Audrey Levy grows fuzzy fridge from bacteria to challenge cooling norms

Designer Audrey Levy has created Xero Cool, a refrigerator made from bacterial cellulose xerogel, as part of her graduate project How to Grow a Refrigerator. The compact, soft capsule uses a highly insulating and compostable biomaterial to replace expanded plastic foams. Levy, a Central Saint Martins (CSM) Biodesign graduate, envisions pairing the fridge with an electricity-free solar thermal absorption cooling system. The design challenges the aesthetic and environmental norms of refrigeration, which Levy notes accounts for 8% of global emissions. The fridge includes macrofluidic panels for cooling and a fruit bowl to encourage mindful storage. Levy argues that absorption refrigeration, though less efficient, avoids reliance on power grids and mined minerals. The project was completed in 2026 as part of her Biodesign degree at CSM.