Wilson School graduate exhibits capstone project at Dutch Design Week

Brian Patterson ventured to the Netherlands last month. While the country is known for its expansive tulip fields, Dutch Design Week again overtook the city of Eindhoven in late October.

Patterson, a 2026 graduate of the Wilson School of Design product design program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, presented his capstone project, BioFilix, at the event, adding that he was thrilled when it was selected.

“A chance to showcase a project internationally is truly humbling. I am particularly excited to have discussions about what else BioFilix can communicate for different people,” Patterson wrote in a statement to The Runner.

BioFilix is a wooden sculpture that monitors houseplants’ soil moisture levels through a wireless sensor without using LEDs or screens. As moisture levels change, the structure changes between an open form — about 60 by 40 centimetres in size — and a smaller curled version, giving a visual reminder that can make plant care more accessible.

While it started with houseplants, Patterson wrote that the technology can be used with any sensor type where binary information is needed.

“The realization I have had … is that there is a broader purpose to BioFilix — to raise the question: what is happening around us that is unseen?” Patterson wrote.

Dutch Design Week is one of Europe’s largest design events, with more than 2,500 designers and 335,000 visitors. This year’s theme was Rebel Authentic Work, or R.A.W., with projects focused on nature and sustainability.

“At a time when control is becoming increasingly dominant, [Dutch Design Week] turns its attention to what cannot be controlled: the raw. Because design does not begin with perfection, but with the urge to break open existing structures, explore, question and reveal new possibilities,” the organization wrote.​

Patterson wrote that he was inspired to create the interdisciplinary project to address rapid urbanization and discovered a rise in biophobia — the fear of other living organisms.

“I asked: how could we help people to reconnect with nature to improve their lives?” he wrote.

BioFilix’s spiral form and movement, which is made with mostly natural and repairable materials, is inspired by plant movement and the unfurling of a fiddlehead due to changes in environment. 

Patterson wrote that extensive research and mapping connections went into BioFilix, adding that taking courses at KPU about data visualization and ambient information helped him with his project.

“BioFilix is the embodiment of all my learning — I wanted to create an object that could communicate that nature isn’t scary in a clear, simple, and non-judgmental manner,” he wrote.

One of the many challenges Patterson faced was creating a moving product with no experience in mechanical actuation, but he wrote that he received a lot of support and encouragement from his instructors.

Now as a freelance collaborative designer, Patterson will continue to refine BioFilix, with plans to apply to a graduate program next year.

“I know that I need to continue learning, because exposure to a range of disciplines and ways of thinking is incredibly valuable as a designer.”​