biomaterials Archives

FranklinTill lists nine principles for a shift to regenerative materials

Design research agency FranklinTill has compiled a list of principles to help designers, makers and brands avoid greenwashing when sourcing textiles.

By making it easier to identify textiles that have a greater positive impact on people and planet, FranklinTill hopes to enable a shift towards regenerative materials.

“We can only move towards a regenerative approach to textiles by understanding the full lifecycle of our materials,” said co-founder FranklinTill Caroline Till.

“As designers, makers, brands and manufacturers, we need to think of materials not as static and linear, but as dynamic, evolving systems, to holistically consider the full impact to the wider ecosystem they are a part of.”

Regenerative exhibition by FranklinTill — FranklinTill has curated an exhibition setting out its nine principles

The defining characteristic of regenerative materials, according to Till, is that they restore and nourish the ecosystems they are part of.

“Sustainability, by its very definition, is all about maintaining the status quo, while regeneration seeks to actively heal and put back better,” she said.

FranklinTill first unveiled its nine principles of regenerative design in an exhibition at the Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt in January, with a second show planned for the Techtextil fair in April.

In an online exclusive, we are also unveiling them here. Read on to see all nine, with captions written by FranklinTill and examples of material innovation in practice:

Agave textile production in Mexico — Designer Fernando Laposse works with local communities in Mexico to process sisal, a fibrous material made from agave leaves, which he turns into hairy furniture

Enriching Communities

“To go beyond sustainability and become regenerative, we must focus on both the social and the environmental impact of production.”

“This means spotlighting how materials are made and by whom, looking to improve livelihoods with better pay, working conditions and future prospects.”

Bulrush plants used for BioPuff material — British manufacturer Ponda produces BioPuff, an insulating fibre filler material, using bulrush plants grown on natural wetlands

Replenishing the Land

“Focused on high yields with an over-reliance on pesticides and water, modern industrial farming damages land.”

“Regenerative farming works holistically to reverse this, rebuilding organic soil matter and sequestering carbon in soil, wetlands and trees, retaining water and reducing the use of artificial pesticides and fertilisers.”

Yak khullu wool is made by nomad families on the Tibetan Plateau — Lifestyle brand Norlha creates apparel and homewares from yak khullu wool, which is handcrafted by nomad families on the Tibetan Plateau

Preserving Heritage

“Many indigenous practices are regenerative by nature, working with the land and local communities.”

“By acknowledging and celebrating the value of cultural heritage and craftsmanship and learning from its ecological wisdom, we can protect valuable skills and knowledge from being lost to technology and globalisation.”

Textiles made from sunflowers — British textile brand Climafibre produces fabrics from sunflowers, a species that can be grown with minimal intervention, fertilisers or watering

Restoring Biodiversity

“Regenerative practices must take a multispecies approach to encouraging biodiversity.”

“Acknowledging the threat of extinction, addressing the causes of loss, and reviving habitats for diverse plants and wildlife aids ecological restoration.”

Charlotte Werth has developed a printing process that uses bacteria to create pigments — Designer Charlotte Werth has developed a fabric printing process that uses bacteria to create pigments

Biological Fabrication

“The convergence of science and design offers huge potential for new materials, from living microbial systems to synthesising nature’s regenerative powers.”

“Growing and extracting next-generation materials using innovative, highly productive processes can create plentiful resources from minimal input.”

Keel Labs produces a textile industry yarn from kelp — US-based Keel Labs produces Kelsun, a seaweed-based yarn, using an abundant polymer found in kelp

Naturally Abundant

“Highly productive, resilient raw materials that grow with little human intervention offer naturally high yields, strengthen soils and capture carbon.”

“These abundant, versatile crops could help move the focus away from traditional natural material fibres that require high levels of water, pesticides or fertilisers.”

Desso carpet tiles by Tarkett use post-consumer waste — Circularity is built into all of the design and manufacturing processes for Tarkett’s Desso carpet tiles

Reclaiming Material

“Extracting raw materials, making products, then discarding them and their byproducts is contributing to the global waste problem.”

“By putting useful waste streams back into production, we can better utilise existing resources and avoid waste altogether.”

Haelixa is bringing transparency to material supply chains by applying distinct DNA codes to raw materials, using a customised spraying system

Radical Transparency

“By using science and technology to create tools and processes that capture and record data along supply chains, we can understand the social and environmental impact of the materials we consume.”

“Encrypting materials helps brands track their footprints and life cycles, and communicate this information to customers in a meaningful, trustworthy and accessible way.”

Sanne Visser works with human hair — Dutch designer Sanne Visser uses traditional rope-making techniques to turn human hair into handspun yarns

Cultivating Localism

“By supporting the local sourcing, production and consumption of materials, we can avoid globalised transportation and reduce carbon footprints.”

“Focusing on availability, seasonality and resourcefulness means embracing non-standardisation, often improving local environments as well as extracting from them.”

Reference

Sustainable News

Snøhetta designs compostable hemp light Superdupertube

By Zarkon Group,13/03/2024

Norwegian studio Snøhetta has teamed up with lighting brand Ateljé Lyktan to create Superdupertube, an office lamp made from extruded hemp and sugarcane bioplastic.

The design is a contemporary update of Ateljé Lyktan‘s Supertube – an office light from the 1970s made from extruded aluminium.

Hemp lamp by Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan — The Superdupertube is a modern take on the Supertube lamp

“[The Supertube] had finished production in 2010 or something like that, so it was iconic but sort of forgotten,” Snøhetta partner Jenny B Osuldsen told Dezeen. “And it’s a tube. It’s not rocket science but it is what you need for a smart lamp in an office.”

“We really loved it and think it has a lot of possibilities, so we wanted to upgrade it to a new level,” she added.

Tubular hemp lamp — It is made from hemp and can be industrially composted. Photo by Ateljé Lyktan

The extrusion technique for the original lamp was developed in the 1960s, and Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan decided to create a lamp that would nod to the original design.

However, the aim was to lower the carbon footprint of the lamp by choosing the most sustainable material possible.

