materialscout

This week we have been inspired by new ideas & #materialinnovation for #interiors. These projects disrupt the pre-existing concepts of living spaces and what they could be - from the environmentally holistic to the futuristic ….. Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment (HBBE) is proposing a Biohybrid Textile Architecture. Intersecting #textile manufacturing, #biofabrication and computational architecture made with regenerative materials. Using knitted Herdwick wool, waste sawdust and paper sludge all combined with a fungal #mycelium growth. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has engineered a sound-suppressing #silk to create quiet spaces. This hair-thin fabric contains a special fibre that vibrates when a voltage is applied which interfers with sound waves. Making a lightweight, compact, and efficient mechanism to reduce noise transmission in a large room. Temporary structures made from local waste and natural materials. These materials are left modular and un-modified to enable them to be reused. A positive construction cycle is where spaces are deconstructed and the materials returned to the source, leaving a minimal trace. Max Space is developing expandable habitats for #space. Made using ALUULA Composites textiles which were originally developed for wind sports. The textile is incredibly light and strong, making it possible to create a large living and working area at a fraction of the weight and transport costs. We hope you enjoyed just some examples of the inspiring projects we came across recently 🏠 #SustainableDesign #InteriorDesign #FutureLiving #RegenerativeDesign #Bioarchitecture

This week we had the pleasure of visiting The Sustainable Angle #FutureFabricsExpo in London. The show was split into 2 main sections; #fashion and #hometextiles / #interior design. Amongst these rooms, it was packed with rails of large samples, innovation showcase tables and huge infographics on models and systems thinking for renewable material flows. The main room was filled with all things; yarns, fabric constructions, dyes, skins, and trainers...just to name just a few. A conversation that is coming up more and more is about the impact of materials on #humanhealth as well as environmental health; from microplastics now being found in our blood to the toxicity of our interiors. We also saw a catapult of new innovation and thinking around materials for #regenerative or #planethealing objectives. 🛋 Delyth Fetherston-Dilke explained to us the issues around upholstery foams for the furniture industry in the UK. Constraints and misalignment with government legislation on toxic fire retardants are leading to #furniture being un-recyclable. Her display showcased an impressive array of natural alternatives from #horsehair to #hemp and spelt out what is going on with this issue. 🍷 We spoke to Lulu Harrison about her low-energy process to make glass, derived from regional & renewable feedstocks. This green luxury glassware has an amazing circular story as the glass is made from the leftover sediment from winemaking in Kent, UK and mussel shells from the River Thames in London. 🐂 What stood out was the sheer amount of promising start-ups who have found better alternatives to animal leather hide by utilising an array of organisms and/or waste. From Nature's Fynd fermented fungal protein leather to leather made from a leaf Nova Kaeru or collagen, waste plant biomass, mycelium or new proteins. Some stand to be a like-for-like replacement with a look & feel that mimics traditional #leather grain and others seek to induce a new category of aesthetic, celebrating the organic natural characteristics of these new skins. Other highlights were Bcomp Ltd new linen composites, MYCOTEX by NEFFA & Nanoloom. One of the best things about his show, and what makes it worth the visit, is being able to touch and handle huge samples of these materials. Where, unfortunately, most of the time you only get to see them through a computer screen or a small swatch. Definitely not one to miss for new learnings of the future of fabric - we are looking forward to 2025 !

Last week we visited the Central Saint Martins, University of The Arts London degree show to scout for the latest #materialinnovations from the students. Of particular interest for us were the #MaterialFutures and MA Biodesign courses. The show is now wrapped up but here is a selection of the ideas that stood out to us… 🏔 Jeehyeon Yang has discovered some impressive properties in flavonoids; naturally occurring UV and water protective compounds found in special species of alpine flora. These have been formulated to replace damaging petrochemical ingredients for alpine #sportswear. 🧪 From mountains to the sea #ChristopherBellamy has created living material based on #bioluminescent algae which glows when touched. Collaborating with artisans from Polynesia and The Francis Crick Institute he has created drums and swimsuits using this fascinating bio-material. 🪙 Parth Bondre's work explores a type of #biomining using hyperaccumulator plants. These are found in on the polluted soils of a historical lead mining site in Derbyshire. He explores the idea of creating coins from these remediated metals. 🌿 Suryanka Bagri work shows us the potential of the renewable wonder plant Shole Stem. #Sholapith, known as Indian cork, is a lightweight foamy material that grows abundantly in waterlogged areas of West Bengali. Used traditionally in handicrafts, her project looks at new applications for this undervalued material in interiors, packaging and architecture. 🪨 Tipaponr Tharawongthawat looks at factories of the future for the #marble industry. Utilising #cyanobacteria which metabolises into calcium carbonate, the same matter that makes up marble. Could this be a renewable alternative to the quarrying of marble? Of course, there were many other great projects we could mention. We look forward to seeing where these ideas go after the show. #CSM24 #Biodesign #graduateshow #exhibition #DesignInnovation #biomaterials #biologyanddesign #design

