We only recently marvelled at Stefan Schwabe's vision of a future of microbial manufacturing. However Jannis Huelsen has trumped him by actually fashioning a cellulose stool using genetically modified bacteria acetobacter xylinum.

The bacteria are used by German biomaterials company Jens Polymer whom Huelsen collaborated with to realise his vision of bioengineered furniture. When fed a diet of plant sugar the bacteria secrete cellulose. In their day job these bacteria are used to manufacture medical devices, such as circulatory system implants. For his project Huelsen fashioned a wooden stool and then immersed it a bacteria rich broth. Over the course of a week the bacterial sediment accumulates on his stool.

Once removed from the broth the stool is coated in gross gelatenous cellulose. It's necessary to sterilise and dry out the stool (as it's been constructed with living microogranisms). From there it's a simple matter of hewing away the excess bacteria remnants to create the stool you see below.

The collaboration signposts the potential for synthetic biology to usher in a new level of craft: working with microbes to create the material affords the designer a dizzying level of control over the final properties of their medium. Huelsen and his collaborators concede there is room for improvement on his initial prototype (such as post-process reinforcement) but the potential for a biologically derived 'house-of-the-future' is certainly eye opening.