View of compostable lamp made from hemp — Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan chose to use hemp as the material is renewable and durable

The studios played around with multiple different materials before settling on the hemp bioplastic, which was used to form Snøhetta’s first office lighting design.

Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan first worked together on The 7th Room, a charred-timber cabin suspended among the treetops in northern Sweden, for which they also collaborated on the lighting design.

Detailed view of Superdupertube lamp — The lighting features twisted louvres. Photo by Ateljé Lyktan

“When we were doing The 7th Room project up in northern Sweden, everything was in pine and there were lots of pine cones,” Osuldsen said.

“We wanted to find a product or material that isn’t used for anything else, so we started testing the use of pine cones by grinding them, but it didn’t work.”

“The fibres in the cones are too short,” said Ateljé Lyktan product director Malin Gadd. “We also tried using coffee grounds but they are even shorter, so we realised quite quickly that we needed fibres that are long and strong.”

“That’s where the hemp fibres come into the picture,” she added.

Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan sourced the hemp used for the lights from the Netherlands, as the quality of the hemp from Swedish farmers “wasn’t quite there yet”, according to Gadd.

The Superdupertube light shown in an interior — Its shape is both extruded and injection-moulded

The hemp is mixed with a polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastic derived from sugarcane, alongside wood cellulose and different minerals to create a fossil- and gas-free composite.

The material is then extruded to create the main body of the lamp, which also comprises injection-moulded louvres and side covers. To add to the organic feel of the light, its electric cables are covered with linen fabric.

“Hemp is an old cultural plant and it’s very easy to renew [by growing more],” Osuldsen said. “And it’s very durable.”

Fastening on hemp lamp by Ateljé Lyktan — Linen fabric covers the electric cable. Photo by Ateljé Lyktan

The Superdupertube can be composted in an industrial composter or recycled and ground down into pellets to create more lamps.

However, this currently requires owners to send the lamps back to the producer, as the material cannot be processed in regular recycling centres.

Using the hemp bioplastic reduces the lamp’s carbon footprint by over 50 per cent compared to traditional aluminium variants, according to Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan.

Colour of Superdupertube — The Superdupertube comes in a natural colour. Photo by Ateljé Lyktan

The dimmable Superdupertube features twisted louvres – an architectural detail that helps the light feel softer by angling the glare away.

“That’s why it’s a perfect workspace luminaire, it’s adapted to be better for the person sitting working and it’s also totally unique – it doesn’t exist on the market,” Gadd said.

The Superdupertube, which comes in four different lengths, has an organic beige colour with a natural pattern from the hemp and other ingredients.

Wooden wall behind Superdupertube lamp — It is the first time Snøhetta has designed an office lamp

“We didn’t really know how it would look,” Osuldsen said. “The material is the colour of the hemp. And, of course, there’s probably something from the sugarcane because it’s heated up. It’s burnt sugar in a way.”

“So we get this specific colour and that also means that all of them will be a little bit different,” she added. “It’s all about the crops; if it’s a wet year or a dry year, the humidity in the material will be a little bit different. That’s why it’s sort of alive.”

Other recent Snøhetta projects include a glass-lined library in China designed to look like a forest and a hexagonal paving system for urban landscapes.

The photography is by Jonas Lindstrom unless otherwise stated.

Reference

Sustainable News

The allure of the ‘bio’ prefix must be taken with some healthy scrutiny

By Zarkon Group,15/02/2024

Biomaterials have the potential to significantly cut carbon emissions but designers should approach them with caution to avoid creating a whole new set of problems, warns Sioban Imms.

The vision of a civilisation based on biomaterials is compelling: products, clothes and buildings made from materials that have been “grown”, rather than derived from polluting, extractive fossil industries. The promise is not only lower emissions, but products that are more in tune with the environment – manufactured objects that are part of the natural cycle of life. And consumers are willing to pay a premium for such ostensibly “sustainable” products – 12 per cent more, according to a recent study by Bain.

However, in a bid to gain competitive advantage, marketing narratives surrounding biomaterials are regularly inflated or gloss over important details. Prefixing “bio” to a material name conjures a sense of being natural, compostable, and better all round for personal and environmental health.

Marketing narratives surrounding biomaterials are regularly inflated

But these claims can unravel, or at least become complicated, when researching a little deeper than the material classification, product name and strapline. A report from RepRisk found a 70 per cent increase in incidents of greenwashing between 2022 and 2023. Incoming legislation in the EU is specifically targeting this issue.

The definition and terminology around biomaterials is still evolving. For clarity, we’re not talking here about biomaterial designed for implanting into the body, but biologically derived materials used in product, fashion and architecture.

Often grown using living micro-organisms like yeast, bacteria, cellulose and mycelium, they can be finely tuned at the nanoscale by engineering DNA sequences to produce specific properties. For example, UK company Colorfix tweaks the DNA of bacteria so that they excrete coloured pigments for dyeing textiles. Microbial manufacturing organisms like these tend to be fed, fermented and modified in controlled environments.

The substitution of fossil-derived, high-carbon materials for biomaterials is urgently important. A recently published study by Radboud Universiteit in the Netherlands concluded that biomaterials reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by an average of 45 per cent compared to fossil-based materials.

But biomaterials are not a magic bullet to the multi-faceted nature crisis industrial civilisation is causing. Especially important is avoiding what are sometimes called “regrettable substitutions” – whereby one material is replaced with another that merely introduces a new set of problems.

For example, BioCane disposable food packaging is an alternative to plastic food packaging made from bagasse – pulped sugarcane-fibre, a waste product from the sugar industry. The design is geared to express its natural origins and circularity, from the subtly flecked, neutral colour and matte finish to the embossed logomark featuring a plant within a gradated circle.

Biomaterials are not a magic bullet to the multi-faceted nature crisis

However, for BioCane to be grease repellant (so it doesn’t fall apart before you’ve consumed the contents) it needs an oleophobic coating, unlike plastic packaging. BioCane uses a polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) for this coating. PFAS are termed “forever chemicals” due to their damaging long-term persistence and accumulation in the environment – not to mention our own bodies.

