscapes. Macroscope combines bibliometric data, full-text analysis, and large language models to visualise disciplinary structure, institutional performance, thematic clusters, and epistemic gaps across research fields. The platform has been used to interrogate questions of research quality, interdisciplinarity, evaluation bias, and the limits of peer review, including experimental applications to REF-style assessment and strategic research planning.

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Alternative Leather Fashion, Yu, J., Paul, S., Zafar, R., Shi, Y., Ahmed, Z., James, A., Dade-Robertson, M., Zhang, M. 23 Jan 2026, Sustainable Fashion Materials, Singapore, Springer
• Formation Finding: Exploring Soft Cast MICP fabrication in a Water Kiln, Arnardottir, T., Wang, C., Haystead, J., Eiriksdottir, S., Zhang, M., Dade-Robertson, M. 1 Jan 2026, In: Biotechnology Design
• EmbryOme 1: Submerged Soft Cast MICP Fabrication, Arnardottir, T., Wang, C., Haystead, J., Dade-Robertson, M., Zhang, M. 13 Feb 2025
• EmbryOME3: Prototree, Dade-Robertson, M., Gilmour, K., Poma, M., Zhang, M. 2025
• Enhanced production of bacterial cellulose with a mesh dispenser vessel‑based bioreactor, Loh, J., Arnardottir, T., Gilmour, K., Zhang, M., Dade-Robertson, M. 1 Mar 2025, In: Cellulose
• Environmentally Conscious Hydrophobic Spray Coatings on Bacterial Cellulose for Sustainable and Reusable Textiles, Gilmour, K., Dell’Agnese, B., Bonney, G., Unthank, M., White, N., Scott, J., Sherry, A., James, P., Jiang, Y., Dade-Robertson, M., Zhang, M. 10 Jul 2025, In: Journal of Cleaner Production
• Living Assembly: Building with Biology, Dade-Robertson, M., Becket, R., Arnardottir, T., Ozkan, D., Birch, E., Hoenerloh, A., Tsim, L., Gilmour, K., Poma, M., James, P., Nair, S., Dominguez, A., Wei, H., Scott, W., Whiteside, C., Zhang, M. 2025
• Living Construction: Biofabrication of Sustainable Materials, Dade-Robertson, M., Arnardottir, T., Ozkan, D., Birch, E., Hoenerloh, A., Zhang, M. 2025
• Living Construction with EmbryOME 2, Dade-Robertson, M., Arnardottir, T., Ozkan, D., Hoenerloh, A., Birch, E., Wang, C., Tsim, L., Gilmour, K., Zhang, M. 12 Feb 2025
• The role of surface interventions in bio-welding mycelium based-composites, Raslan, D., Elsacker, E., Debnath, K., Dade-Robertson, M. 1 Jul 2025, In: Sustainable Materials and Technologies

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Oral presentation: Biogenic mineral precipitation and self-healing in lime-based mortars: showcasing its potential through the Healing Masonry prototype. 2025
• Invited talk: Living Construction From high concepts to prototypes and products 2025
• Oral presentation: Demonstrating the potential of biological self-healing for conservation through the healing masonry prototype. Presenter: Magdalini Theodoridou. 2023

Hui Laam Tsim From Biofabrication to Biosemiotics: Exploring the Translation of Biofabricated Microbial Patterns into a Shared Communicative Channel in a More-than-human System. Start Date: 01/03/2025

• Architecture MPhil October 28 2022
• Science MSc October 30 2015
• Architecture PhD October 30 2015
• Architecture BA (Hons) June 30 2000