Researchers at the interface of biology with the quantitative sciences, like physics and chemistry, have in the past years been pursuing a new approach towards a fundamental understanding of living systems, termed “bottom-up synthetic biology”. The underlying idea is that only a radical simplification and abstraction of a biological cell will allow us to decipher the distinctive features of life, because even the simplest life forms on earth have accumulated a huge degree of redundance, in order to remain viable in a hostile and competitive environment. Thus, in order to arrive at a self-sustaining minimal reaction system with the ability to replicate and evolve – a minimal living system - we likely need to build it from scratch. In this context, my group approaches the bottom-up assembly of a minimal functional machinery to accomplish the spontaneous division of a vesicle-based artificial cell. I will discuss our latest results on the successful reconstitution of key components of the bacterial divisome towards autonomous assembly, positioning and contraction of a minimal division ring.