BioPak, which produces BioCane, transparently publishes information about this on its website, highlighting it as an industry-wide problem. The company also includes a timely pledge to phase out PFAS-containing packaging by June 2024, which happens to coincide with a move to phase out PFAS by the Environmental Protection Agency in the US.

Not all manufacturers are as responsible; it’s common to find unlisted additives – or perhaps a fossil-based lamination to improve a material’s durability – under a headline claim of biological origins.

Bioplastic is another material experiencing significant growth, partly driven by high oil prices making fossil-fuel-derived plastic less competitive. Most bioplastic is made from ethanol, commonly sourced from corn, wheat or sugarcane. Sugarcane, for example, is planted in monocultures in tropical and sub-tropical countries like Brazil. The sugar is extracted, fermented and distilled to produce precursor chemicals for bioplastics.

But to assess the environmental value of using this bioplastic, we need to know about how the crops are managed – for example, the pesticides and synthetic fertilisers used to increase crop yield, the land-clearance practices, and the effect on food prices if the bioplastic became widely adopted. At the end of the product’s life, specialised infrastructure for disposal will need to be in place, further complicating the picture.

Biodegradable bioplastic would seem to offer a solution to the worst ravages of plastic – the alarming buildup of microplastic pollution across the world. How much better if the material could be absorbed back into the environment?

Biodegradable doesn’t mean a material will break down in the environment over useful timescales

The market opportunity for biodegradable plastics is alluring, and forecasts predict that they will account for the majority of the bioplastics market – 62 per cent, by 2028. This opportunity is attracting investment and also the potential for greenwashing as companies vie for a competitive advantage over others.

But biodegradable doesn’t mean a material will break down in the environment over useful timescales. A 2022 UCL study of supposedly “home compostable” bioplastics revealed that 60 per cent did not fully degrade within the tested timespans – a finding that unravels the whole purpose for investing in compostable packaging.

Claims relating to bioplastics were at the crux of a recent legal case brought against US biotech firm Danimer Scientific Inc. The manufacturer of biodegradable products had claimed that its proprietary plastic material Nodax PHA is able to biodegrade not only in industrial composting facilities but in landfill and in the ocean.

Danimer’s share prices rocketed, sparking an investigative report in the Wall Street Journal, which stated that “many claims about Nodax are exaggerated and misleading, according to several experts on biodegradable plastics”. Danimer refutes this statement, but what came out in court was that the company performed biodegradability tests on Nodax in a powdered form, which doesn’t relate to real-world product formats like bottles that have variable thickness.

The legal case was eventually dismissed, but nonetheless the alleged greenwashing spiked Danimer’s share price, shaking investors’ trust in the company and having knock-on effects for the wider industry.

Going forward, manufacturers will need to be transparent about what goes into their products. In the EU, legislation tackling greenwashing in product labelling will come into effect in 2026. The new law is a direct response to the rise in misleading claims that companies use.

When specifying a biomaterial, it’s important to dig into its provenance

It comes after a study commissioned by the bloc found that 53 per cent of green claims on products and services are vague, misleading or unfounded, and 40 per cent have no supporting evidence. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority has published the Green Claims Code – a six-point guide to help businesses ensure they are not unwittingly misleading customers.

These two initiatives highlight the importance of using the right language when promoting products and materials, and as the impact of the EU’s legislation ripples through the industry, there will be a natural calibration to more transparency.

The takeaway for designers is that, as ever, the picture is complex. When specifying a biomaterial, it’s important to dig into its provenance, as well as to look at the material use and disposal. The allure of the “bio” prefix from an ethical – and marketing – perspective may be strong, but must be taken along with some healthy scrutiny.

Sioban Imms is a colour, material and finish (CMF) and sustainability strategist with a background in design and manufacturing. She is co-founder of consulting agency Substance and a contributing editor at trend forecasters Stylus and WGSN.

The photo, of MarinaTex designed by Lucy Hughes, is courtesy of the University of Sussex.

Dezeen In Depth
If you enjoy reading Dezeen’s interviews, opinions and features, subscribe to Dezeen In Depth. Sent on the last Friday of each month, this newsletter provides a single place to read about the design and architecture stories behind the headlines.

Reference

Sustainable News

Food-waste dyes bring colour to mycelium leather by Sages and Osmose

By Zarkon Group,31/01/2024

Two British materials companies, Sages and Osmose, have collaborated to dye sheets of mycelium with natural food waste, mimicking the appearance of tanned leather and suggesting a colourful future for the biomaterial.

Osmose is a company making a leather alternative from mycelium – the fibrous underground root network of mushrooms – while Sages makes natural dyes from food waste such as avocado pits, blueberries, red cabbages and onion skins, which are normally applied to textiles.

The two believe they’ve achieved a world first with their collaboration, combining two emerging areas of sustainable material development to colour mycelium without resorting to petroleum-based synthetic dyes, thereby keeping the product non-toxic and able to biodegrade safely in soil.

A small square piece of leather-like material, in a mottled hue of caramel brown — Sages and Osmose have developed a natural dying process for mycelium leather

“There are lots of different types of vegan leather alternatives to traditional leather but the majority of them use either synthetic colourations or they use plasticisers, so they’re non-biodegradable,” said Sages CEO Emily Taylor.

“We wanted to explore an option where we could have a fully biodegradable leather that has also been coloured in a biodegradable and sustainable manner,” she continued.

Companies that prioritise biodegradability have offered mycelium in its natural shades of white and brown or black, which Osmose CEO Aurelie Fontan says is much easier to achieve naturally.

“I think the challenge for mycelium leather was that the offering just wasn’t there in terms of aesthetic,” she said. “When you’re presenting for brands and you’re like ‘we can only do brown’, it’s a little bit boring for them.”

Photo of swatches of mycelium dyed in different shades of tan, pale violet and mulberry — The companies experimented with different food wastes in the dyeing process

“The colour sector is somewhere where you can develop your USP, essentially, which is why working with Sages is so interesting,” Fontan added.

