Tuur Van Balen (Belgium, 1981) uses design to explore the wider implications of emerging technologies. Through objects and interventions, he engages a wide audience in critical reflections on the possible roles of new technologies in our everyday lives. Since 2008, Tuur has been bringing design into the world of synthetic biology and vice versa. He's currently working on a project that proposes the use of feral pigeons and synthetic biology to create aesthetic interventions in urban metabolisms. The project is in collaboration with the Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation at Imperial College and is funded by a design-research grant from the Flemish Design and Architecture Council. Tuur has exhibited and presented his work within the UK and abroad.