Maria Kuptsova is an artist, architect and educator working at the seam of biology and computation — cyborganic objects, synthetic sculptures, hybrid interfaces and living architectures, cultivated rather than manufactured. Her work ARBOR.Pilae was presented at the Biennale Architettura 2025, Natural Intelligence, curated by Carlo Ratti.
Alongside large-scale iterations, a small number of ARBOR pieces exist as collectible objects — cast from recycled wood sawdust and PLA, some carrying a living mycelium interface, each biodegradable and capable of storing and re-metabolising carbon. Pieces are released individually; acquisition is by direct inquiry rather than open sale.
Selected recent and upcoming dates, kept current by hand — for the live schedule follow @kuptsova.
Maria Kuptsova (Мария Купцова) is an artist, architect and educator. In her practice, she creates cyborganic objects, synthetic sculptures, hybrid interfaces, bio-digital drawings, biophilic designs and living architectures. She works with a diverse range of techniques and methodologies including bio-digital fabrication, bio-computation, material programming, multi-scale robotics, micro and macro photography and videography, remote sensing and 3D scanning, among others. The array of material systems and processes she explores varies from digital bits to synthetic composites, living materials and organic-based filaments, as well as traditional media such as clay, ceramics, glass, wood, crystals, paints and polymers — working not only with analog but also machine-based techniques.
Maria is a Ph.D. candidate at the Synthetic Landscape Lab, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, and received her master's degree at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona. She has taught and conducted research at IAAC Barcelona, the University of Innsbruck, the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, the Digital Futures Colloquium, the "Art&Science" Center at ITMO University in St. Petersburg, the Strelka Institute in Moscow, the Higher School of Urbanism in Moscow, and Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou. Together with a team, she initiated and curated the master's program "–Da Digital Art" at FEFU. She is the founder of ARBOR.art, the studio through which her cyborganic timber works are developed and released.