Osmose and Sages have created tan-coloured mycelium sheets using avocado waste, which Sages sources from an importer and guacamole factory in Milton Keynes, where tens of tonnes of leftover pits and skins are produced each week.

It was a new area for both companies, as the food waste dye takes differently to mycelium leather than it does to the usually cellulose-based textiles that Sages has worked with.

The duo collaborated with materials science researchers at the UK’s Cranfield University on the project, for which the researchers focused on how to transfer and fix the dye to the material using “green chemistry” – an area of chemistry that aims to cut out hazardous substances.

In this case, the researchers sought to replace the formic acid and fluorinated acids that are often used in tanning to dissolve the polymers of the leather so it can be infused with dye. Instead, the team developed a method, which they say is significantly less toxic.

After working with Cranfield University, Sages and Osmose expanded the experiment and trialled other waste streams such as blueberries and onion skins to see what colours they could get, producing mycelium swatches in shades of violet and bordeaux.

Taylor and Fontan say they are trying to develop a process for mycelium that is akin to leather tanning, where both colour and durability properties are added in one or two steps. Their equivalent, they say, would be to dye and waterproof the material at the same time.

Close-up of vegan mycelium sheet showing its similarity to the texture of tanned leather — The tan colour was created by using waste avocado pits and skins

Osmose’s focus now is on developing a waterproof coating for their mycelium that, like the dye, is bio-based, non-toxic and able to biodegrade safely in soil. This is notoriously a challenge for plant-based leather alternatives, which almost always rely on a protective synthetic coating.

“It’s really hard to design a solution that fits all materials, which is basically what everyone is struggling with,” said Fontan. “Someone might have pineapple leather and they have their own coating but it doesn’t mean it’s going to work on mushroom and so on.”

Unlike some companies, however, Osmose says it does not want to bring a product with a non-biodegradable coating to market.

“If you’re doing a composite, it will not biodegrade at the end of life, which is compromising all the good work that you’ve been doing before that step,” Fontan said.

Mycelium is one of the most popular emerging leather alternatives. It has already appeared in luxury goods such as a bag by Hermes, clothing by Stella McCartney and trainers by Adidas.

Reference

Sustainable News

CornWall gives discarded corn cobs new life as interior tiles

By Zarkon Group,11/01/2024

Materials companies Circular Matters and StoneCycling have used corn cobs – one of the world’s most plentiful agricultural waste materials – to make interior cladding that is biodegradable and almost entirely bio-based.

Available in the form of tiles and sheets, CornWall is intended as a more sustainable alternative to ceramic interior wall tiles or plastic laminate.

The material is derived from more than 99 per cent renewable, biological sources, is created at low temperatures using mainly solar power and emits less carbon dioxide in its production than was captured by the corn as it grew, the manufacturers claim.

Photo of seven colours of CornWall tile in flatlay, ranging from a warm beige to a a muted reddish brown and a dark greenish grey. The tiles are arranged beside a bare corn cob, a full corn cob and a small bowl of shredded biomass — CornWall is an interior cladding material that is 99 per cent bio-based

To give the products a long lifespan, Circular Matters and StoneCycling have produced the tiles with a mechanical fixing system, so they can be demounted and reused or given back to the company for cleaning and recycling.

The technology behind CornWall was invented by Circular Matters – a start-up spun out of a lab at Belgium’s KU Leuven University, where founder Pieter Dondeyne and his team found a way to process plants to enhance their natural biopolymers and create durable materials.

The team then partnered with Dutch company StoneCycling to channel their technology into a product.

Photo of a person, close-up on their hands, holding a small pile of bare corn cobs, their kernels removed — Corn cobs make up most of the composition of the tiles

StoneCycling co-founder Ward Massa told Dezeen that the focus on corn came because it is one of the most grown crops on the planet and its waste is abundant.

“What happens when you grow corn for human consumption is when it’s ready to harvest, you take off the corn and the corn cob is a leftover material because it doesn’t hold any nutritious value,” he said.

“Usually, that means that these corn cobs remain on the field and rot away, or they are burned as biomass to generate energy,” he continued. “In both cases, you release the carbon that was stored in those fibres – it rots away and it gets released, or you burn it and it gets released.”

With CornWall, the carbon is locked away until the tiles reach the end of their life and are left to decompose.

The production process begins with the discarded cobs being collected, dried and shredded into biomass.

This material is then mixed with other agricultural waste, binders and pigments and pressed into a plate material at a relatively low heat of 120 to 150 degrees. As a final step, the tiles are given a thin coating for water resistance.

All of the ingredients are derived from biomass apart from the pigment, which accounts for the 0.5 per cent of the product that is not bio-based – a very low percentage in a field where even products containing small amounts of materials of organic origin are sometimes labelled as bio-based.

Photo of a person at a distance standing in a huge warehouse of bare corn cobs piled high into hills — The agricultural waste material was chosen because of its abundance

According to Massa, the companies were able to keep the product pure by focusing on interior wall applications only.

“If you want to create a product that can also be used on the exterior or as a flooring or in the shower, then you have to start adding chemicals to bind it, to make it more water resistant and stuff like that,” he said.

“We chose to start with this application because it’s relatively easy and the binder and the product is nothing else than the natural polymers that are already part of this biomass. Because of adding heat and pressure, these polymers are activated and bind together.”

Photo of four objects in flatlay — a full corn cob on the left, followed by a bare corn cob, then a small tray of shredded biomass, then a CornWall tile — The corn cobs are dried and shredded before being pressed into tiles

CornWall is also biodegradable according to official standards, with Massa saying it could be buried in a field and disintegrate in a couple of months.

The only thing that would remain is the water-resistant coating, which is not biodegradable but makes up less than 0,001 per cent of the total product meaning it does not affect its biodegradability overall, according to Massa.

“Unfortunately there are no 100 per cent biodegradable coatings on the market yet,” he said. “We’re working with our suppliers on this but it’ll take more time.”

