Memorial Pod
BioDesign Challenge — Silver Medal Recognition for Narrative and Concept
We begin life in water. What if our final journey could give something back to it?
Inspired by the ecology of whale falls, Memorial Pod reimagines remembrance as an act of promoting new life. Rather than occupying land or contributing to our environmental footprint, each vessel is designed to become part of a living marine ecosystem.
Project Type: Conceptual Design
Dimensions: 28” W × 23” D × 83” H
Collaboration: Jessica Kim & Matthew Zide
Visualization: Renderings created using Vizcom
To step outside my usual design practice, I joined the 2026 Biodesign Challenge with Jessica and Matt. This challenge brings together art, design, and biotechnology to explore the possibilities and implications of emerging biotech. Rather than focusing on land-based solutions, our team wanted to dive deeper into the ocean and explore how design could give back to marine life.
Let’s dive in together and see how Memorial Pod came to life.
01 — Ideation
Our research journey began when Matt shared his whale-watching experience in Florida. During the trip, a guide explained how whales from different regions can have distinct songs, offering clues about their origins and migration patterns. This sparked our curiosity and led us to explore whale ecology. We were especially fascinated by how whales contribute to carbon storage. And after death, their bodies can sink to the ocean floor and provide nutrients for marine life. This natural process is known as a whale fall and became the starting point for Memorial Pod.
Design Highlights: Beside ocean waves and barnacles, the pod’s form was inspired by the grooves along a whale’s body and the layered textures of coral. We also looked at Zaha Hadid’s architecture and how her designs use flowing curves to create movement through space.
What began as our curiosity about whale falls grew into a new way of thinking about life and remembrance. Just as a whale's final journey gives life back to the ocean, we imagined a resting place where an ending could become a new beginning. Through Memorial Pod, we explored how the act of saying goodbye could also be an act of giving back, allowing memories to live on as new life grows beneath the ocean.
Together, let’s dive beneath our surface world and see how new life can begins in water.
02 — Our Concept
