Green Screen

Living Algae Sport Visor

The outcome of this exploration is a sport visor meant to protect human skin from harmful UV rays with algae that produce UV-absorbing pigments, proposing a mutually beneficial relationship wherein algae are maintained throughout their life cycles and speculatively nourished by human sweat. Most visors are constructed from solid masses of plastics, foams, and textiles. We set out to use as little material as possible while still providing structure for a fairly fragile material. At the center of the project brief was the idea of “living pigments.” During our research, we identified compounds in algae that have UV protective qualities and topical antioxidant benefits. We aimed to sustain a living algae culture in our visor that could extend these qualities to its wearer. We also wondered how the algae might be enriched by this relationship and had found that several metabolites in eccrine human sweat secreted from the forehead are used in algal metabolisms. While speculative, this was an important aspect of our work ethic and informed the potential care flow that could be built around the product.

MY ROLE

Concept Development

3D Modeling

Rapid Prototyping

Algal Experimentation

Model Fabrication

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TEAM

Anastasia Glass

Alice Offenback

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PROJECT DURATION

April - June 2025

6 weeks​