Instead, the intent is to keep the product in use for as long as possible.

The companies wants to target retail and hospitality chains that frequently open and close locations – Starbucks is an example Massa gives – and work with them to make sure the tiles stay in a closed loop of material reuse.

He also believes CornWall offers good options for these kinds of businesses in the design stage, as it can be ordered in custom colours and embossed patterns to complement their branding.

“As far as we are concerned, this will become the new retail material,” said Massa. “Especially in those places in retail where they now use materials that are either glued or take a lot more energy to make or create a lot of waste when the shops are being renovated or demolished.”

“Production can also be done regionally because you don’t need a very complicated factory for it.”

CornWall is currently available in a base range of six colours and two sizes, developed in collaboration with Dutch design practice Studio Nina van Bart. Massa says additional textures will soon be added to the line.

CornWall is the fourth product from StoneCycling. The first was the WasteBasedBrick, which is made from 60 per cent waste and was used by Dutch architects Nina Aalbers and Ferry in ‘t Veld of Architectuur Maken to build their own house in Rotterdam.

Reference

Sustainable News

Reef Rocket is a bio-cement reef grown from plant enzymes

By Zarkon Group,08/01/2024

Industrial designer Mary Lempres has created a bio-cement structure developed to mimic naturally occurring oyster reefs that tackle coastal flooding, filter seawater and promote biodiversity.

Called Reef Rocket, the structure comprises a duo of bio-cement modules with ridged surfaces that can be stacked in two directions and create a rocket-like shape when assembled.

Reef Rocket by Mary Lempres — Reef Rocket is a bio-cement structure formed from two modules

Norwegian-American designer Lempres drew on biomimicry for the project, a practice that looks to nature to solve human design challenges.

The ridged modules were created to be placed underwater and emulate coastal oyster reefs, which naturally filter algae from seawater as well as attract and provide shelter for other aquatic organisms.

Bio-cement man-made oyster reef — Mary Lempres designed Reef Rocket to emulate oyster reefs

Oyster reefs also dissipate wave energy, mitigate storm surges and manage eroding coastlines, explained the designer.

Lempres collaborated with bio-geotechnical specialist Ahmed Miftah to develop a method for growing plant-derived cement that makes up the modules, which she described as “similar to the irrigation systems required for growing a plant”.

Close-up of textured oyster reef-like structure — The designer drew on biomimicry for the project

The pair poured a bio-based, non-toxic solution containing a crude extract from globally grown plants over crushed aggregate.

Sourced in New York City, the aggregate was created from crushed glass and oyster shells salvaged from local restaurants and New York Harbour.

“The packed substrate grows similarly to a plant,” Lempres told Dezeen.

Oysters attached to the structure — Reef Rocket was created to attract oysters

Saturated for three to nine days, the substance becomes natural concrete after the extracted biocatalyst causes minerals to form “mineral bridges” between the glass and shell waste.

“The resulting product is water-resistant, durable and comparable with standard concrete containing the same amount of aggregate,” explained the designer.

Shells and blocks of bio-cement — Lempres created the bio-cement with bio-geotechnical specialist Ahmed Miftah

“It can be grown in any environment without heat or otherwise burning fossil fuels and is derived from waste products, making it an affordable and scalable alternative to cement,” she continued.

“Bio-concrete is chemically identical to the material oysters produce to grow their reefs. The key difference is the bio-concrete we’ve developed grows in just several days, while oyster reefs take millennia to grow.”

This process closely mimics the natural processes that occur when oyster shells and coral reefs are grown, according to the designer.

“I was inspired by the ability of this reef-growing material to withstand extreme wave energy and corrosive saltwater,” she said.

Bio-cement structure in New York City — The structure was designed to be placed underwater

When creating the modules, Lempres and her team made “hundreds” of prototypes.

Eventually, they settled on prefabricated moulds, which the bio-cement can be packed into and set – “like sand” – without the need for heat or chemicals.

Bio-cement samples — Lempres and her team created “hundreds” of prototypes

Reef Rocket was deliberately developed to be small in size, lightweight and easy to assemble, making the design accessible to as many people as possible, according to the designer.

“Nature has the incredible ability to grow intricate and durable material, like shells and coral, without polluting its surrounding environment,” said Lempres.

“Reef Rocket harnesses the natural process of growing durable minerals to re-grow vital reef structures, benefiting humans and our ecology from the worsening effects of climate change,” she added.

“This paves the way for a future where hard and durable material can be grown like a crop, regenerating waste rather than polluting our environment.”

Previously, US design workshop Objects and Ideograms conducted a research project that involves 3D printing with calcium carbonate to create sustainable underwater “houses” for coral reefs and marine life to grow. Chinese materials company Yi Design developed a porous brick made from recycled ceramic waste that could be used to prevent flooding in urban areas.

The photography is courtesy of Mary Lempres.

Reference

Sustainable News

Dezeen’s top 10 most innovative materials of 2023

By Zarkon Group,18/12/2023

As part of our review of 2023, Dezeen’s design and environment editor Jennifer Hahn has rounded up 10 of this year’s most significant material innovations, including bricks made from toxic soil and a 3D printer for wool.

Over the last 12 months, designers found new uses for bacteria, using the microorganisms to colour textiles, grow a leather alternative and turn plastic waste into vanilla ice cream.

In architecture, researchers continued to reinvent concrete, with some using algae instead of cement as a binder while others rediscovered the secret to “self-healing” Roman concrete.

Energy efficiency was an ongoing concern in light of the recent energy crisis, with projects such as water-filled windows and colour-changing cladding aiming to passively heat and cool buildings without relying on fossil fuels.

Read on for Dezeen’s top 10 material innovations of 2023:

Water House by Water-Filled Glass — Photo courtesy of Water-Filled Glass

Water-Filled Glass by Matyas Gutai, Daniel Schinagl and Abolfazl Ganji Kheybari

One of Dezeen’s best-read stories of the year looked at how researchers from Loughborough University combined two ubiquitous materials – water and glass – in a new and innovative way.

