Botanica Postumana - Una Collezione di Flora GM per Salvare il Futuro dall'Estinzione

By 2050, in a world deeply affected by environmental collapse, this thesis project imagines a future where genetically modified flora becomes a therapeutic resource for human survival.

The speculative project starts from the 32 invasive alien species of Emilia Romagna, transforming them into “post-human” organisms capable of mitigating localized pedoclimatic impacts. Volume 01 is therefore conceived as a pilot project for a potential national encyclopedic series. The thesis unfolds through multiple outputs: an encyclopedia – halfway between a herbarium and a florilegium –, a pocket-sized format designed for plant identification during excursions, a mobile-first website and a poster. The images, generated using text-to-image generative AI, propose a new form of botanical representation.

However, some mutations evolve in unforeseen ways, revealing the risks of a biology engineered to respond to crisis. "Botanica Postumana" thus becomes both a narrative and visual archive of the plants yet to come: the testament to
a science that, in its attempt to save humanity, has ultimately redefined the boundaries of nature itself.