SDI Lab @ KIFA
Sustainable Space Design for Inclusive Innovation
At SDI Lab, we believe that the most profound innovations arise when you look at the world—and the universe—with new eyes. Designers today face challenges more complex than any generation before them: climate, resource scarcity, accessibility, and the need to support life beyond Earth.
Our mission is to cultivate designers who can meet these challenges with courage, creativity, and systems-level thinking.
We study the intelligence of natural ecosystems.
We learn from the unforgiving constraints of space.
We unite diverse design disciplines to shape solutions that are regenerative, inclusive, and future-ready.
SDI Lab isn’t just a classroom. It’s a launchpad for new ways of living, building, and imagining.
Biology as Teacher
Our work begins with nature’s frameworks: closed-loop cycles, adaptive structures, multifunctional materials. Students translate these into regenerative strategies for products, spaces, and habitats.
Space as Catalyst
Space challenges every assumption about the human body. It pushes students to prototype, test, iterate, and imagine systems that must work flawlessly for everyone—systems that often find their greatest impact back on Earth.
Design at the Intersection of Nature, humans and Space
We believe the future of design emerges from blending three forces:
Natural systems that model efficiency and resilience
Space exploration that demands radical solutions
Universal Design that guides an inclusive and socially responsible approach to design
Human-Centered Innovation
By bridging natural wisdom and space engineering, students create inclusive, sustainable solutions that address real-world needs while preparing for humanity's multi-planetary future. This synthesis produces designers who think holistically, innovate responsibly, and develop technologies that serve both people and planet.
Examples we explore:
Biomimetic materials for earth and space habitats
Inclusive design for everyday and extreme environments
Circular economy products and systems
Adaptive technologies for Earth and space
Regenerative design solutions
Educational Approach
SDI Lab offers a two-semester design education experience that integrates sustainable thinking, inclusive design principles, and space-inspired innovation.
Through hands-on projects, systems thinking, and real-world applications, students develop the skills and mindset to create responsible, innovative solutions for complex challenges.
Esther Bryce
Founder / Interior designer
Lianne Wilson
Broker
Jaden Smith
Architect
Jessica Kim
Photographer