As the name suggests, their Water-Filled Glass windows consist of a thin layer of water wedged between two panes of glass, which can reduce a building’s energy bills by around 25 per cent compared with standard glazing.

That’s because the water absorbs warmth from sunlight and heat loss from the interior that can then be diverted to help heat the building, while also limiting solar heat gain in the warmer months.

Find out more about Water-Filled Glass ›

DNA T-shirt by Vollebak coloured using Colorifix bacterial dye — Photo by Sun Lee

Colorifix by Orr Yarkoni and Jim Ajioka

Synthetic biologists Orr Yarkoni and Jim Ajioka have developed a way of colouring textiles using bacteria in place of toxic chemical dyes which is already being used by mega-retailer H&M and experimental clothing brand Vollebak (pictured above).

Their Colorifix technology uses bacteria that is genetically engineered to produce different colour-making enzymes, creating a dyestuff that is compatible with the textile industry’s standard dye machines.

Crowned material innovation of the year at the 2023 Dezeen Awards, the technology offers a scalable alternative to chemical dyes while using 77 per cent less water and producing 31 per cent fewer carbon dioxide emissions, the company claims.

Find out more about Colorifix ›

Packing Up PFAS by Emy Bensdorp — Photo by Sem Langendijk

Claybens by Emy Bensdorp

At Dutch Design Week, designer Emy Bensdorp presented a series of bricks made using clay contaminated with PFAS – toxic “forever chemicals” used for water- and fire-proofing, that can leak into our soils and waterways.

In the Netherlands, where PFAS can be traced in up to 90 per cent of soils, developers and landowners must now legally take responsibility for this contaminated soil, which ends up being hidden away and left to gather dust in depots with little prospect for the chemicals’ removal.

Bensdorp discovered that firing the clay into bricks at high temperatures can eliminate these highly durable chemicals while turning the soil from a burden into a useful building material via an existing industrial process.

Find out more about Claybens ›

Guilty Flavours ice-cream by Eleonora Ortolani — Photo by Mael Henaff

Guilty Flavours by Eleonora Ortolani and Joanna Sadler

Central Saint Martins graduate Eleonora Ortolani created a bowl of vanilla ice cream that she believes might the world’s first food made from plastic waste.

The ice cream was made by taking a small amount of PET plastic waste and breaking it down using genetically engineered bacteria to create synthetic vanillin – the flavour molecule in vanilla.

Originally developed by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, the process produces a flavouring that is chemically identical to vanillin derived from crude oil, which is commonly sold in stores. The only difference is that it uses a recycled instead of a virgin fossil feedstock.

Find out more about Guilty Flavours ›

Electrochromic cladding by the University of Chicago — Images courtesy of Hsu Group

Electrochromic cladding by the Hsu Group

Researchers from the University of Chicago have developed a “chameleon-like” facade material that can change its infrared colour – the colour it appears under thermal imaging – based on the outside temperature to keep buildings cool in summer and warm in winter.

The composite material appears yellow under thermal imaging on a hot day because it emits heat and purple on cold days when it retains heat. This colour change is triggered by a small electrical impulse, which either deposits copper onto a thin film or strips it away.

“We’ve essentially figured out a low-energy way to treat a building like a person,” said materials engineer Po-Chun Hsu. “You add a layer when you’re cold and take off a layer when you’re hot.”

Find out more about this electrochromic cladding ›

Model of 3D printed wool chair by Christien Meindertsma — Photo courtesy of TFT

Flocks Wobot by Christien Meindertsma

Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma has opened up new uses for the wool of European sheep, which is too coarse to form textiles and thus often discarded, by developing a custom robot arm that acts much like a 3D printer.

The Flocks Wobot connects layers of the material through felting to create three-dimensional shapes without the need for any kind of additional binder.

So far, Meindertsma has used the robot to produce a sofa – currently on display at the V&A – but in the future, she claims it could equally be used to create everything from insulation to acoustic products.

Find out more about Flocks Wobot ›

Local Colours by Loop Loop

Dutch design studio Loop Loop has developed the “world’s first plant-based aluminium dying process”, using bio-based pigments instead of ones derived from petroleum.

The Local Colours project adapts the traditional process of anodising, which involves using an electric current to oxidise the metal, creating a porous surface that is able to absorb colour before being dipped into a water-based pigment solution.

So far, the studio has created four different solutions – a deep pink made using madder root, a bright gold produced with red onion and a warm purple and mustard yellow derived from different flowers.

Find out more about Local Colours ›

SOM installation for the 2023 Chicago Biennial — Photo by Dave Burk

Bio-Blocks by Prometheus Materials and SOM

Colorado start-up Prometheus Materials has developed a “zero-carbon alternative” to concrete masonry blocks that is bound together using micro-algae instead of polluting Portland cement, which accounts for around eight per cent of global emissions.

The company is working with architecture studio SOM to explore applications for the material, with a dedicated installation at this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial taking the form of a giant spiral.

“This project demonstrates how product development, design, and construction can come together to address the climate crisis in a meaningful way,” said Prometheus Materials president Loren Burnett.

Find out more about Bio-Blocks ›

Bou Bag made from bacterial nanocellulose by Ganni and Modern Synthesis from LDF — Photo courtesy of Modern Synthesis

Modern Synthesis by Jen Keane and Ben Reeve

Modern Synthesis has developed a plastic-free leather alternative that drapes much like cowhide but could generate up to 65 times less greenhouse-gas emissions than real leather, the British start-up estimates.

The material is made by bacteria that is grown on a framework of threads and fed with waste sugar from other industries, which is converted into a strong, lightweight material called nanocellulose.

Danish fashion brand Ganni has already used the material to create a version of its Bou Bag (pictured above) that was revealed at the London Design Festival and could be commercially available as soon as 2025.

Find out more about Modern Synthesis ›

MIT Harvard study finds secret to durability of ancient Roman concrete — Image via Pexels

Roman concrete by MIT and Harvard

This year, researchers from MIT and Harvard made headlines when they discovered the secret ingredient found in “self-healing” Roman concrete, which they are now aiming to bring to market.

