From plant fibres to peat particles, cellulose to lignin, fungi to carbon-neutral concrete– the use of a broad renewable material ecology from the field is becoming the feedstock of the 21st century materials revolution. On the one hand, the design of such renewable material streams are framed within today’s carbon framework as ‘substitutes’ within a hydrocarbon material economy and on the other, such materials are proposed in direct resistance to these very systems, as ‘alternatives’ to such ‘development’. The seminar explores the spectrum of biobased design histories and pathways within Arturo Escobar’s pluriversal framework. From the North Atlantic Scottish blackhouses, equatorial Tongkonan to the wetland ecologies of the Totora, the course will begin with an exploration of field materials through vernacular architecture and agricultural practices. The second part of the course will explore the relative levels of displacement of field materials from today’s material economies in response to empire –both botanical and industrial. Finally, students will investigate continuation of local narratives alongside the relocalization of global narratives of three materials - timber, biomass and fungi-based building material systems. In addition to weekly readings and two short assignments, the final project will involve the research and development of a theoretical Biomaterial Futures proposal outlined in the format of a New York Times front-page article.