From Pollution to Pollination

Faux Flora

Faux Flora is an innovative design project by Justina Alexandroff that tackles one of nature's most pressing challenges: how air pollution is making it harder for bees and other pollinators to find flowers. Born from scientific research during her MA in Material Futures at Central Saint Martins, this project creates artificial flowers that act as "guides" for confused pollinators in urban environments.

Air pollution doesn't just affect human health; it's silently disrupting one of nature's most ancient conversations. Flowers have evolved to communicate with pollinators through complex scent signals, but city pollution is interfering with these chemical messages. When pollinators can't find flowers efficiently, entire ecological networks begin to collapse, affecting both wild ecosystems and food security.

The project builds on groundbreaking research from NICE Lab in Bangalore, where scientist Aditi Mishra discovered a "three-element rule": three key features that insects instinctively look for when recognising flowers: radial symmetry, sweet scent, and reflective surface. Faux Flora responds to this challenge by reimagining each of these traits using cutting-edge technology. Using parametric 3D design and printing, Alexandroff creates perfectly symmetrical flower forms with precise radial symmetry that insects instinctively recognise. Through chemical innovation, she incorporates carefully formulated sweet scents that can cut through urban pollution and remain detectable to insect senses. And employing nanocellulose materials, she creates reflective surfaces that mimic the natural light-bouncing properties of flower petals.

These artificial flowers don't provide nectar themselves; instead, they act as "lighthouses" that redirect pollinators towards genuine flower-rich environments nearby, helping to restore natural foraging patterns in cities. By uniting digital design, material science, and biomimicry, the project demonstrates how interdisciplinary collaboration can create practical solutions to complex ecological challenges, using technology not to replace nature, but to amplify its voice when it's being silenced by urban pollution.

Faux Flora was awarded The Mills Fabrica Innovation Award 2025, recognising its potential to address real-world environmental challenges through design innovation. The project will continue to evolve during a three-month residency at The Mills Fabrica's prototyping labs in Hong Kong.

In a world where cities are expanding and air quality is declining, Faux Flora offers hope through artificial interventions that help natural systems function more effectively, ensuring that the ancient partnership between flowers and pollinators can continue to thrive in our modern world. This commitment to supporting natural ecosystems through thoughtful design reflects a broader philosophy of recreating authentic connections to nature. Whether through innovative research that guides lost pollinators or by capturing the essence of growing things, like real extracts from tomato leaves and melons,  we can bring the living chemistry of regenerative agriculture into our homes. Discover how this philosophy extends into our Farm Candle. 

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References: Justina Alexandroff

Photography by Pascal Schonlau, Floral Set Design by Elektra Thomson