The ancient recipe that has allowed structures such as the Pantheon (pictured above) to remain standing for millennia integrates quicklime instead of the slacked lime found in modern concrete, the scientists have posited.

As rainwater runs through the cracks that form in concrete over time and touches the quicklime clasts in the concrete, this creates a calcium-saturated solution that recrystallises to “heal” the fissures.

Find out more about Roman concrete ›

2023 review

This article is part of Dezeen’s roundup of the biggest and best news and projects in architecture, design, interior design and technology from 2023.

Reference

Sustainable News

Seven alternative bricks made of reclaimed waste and biomaterials

By Zarkon Group,31/01/2023

Expanded cork, construction waste and human urine feature in this roundup of brick alternatives, designed to reduce the masonry unit’s embodied carbon footprint.

After concrete and steel, brick has become the latest focus for architects, designers and material researchers hoping to slash the emissions associated with building materials.

That’s because bricks are generally made from clay – a finite resource that needs to be mined and shipped around the globe – as well as being fired in fossil fuel-powered kilns at temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, often for several days.

This energy-intensive process generates not just a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions but also carbon monoxide and other dangerous air pollutants, especially in South Asia where kilns are often still powered by coal.

To tackle these problems, brick manufacturers and researchers are increasingly looking at how to make use of local waste materials to create masonry units, as well as reverting to traditional methods of sun-drying to cut out the need for firing.

Read on for seven examples of brick alternatives, ranging from experimental student projects to the Dezeen Award-winning K-Briq, which is set to go into mass production this spring.

Cork blocks by MPH Architects, Bartlett School of Architecture, University of Bath, Amorim UK and Ty-Mawr

Interlocking blocks of expanded cork are stacked like Lego blocks without the need for mortar or glue in this construction system, which was used to build the Stirling Prize-nominated Cork House.

This means the bricks can be used to create structures that are easily disassembled, recycled and reused, as well as having the potential to be carbon negative due to the large amounts of CO2 sequestered by the cork oaks, from which the material is sourced.

London firm MPH Architects has been working on the system in collaboration with various research institutes since 2014, and is now hoping to develop it into a self-build cork construction kit.

Find out more about the cork blocks ›

Dezeen Awards sustainable — Photo by Zero Waste Scotland

K-Briq by Kenoteq

At 90 per cent, the K-Briq offers “the highest recycled content of any brick” currently on the market, according to manufacturer Kenoteq, leading the brick to be crowned sustainable design of the year at the 2022 Dezeen Awards.

As the brick doesn’t need to be fired, it requires 90 per cent less energy in its production than a traditional brick and ultimately emits less than a tenth of the carbon emissions in its manufacture.

Out of the brick alternatives on this list, K-Briq is the closest to commercialisation. But its prolonged curing process has previously posed issues for quick-turnaround projects, with South African studio Counterspace forced to abandon plans to integrate K-Briqs into the 2021 Serpentine Pavilion due to long lead times.

Find out more about the K-Briq ›

Building the Local by Ellie Birkhead

This student project from Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Ellie Birkhead makes use of local waste materials such as hair from a hairdresser, horse manure from a stable and wool from a farm to reinforce unfired clay bricks.

The result is different region-specific bricks, which Birkhead argues can help to manage waste in a more circular way and “forge a future for local industry”.

Find out more about Building the Local ›

Gent Waste Brick by Carmody Groarke, TRANS Architectuur Stedenbouw, Local Works Studio and BC Materials

To form the new wing of the Design Museum Gent, architecture studios Carmody Groarke and TRANS Architectuur Stedenbouw worked with materials researchers to turn local municipal waste such as demolition concrete and glass into an unfired low-carbon brick.

This carries one-third of the embodied carbon as a typical Belgian clay brick and is produced in a simple process that is being opened up to the public through workshops, encouraging local residents to have a hand in the construction of their museum.

“The bricks will be manufactured on a brownfield site in Ghent using a clean simple production process, which could easily be replicated in other urban settings,” said Carmody Groarke. “There are no resultant emissions, by-products or waste.”

Find out more about the Gent Waste Brick ›

Green Charcoal bio-brick by Indian School of Design and Innovation Mumbai

Green Charcoal bricks by the Indian School of Design and Innovation

These concrete bricks from the Indian School of Design and Innovation in Mumbai are enriched with soil, charcoal and loofah fibres, which create air pockets and help to reduce the amount of cement needed in their production process.

The resulting building blocks are up to 20 times more porous than common bricks, promoting biodiversity by making space for plants and insects in our cities, the researchers claim.

Find out more about Green Charcoal ›

Mycelium Brick by The Living

One of the first experiments in using mycelium at an architectural scale saw New York studio The Living construct 2014’s MoMA PS1 pavilion using bricks that were grown from the root-like structure of fungi.

Based on a process pioneered by biomaterials company Ecovative, this involved placing waste corn stalks from agriculture inside a mould and encouraging the mycelium to grow around this aggregate, effectively cementing the brick.

Mycelium is also increasingly being explored as a means of insulating and fire-proofing buildings that can help to sequester carbon while being biodegradable.

Find out more about the Mycelium Brick ›

Bio-bricks from human urine by University of Cape Town

Urine bio-bricks by Suzanne Lambert

In this experimental project from University of Cape Town researcher Suzanne Lambert, human urine, sand and bacteria are combined in brick-shaped moulds.

The bacteria triggers a chemical reaction that breaks down the urea in the urine while producing calcium carbonate – the main component of cement – in much the same process that seashells are formed.

“The longer you allow the little bacteria to make the cement, the stronger the product is going to be,” Lambert told Dezeen.

Find out more about the urine bio-bricks ›

Reference

Interior Design

Nina + Co brings biomaterials into MONC eyewear store in London

By Zarkon Group,10/11/2022

Cornstarch-foam shelves meet mycelium display plinths in this London store that Nina + Co has designed for bioplastic eyewear brand MONC.