A short visit to ISPO yesterday (2 hours, including a talk about LCA) was so inspiring. We discovered many innovative materials at the Materials Lab curated by Studio Nima. Amongst others, a fascinating textile made of Agava waste (after it is distilled to become Tequilla). Alhezgo produces yarns and pigments from the tequila waste. Mushrooms, as you know, are a big hype. And yes, we’ve seen a lot of #mycelium leathers and textiles…but Fraxina had something fresh and innovative in their solution, as they managed to create a “mushroom foam” that really looks like a yoga mat (SymbioMat). A #veganleather alternative based on hemp fibres was presented by Revoltech, and another made of orange and cacti fibres that are bi-products of the agri-food and cosmetic industries, by Ohoskin. They are blending these fibres with bio-plastics (bio-attributed PVC, at least they are transparent about it) to create a stable material for fashion and luxury brands. Made in Sicily from local bi-products.  Climafibre is the graduation project of Jess Redgrave (Central Saint Martins) that uses sunflowers to develop textiles, dyes and a hydrophobic coating for the fashion industry. Using #enzymes, she developed a unique process to isolate cellulose fibres from sunflower stems, which are then spun into yarns. The #hydrophobic coating is made from a by-product of the sunflower oil industry, providing protection for natural fibres. Pigments are extracted from various parts of the plant, and used as natural dyes. A truly fantastic use of all the plant’s parts and abilities. Another plant that was used as a fermentation base for bacterias to produce cellulose from is the coconut. Here, Malai.eco is using this cellulose in combination with natural fibres from banana stem, hemp and sisal, to create #biocomposites. On our way out, we visited the ISPO award winners, where a few products caught our attention. An inflatable helmet which can really be folded nicely and conveyed a feeling of security, a foldable set for your outdoor cooking, a coffee-paste packed in a tube for lightweight trekking - you only need to add water or just eat it with a spoon (we tried, it’s yummy!). ISPO ends today, so if you have a chance, go get some inspiration and energetic vibes!

We have been reflecting on the Rethinking Materials conference and what we learned. It was a great event, not only to discover innovative #material start-ups, but to shed a light of all aspects of the material landscape and value chain. Over the 2 days we heard from experts in their field to un-pack the challenges and successes of developing or specifying bio-based and circular materials for new products.  The show leaned toward the #packaging industry, #biomaterials & #plastics but there were speakers and insights from the fashion, footwear, automotive and design industries as well.  Topics over the 2 days covered; waste streams & #recycling, the impacts of new legislations, #AI as a tool for material development, scaling up, the bio-economy, investing and finance.   After these jam-packed 2 days, we left feeling hopeful that there are so many great people, ideas and new technologies to help reduce or resolve our negative environmental impacts, whilst also being economically feasible. We need to start implementing them on a commercial scale! ‘The risk of not trying to innovative with new materials & technology is overtaking the risk of introducing something new to the business and it not working’ Kim Fenn (Elemis)

Some take aways from the fantastic 2-days conference Rethinking Materials. Thank you Ellen McLeay, Rachel Myall, Sophie Ruane-Lewis, Michaela Mutinelli Da Silva and the entire team, for creating this event and growing it to new levels! #rethinkingmaterials, #circulareconomy #materials #technology

Materials and sustainability news, launches and articles that we have found interesting lately…. 🌏 Issue No.1 of #FutureObservatoryJournal by the Design Museum's green research arm. The digital publication explores ecology futures and #bioregioning. It is beautifully presented. We particularly liked the article by Sharon Prendeville on the extraction of critical minerals & metals.  https://bit.ly/3JsfNUB 🖐🏽 The Materials Science Research Centre The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has launched a Sensory Materials Library, AiLoupe. Generated by AI which acts as a fabric identification tool. This is an interesting addition to the typical criteria of assessing materials on technical performance only, this holistically reviews materials for their sensory experience, offering objective and subjective information.  https://lnkd.in/eTvKixnW 🧪 Caroline Jacob’s article in Fast Company questions where the biomaterials industry is headed and how it can scale? Peppered with a recap from the Biofabricate Summit 2024.  https://lnkd.in/ejkKJtyP #materialresearch #sustainabledesign #biomaterials written by Karoline Healy  

