Biology is well equipped in exploiting a large number of out of equilibrium processes to support life. A complete understanding of these mechanisms is still in its infancy due to the complexity and number of the individual components involved in the reactions. However, a bottom up approach allows us to replicate key biological processes using a small number of basic building blocks. This methodology has the added advantage that properties and characteristics of the artificial cell can be readily tuned and adapted. Working between biophysics, materials science and synthetic biology we reimagine and translate the physical phenemona which drive out of equilibrium processes in cells into novel, robust and dynamic systems for synthetic biology applications.