Nestled among a parade of high-end shops in Marylebone, MONC sells glasses made from bio-acetate – an acetate produced completely without fossil fuels – which are packaged using recycled leather cases and compostable cornstarch foam.

Exterior of MONC eyewear store in Marylebone, London — The first MONC eyewear location sits along a row of shops in Marylebone

When local studio Nina + Co was brought in to design MONC’s debut store, the team was keen to incorporate biomaterials throughout the interior, while also taking the brand’s short-term lease of the retail unit into account.

“Circularity was key,” said the studio. “Almost everything we brought into that building was entirely bio-based or recycled.”

“The furniture is expertly built to last but can be disassembled for re-use, recycling or return to the earth as nourishment.”

Interior of MONC eyewear store in Marylebone, London — The store features a ceiling installation made from cornstarch foam

Upon entering the store, visitors find themselves under an undulating ceiling installation crafted from corrugated panels of cornstarch foam.

Thicker blocks of the material were used to create rows of squishy-looking shelves, which can be used for packaging or simply dissolved in water when they eventually start to show signs of wear and tear.

MONC eyewear store in Marylebone, London has shelves made from cornstarch foam — The foam was also used to form small shelves

Display plinths made out of mycelium – the vegetative part of a fungus – were dotted across the store to showcase different eyewear models.

In between the shelves, a couple of long mirrors are balanced on hunks of concrete that were salvaged from roadworks nearby.

The craggy concrete was chosen as a subtle nod to the rugged Dolomite mountains, which can be seen from the Italian town where all MONC eyewear is produced.

Nina + Co worked closely alongside Welsh manufacturers Smile Plastics and London joiner EJ Ryder to design the store’s recycled PET island and bench seat, which are an apricot-orange hue.

As both furniture pieces were joined with mechanical bolts rather than glues, they can easily be taken apart, flat packed and transported to a different MONC store for reuse.

Walls throughout the interior were finished with VOC-free clay paint while the unit’s existing floor was covered with a water-based sealant.

“Previous tenants had ripped up their floor to leave a plywood subfloor, with markings of the adhesive still evident and some paint bucket outlines,” the studio explained.

“After a test patch, we were convinced that a simple water-based sealant would give it a beautiful depth and sheen with the industrial feel of concrete [while being] kinder to the planet and the budget.”

MONC is one of five projects shortlisted in the small retail interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.

It’s going head-to-head with the Durat showroom by Linda Bergroth, which is decked out in an unusual mix of colours, and Aesop’s Yorkville store by Odami with its oxblood-red balusters.

The photography is by Handover.

Reference

Sustainable News

Five designers in Mexico exhibit new uses for biomaterials

By Zarkon Group,30/09/2022

An exhibition in Mexico curated in collaboration with Danish research lab Space10 has showcased five novel uses for local biomaterials.

Called Deconstructed Home, the exhibition was set up as part of a two-week programme organised by Space10, a research arm of IKEA. The lab gave five designers six weeks of experimentation and research to conceptualise “new possibilities and uses for a local biomaterial”.

The materials ranged from beeswax to soil and the final projects will travel throughout Mexico after the initial exhibition at LOOT, a gallery in Mexico City, which took place 26 March to 9 April 2022.

“The recent pandemic has highlighted flaws in our global supply chain, and the ongoing climate emergency has revealed further issues with the way we manufacture and transport materials and products around the world,” said Elsa Dagný Ásgeirsdóttir, lead creative producer at Space10.

Articles of Protection by Taina Campos

Taina Campos worked with corn from the Milpa Alta, a neighbourhood in Mexico City. The design brief required collaboration with Mujeres de la Tierra, a local community organisation.

The organisation helps women become financially independent through the selling of food and they wanted non-plastic vessels. Campos used waste from the corn harvest in order to produce these vessels for Articles of Protection.

Migrating Objects by Bertín López

The rambutan is a plant native to southeast Asia that moved into Mexico in the 1950s.

Using the plant in the state of Soconusco, Bertín López came up with a line of home goods. The project shows the potential usages of migrating species that come to play a role in local ecosystems.

“What was once foreign has become part of the local identity,” said López in a design statement.

Homes for Honey by Gabriel Calvillo

Taking note of the dwindling populations of the melipona, a stingless bee native to Yucatán, Calvillo drew on Mayan apiary techniques used for millennia.

The designer used beeswax from the bees to mould potes and piqueras for what he calls an “interspecies collaboration”.

The structures are prefabricated hives that the bees can inhabit and then finish the construction.

Building with Earth by Karen Kerstin Poulain

Designer Karen Kerstin Poulain chose to work with the soil of Naucalpan for her project.

The result was a composite material made by combining tepetate (volcanic soil), water, rice husk in order to reduce energy usages and resource exhaustion in concrete while also taking advantage of agricultural waste.

“To build affordable housing, we need alternative methods and liquid soil has great potential,” said the designer.

Weaving Heirlooms by Paloma Morán Palomar

This project uses the fibres of the tamarind in order to create a type of thread.

The husks of the tamarind are often discarded so Palomar, working in her native Jalisco, decided to use the thread to weave rugs.

By using the materials on top of traditional weaving techniques, the design manages to be novel in material usage while drawing on indigenous techniques.

The photography is by Almendra Isabel.

Reference

biomaterials

FranklinTill lists nine principles for a shift to regenerative materials

Snøhetta designs compostable hemp light Superdupertube

The allure of the ‘bio’ prefix must be taken with some healthy scrutiny

Food-waste dyes bring colour to mycelium leather by Sages and Osmose

CornWall gives discarded corn cobs new life as interior tiles

Reef Rocket is a bio-cement reef grown from plant enzymes

Dezeen’s top 10 most innovative materials of 2023

Seven alternative bricks made of reclaimed waste and biomaterials

Nina + Co brings biomaterials into MONC eyewear store in London

Five designers in Mexico exhibit new uses for biomaterials

Get in touch

about us

Company info

Useful Links

Newsletter