#material #insights from Milano Design Week! We managed to avoid all the queues (refusing to stand in any) and the unnecessary scan-our-QR-for-registration tricks, but it took us time to find exciting stuff…here a few highlights: Zona Tortona, the BASE showcased Material Futures by students of Central Saint Martins College (UK). We came across Parth Bondre that used hyper accumulator plants to mine metals that leaked into soil. Suryanka Bagri, harvested the Sholapith plant (Indian Cork). This aquatic herb grows abundantly and its core is fluffy, porous yet water resistant. From it, she created a “paper like” material, coated with bio-based resin for an iridescent finish. A few streets away, “The Sound of Matter” exhibition by Imola. They invited visitors to enter the world of light & sound hitting various ceramic slabs and producing unique melodies. Materially, showcased twenty producers & researchers of materials, like BioPowder with their pigments & additives, made of olive stones/pits. Other recycled compounds with coffee grains, textile, sequestered carbon and more. At the Masterly, we found true inspiration. Starting with the AI generated room-fragrance machine, tailoring individual scents based on a form filled out in advance. How cool was that! Downstairs were MYCOTEX by NEFFA, growing mycelium coating on various substrates, and a group exhibition called ROOTS by Simone van Es. We found blown shellack objects by Ori Orison, aside 100% plant-based memory foam from legumes by 🔶 Lisanne Peters. Natural pigments aside fibers made of grass, some solutions still at lab scale, others, commercially available. On the way to Brera, the Future Impact2 group exhibition of young designers from Singapore, with the overall theme of harnessing technology to lead to sustainable design. What caught our eye was a design by Christian & Jade - a stool from wood of the rubber tree (Para), the seat made from the natural rubber “milked” from that tree. Another poetic work was a tapestry of Mosaic by Tiffany Loy. One highlight from the Salone Satellite was Seastex, using discarded mussel beard (that’s right, this “beard” that mussels grow) to create non-wovens that have superior properties. Inherent fire resistance, insulation and more that turn it an ideal material for acoustic panels. No far from BarBasso, before another notorious Negroni, we visited Norsk Hydro that commissioned 7 designers to create objects with their 100% recycled Aluminium, Circal 100R. Calling it a day, not forgetting to brush our teeth, we were happy to find a circular tooth brush by Super150 Design Studio. The handle made of stainless steel with exchangeable brush heads. These are currently made of a few (recycled) plastics, the aim is to find one grade the head will be made of, to facilitate recycling. #salonedelmobile #materials #circulardesign

Some of the latest #biomaterials for #interiors. These materials are made with plant-based waste from a variety of sources, from food production by-product to agricultural waste. Surfaces that celebrate their organic aesthetic through colour and texture. Allowing the origins of the material to shine through whilst also making use of the high-performing natural properties. 🌽 The New Materialist created NEW FOAM 01. A low-density natural foam made from corn stalks, a non-food by-product from corn production. It has an amazing graphic particulate texture which could be a great solution for acoustics or paneling. 🌾 Sulapac Ltd has come out with a 3D printable version of their premium-feeling biocomposite material. See these sculptural chairs made by Ekbacken Studios using Sulapc Flow 1.7 🌫 Adsorbi haș created a cellulose-based air purification material that can remove pollutants from indoor air and decrease odours. 🌽 Brick makers StoneCycling® have worked with Circular Matters to launch CornWall® an interior wall cladding material made of regional waste corn cobs and renewable energy. It comes in a range of naturally vibrant hues. #naturalinteriors #renewableinteriors #interiordesign

This week we are putting the spotlight on #Silk innovations. Silk is a protein which boasts impressive qualities such as super strength, low weight & elasticity. Found naturally in spiders or silkworm cocoons, and more recently in the lab. #Synthesisedsilks are considered the ‘next generation’ of natural & technical fibres. It is renewable and can be brewed sustainably from microbes in the lab. We have already seen the likes of Spiber Inc. using their brewed #spiderproteins to spin threads and make them into a high-performance jacket for The North Face , or more recently a hoodie for PANGAIA. But here are some of the latest start-ups and researchers we found coming up with new ways to harness the power of this wonder material... Spidey TEK, LLC Tek claims to create the strongest material known to man for transportation and engineering applications. They aim to mass-produce #spidersilkproteins with their alfalfa-based novel protein synthesis platform to make a fibre composite that is stronger then steel and carbon fibre. LINK SPIDER Co., Ltd. Shenzhen have made a bio-fabricated leather alternative from spider silk protein. They are also using their LINK Proteins™ for skin and hair care. Spintex has been looking at the silk spinning process which combats the high energy taken to make conventional fibres. They mimic the way spiders pass soluble silk proteins through their silk-spinning organs to design a super-efficient process to make threads. Donghua University have genetically engineered silkworms to produce pure spider silk fibres which are x6 tougher than Kevlar but with scalable production. Mori develops coatings derived from natural silk that extend the shelf life of food like vegetables, fruit and seafood, and it's edible! Could we see all formats of silk protein bio-materials being used to replace most types of conventional materials? From soft to hard, leathers to metals or even electronics and food packaging.. #biotechnology #biofabricated