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Material Dialogue - Designblok 2016

Three Dutch designers will present their work at the Designblok 2016 in Prague from the 27th to 31st of October. They will also participate in the master class Happy Materials, working together with three Czech designers to engage in a dialogue.    

Photo: Radek Šviderský

Material Dialogue

Material Dialogue is an international collaboration between het Nieuwe Instituut and Happy Materials / MatériO Prague, coming from the international network concerned with the innovation in materials, design and sustainability. During Designblok 2016, the designweek of Prague, three Dutch designers will present their work and debate with Czech designers on the following question: how can the innovation of materials, inspired by nature, make a difference in the 21st century? All six  designers are involved in research and development of new materials through far-reaching experimentation. In their research they work with all kinds of materials such as salt, energy, silk, PLA plastic, pumpkin, yarn and cement. Using 3D-printing techniques they develop resourceful solutions for contemporary environmental issues. Creating new perspectives on sustainable production methods though experimentation, these designers contribute to the smarter and cleaner use of materials.  In this way, they reinforce and improve a circular ecosystem.  

This is an international collaboration with Happy Materials / MatériO Praguewithin the  international network of innovation in materials, design and sustainability. Within the framework of the event Material Times - the magazine of MatériO Prague - wrote an article. The participating designers were Eric Geboers, Marjan van Aubel, Michelle Baggerman, Eliška Hlavačková, Ondřej Trnka, Tereza Dvořáková and Hana Němcová.

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What happens of the leftover salt after desalination?

Eric Geboers – Salt Pup

We lose 12 million hectares of land to encroaching deserts every year. The Salt project is a biomimetic attempt to utilize locally available resources in order to create a scalable solution to combat desertification. The premise is to pump up seawater to arid areas and use the sun’s energy to distil the valuable fresh water in greenhouses. The resulting salt is then turned into a building material and used for construction, creating a ‘closed ecosystem’ with no waste.

Photo: Radek Šviderský
Photo: Radek Šviderský

how to charge your phone with a sun illuminated glass?

Marjan van Aubel – The Energy Collection

At the heart of my collection is a series of innovative materials, from foam porcelain to integrated solar cells based on the properties of color. Intuitive and inquisitive, I believe interdisciplinary practice is the way forward for design. The Energy Collection is tableware that collects light energy from its direct surrounding. The system is based on solar cell technology that is integrated in the objects.

Marjan van Aubel. Photo: Radek Šviderský
Marjan van Aubel. Photo: Radek Šviderský

Can plastics reinforce silk?

Michelle Baggerman – Woven Light

Textiles are becoming increasingly technological and I’m very interested in exploring how the old and the new come together. Woven light project was a design research at DESIGN-Lab of Kyoto Institute of Technology in collaboration with Japanese traditional silk industry to develop new scenarios for this traditional material. By combining 3D printed PLA with fine 14 denier silk I have created new properties for silk that reinforce the material both structurally and visually and opens up new opportunities of use.

Michelle Baggermans. Photo: Radek Šviderský
Michelle Baggermans. Photo: Radek Šviderský

What is the material potential of an ordinary squash?

Eliška Hlavačková – Pumpkin

The food industry doesn´t know how to process the pumpkin pulp. It is just dumped into waste. I turned it into a biodegradable and almost translucent foil, which can be further layered into solid and durable desks up to 1 centimeter thick, which are similar to the poplar plywood. It is easy to press it into a mold to create 3D objects. The key benefit of this material is its simple discarding. My experiment was supervised by Jitka Škopová from the Studio of Textile Design at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague.

Eliška Hlavačková. Photo: Radek Šviderský
Eliška Hlavačková. Photo: Radek Šviderský

Who settles in charred concrete?

Ondřej Trnka – Burnt Thread

Since my childhood, I’ve always been fascinated by shelters, caches, and various hiding places built by ants, bugs, and spiders. I tested a system of paths created with the help of a textile thread, which I coiled, lined up and tied to later cast it in concrete. When the concrete hardened, I set the thread in fire and to burn it out. The resulting perforations make concrete walls more attractive and serve as a seeding ground for greenery. My experiment was supervised by Jitka Škopová from the Studio of Textile Design at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague.

Ondřej Trnka. Photo: Radek Šviderský
Ondřej Trnka. Photo: Radek Šviderský

Can plastics degrade just in a couple of months?

Tereza Dvořáková and Hana Němcová – Frusack

In the Czech Republic, each of us uses up to 400 single-use Plastic bags a year. These ultra-thin bags get recycled only rarely. Frusack is an alternative to the single-use bags, which we use every day to buy fruits and vegetables. We managed to develop a bioplastic, a polylactic acid based material known as PLA, which has unique properties. It is durable, washable, light and transparent. Frusack is reusable and compostable.

Tereza Dvořáková and Hana Němcová. Photo: Radek Šviderský
Tereza Dvořáková and Hana Němcová. Photo: Radek Šviderský

International Materials & Design Network

Within the advancing international network of innovation in materials, design and sustainability, a growing number of new collaborative projects is being set up. Earlier this year Het Nieuwe Instituut developed a program concerning urban self-sufficiency during the international multidisciplinary designfestival FADfest 2016 (Barcelona). Three Dutch designers worked together with three Spanish designers and three international designers/architects in the program: 'The material Farm, agriculture, food&living organisms: a source for new materials’.

More international collaborations include working visits by Dutch designers and international activities for the New Material Award.

Het Nieuwe Instituut and international partners organize these activities to realize more market expansion in the design field, in so doing contributing to the internationalization of Dutch design practice.    

International Materials & Design Network

all activities