Remixing Materials¶
The seminar introduced us to the world of bio-based materials and upcycling, with an emphasis on hands-on learning and prototyping. Coming from a electronic/digital background, this was my first experience with designing with materials in the real world, which massively opened up my perspective and I feel almost overwhelmed by the amount of possibilities, and my inner questioning about all the materials we use and how different everything could have been if we had consciousness about using bio-based materials a few centuries ago when production of things started to accelerate.
Material narratives exercise¶
Choose 1 material around, 1 material from references and think of 1 ideal material and do the following: - properties (functional, technical & emotional) - describe what is it and their aspect/aesthetic (add photo to documentation) - what is the story behind them (who did them, why, where it comes from) - 2 possible applications for each
1) A material around - Coffee Husks¶
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The coffee husk is also referred to as coffee chaff and is the dried skin of the bean. During the roasting process, the husk falls off and has usually been left behind; sometimes used as a fertilizer or just thrown away with the rest of the trash. |
Story Behind:¶
Coffee husks have a long history of use in coffee-growing regions, where they were originally discarded as waste. However, in recent years, coffee husks have gained attention as a potential resource for sustainable materials, as they are abundant and renewable.
The use of coffee husks in material production can be traced back to countries such as Brazil and Vietnam, where they have been utilized as a source of fuel and fertilizer. In recent years, coffee husks have also been used to create a variety of products such as biodegradable packaging materials, composite materials for construction, and even beauty products.
The popularity of coffee husk as a material has grown as more people become concerned about waste reduction and sustainability. As coffee is a widely grown crop, coffee husks have the potential to make a significant impact on the materials industry if utilized properly.
Properties:¶
| Functional | Technical | Emotional |
|---|---|---|
| lightweight | recyclable | joyful |
| strong | water resistant | calm |
| papery | heat resistant | natural |
Possible Applications:¶
- Coffee cups: Actually https://huskee.co/ is doing just that, and they are beautiful coffee cups that elevate the joy of having coffee, due to a great harmony of the cup with the beverage. I have one of these cups and I love it. It’s nice to hold, keeps coffee warm, well designed that cleaning it is easy and sipping through it is perfect with a soft touch of the material on the lips.
- Building material: Apparently this is also happening. A construction company from Colombia has made an eco-friendly, low-income housing material from coffee husks. The company, called Woodpecker WPC, turns husks and other waste from coffee production process into prefabricated blocks used for construction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdXLG_W9a6I&t=1s
2) A material from references - Pine needles¶
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Pine needles is an abundant, overlooked and unwanted material which can actually be developed into a 100% bio-based, recyclable and compostable bio-composite material. |
Story Behind:¶
‘Cheer Project’ is a research done on pine needles by Gaurav MK Wali in Himachal Pradesh which is a state of India that is at the foothills of the Himalayas. It is known for its quaint valleys and snow-covered mountains. Most of this beauty is made by the pine forest, with a cover of about forty thousand square kilometres. But the state is facing menacing environmental complications caused by the fallen leaves of pine trees called pine needles. The imbalance caused by these needles has a huge impact on life and the entire ecosystem that far exceeds our imagination. From forest fires, water scarcity to unemployment. Beneath the surface, something huge has gone wrong and has not grabbed anyone’s attention but we can all feel its effect in our daily lives.
Cheer Project offers a sustainable and socially-viable solution to the environmental hazards caused by an overabundance of dried pine needles on the forest floor. Through a holistic approach, Cheer Project’s production process unveils the dormant potential of pine needles while also empowering indigenous communities by creating livelihood opportunities for them. The proposed modus operandi is circular: raw material is procured by indigenous communities from nearby pine forests, the collected needles are then processed into a fiber with low-cost machinery, this pine fiber is further mixed with natural binders to make the pine composite. This bio-composite material can be used by local artisans to manufacture sustainable products and revenue generated through their sale will further strengthen the rural economy while restoring the pride of the locals in their work.
Properties:¶
| Functional | Technical | Emotional |
|---|---|---|
| flexible | 100% bio-based | locally-built |
| water repellent | compostable | nice touch |
| fire retardant | recyclable | wood smell |
Possible Applications:¶
- Vegan leather applications: Shoes, wallets, bags…
- Isolation and covering: Table mats, floor mats, coasters
3) An ideal material - Clay-like glass¶
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Glass that you can shape with your hands and give a form which can be then fixed by freezing it. It can also be remelted after being frozen thus making it a 100% recyclable material. |
Story Behind:¶
Glass is a beatiful material but it’s limited by its rather complicated physical characteristics that allows it to be only shaped under high heat. By combining the properties of clay and glass, scientists were able to create a clay-like glass which can be shaped by hand. Unlike clay, the way to fix the shape is freeze it to less than 20 degrees celcius, and once frozen the shape is kept until it’s melted. More artists started working with glass and this led to glass becoming a creative craft that can be enjoyed from children to elderly.
Properties:¶
| Functional | Technical | Emotional |
|---|---|---|
| transparent | recyclable | smooth touch |
| durable | freezes at -20 degrees celcius | bright |
| stiff | melts at 250 degrees celcius | beautiful |
Possible Applications:¶
- Modeling with glass
- 3d printing with glass
End of Seminar Project¶
In our final project, we explored a bio alternative to silicon. All of us in the team were working with water in our interventions and one thing you recognise when you work with water tools and systems is that there’s a lot of plastic and silicon involved.
We wanted to address this problem and seeked a bio alternative solution: Talking to our instructors, we learnt that shellac - a material we did not know of- could be an alternative and we started looking for the material, which we found in a chemistry shop, and we started experimenting with it.
We made a number of explorations and put the material to use in different contexts. Some of them were quite successful, such as gluing high surface area materials together for a leak free connection or closing small cracks on plastic surface with shellac was actually stopping the water flow if applied properly.
We elaborated on the properties, strengths, weaknessses of the material and the recipes in our presentation below.