. . . . . .

MATERIALS INNOVATION

/ unit five . 

For unit five expanded practice I chose materials innovation because I wanted to extend my knowledge of material matter which I could then possibly reflect within my own practice of textile design.

As a group, each week within the lectures we were shown individuals who pushed and adapted materials and process to be innovative within their field. Afterwards we were set to the task of finding similar processes or materials that we found inspiring and to then post our personal research and thoughts onto an online platform. The posts had to be analytical, reflective and informative.

After our first lecture I realised just how enormous the meaning of the word ‘materials’ is. Every single object or thing around us is made from a certain material or of a various number of materials formed together in a process. I thought about anywhere you are taking a photograph of what you can see in front of you and naming the materials. Doing this would give a glimpse into how much there is around us and would probably be quite overwhelming; as all these materials have to be made form something and to have come from somewhere and be made by someone.

It is this thought that I believe many innovative designers consider today. There is so much around us that we consume so how can design create change? In one lecture we were shown a youtube clip that repeated the phrase ‘we have just arrived’ reiterating the point that the we are temporary and all these things we are creating and consuming are temporary too. So because of this many innovative designs I looked at focused on ‘products with meaning’, ‘using less’ and ‘sustainability’.

I was initially inspired by Adam Blencowe who simply reversed the roles in a process to create a product that is so unique and individual. The innovative reversal of the role demonstrated a stool shaped ice block melting inside a container filled with Plaster of Paris, instead of the ordinary mixing of the two substances. From this I discovered Nadine Goepfert’s melting ice pigment blocks. What I find most interesting about this process is that, like the ice stool, the creator has some but little control over the final outcome as it is unpredictable and therefore creating a uniqueness in each piece. I went on to discovered a designer who was innovative in a similar way to Blencowe’s with a little bit of role reversal. Amanda Brazier made her own paints from the soils outside of her home instead of using readily available commercial paints. Her consideration for materials is inspiring and one which I should consider in my own practice. Most objects around us are given little consideration as to where they have come from or how they were made however Brazier considers this in every point of her work.

However at this point I felt on my blog I wasn't focusing on modern materials innovation, so I researched and blogged about a material that is commonly used; concrete. I compared two types of innovative concrete. One being aesthetically developed and the other being environmentally conscious. The aesthetically developed concrete was made transparent, making it 30% lighter than normal concrete and allowing in 80% more light. The other, known as ‘green concrete’ stores polluted carbon dioxide in the cement itself. Both these innovations I see as important as one another as the innovations create change. I also did research in 3D printing. The fairly recent technology has many of us interested of its potential. Similar to the concrete blog post, I looked at 3D printing for aesthetic purposes such as ceramics but also medical developments of the process which included 3D printed teeth.

From this research for unit five I was inspired by the amount of development and diversity old processes can achieve with the use different combinations of materials. I have learnt that innovation to materials comes from challenging approaches and developing technologies. Everyone is aware of the environmental impact we are having on the earth. In a world that is currently producing, creating and consuming more than needed, it has become evidently clear to me that it is our responsibility as designers to be open minded and consider alternative material choices that have less environmental impact, as our material choice matters most and with this increased knowledge it would be wrong to ignore it.

MATERIALS INNOVATION

/ unit five.

Throughout unit five I have been introduced to many materials and processes that I did not research and analyses but still found very interesting and will always consider. Such as the idea of natural growth and innovative ways materials are being manipulated to created sustainable designs.

The scientifically modified materials included;

bio cellulose / mycelium / algee / guided growth & manipulating DNA

The uses were fascinating and give an insight into the future of design.

 A few facts …

Bio cellulose is used to create blood vessels and is therefore bio-compatible. Mycelium is a mass fungus filament and is biodegradable so after use can essentially go back into the ground. Axel Erlandson’s guided growth creates function in a decorative form without creating any waste, labour or emissions.

/ IMAGE REFERENCE

Axel Erlandson - Guided Growth

Eric Klarenbeek - Mycelium Chair

Fairs, Marcus. "Mycelium Chair By Eric Klarenbeek Is 3D-Printed With Living Fungus".

Dezeen

. N.p., 2013. Web.

MATERIALS INNOVATION

/ unit five.

“Biomimicry is the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modelled on biological entities and processes.”

Biomimicry is essentially taking inspiration or imitating nature’s biological processes for design with the idea that natural processes can be used to solve human problems. A designer who demonstrates this innovative process is Lillian van Daal; a Dutch designer who creates soft seating in a more sustainable way.

The inspiration for the seat is taken from the structure of plant cells. Daal used 3D printing to reduce waste as seating is usually made up of a mixture of materials and substances that are glued, nailed or sealed together. This commercial process isn't always easy to recycle as it is hard to separate.

When first viewing the seat and not reading the description I presumed it was a complex structure of laxer cut card. However Daal creates the seats with a recyclable substance and the product is formed in one factory. This in turn reduces pollution caused by transport.

I find the structure of the chair quite fascinating, it looks as though it would be too weak and fragile to sit on and be practical, however the form and ‘plant cell structure’ allows it to be fully functioning.

The 3D printed soft seat is at a prototype stage but I think the concept of the chair is revolutionary and looks very comfortable. I also love the aesthetics of the chair, however its raw state makes it look quite inexpensive even though the process and making of the chair would probably have been the opposite. However my subjective opinion may just be based on the connotations to cardboard and the quality of the chair may differ off of a screen. 

/ REFERENCE

Biomimicry Institute,. "What Is Biomimicry? – Biomimicry Institute". N.p., 2016. Web.

Lilianvandaal.com,. "BIOMIMICRY: 3D Printed Soft Seat | Lilian Van Daal". N.p., 2016. Web.

MATERIALS INNOVATION

/ unit five.

COS × PALAIS DE TOKYO

‘This Autumn, COS is proud to be supporting ‘Tape Paris’, an installation by art collective Numen / For Use, part of the landmark group exhibition, INSIDE, at Palais de Tokyo.

Set over two levels, the exhibition transforms the gallery space through a series of immersive art installations by a collection of international artists.

Film by Andrew Telling’

In a seminar spoken by Sioban Imms we were shown this video for Cos x Palais de Tokyo.

In the video a large installation curated by Cos stands within the Palais De Tokyo, a building which is dedicated to modern and contemporary art. The installation is made entirely from scotch tape, layers and layers of the tape where pasted onto one another and moulded to create a structure that people can walk over and lie down on. The installation purely authenticates how building up layers of something that is quite fragile it can form an object that becomes strong.

I find it quite inspiring how a humble everyday material such as tape can be used on this scale and opens up opportunities in my mind for other familiar materials.

/REFERENCES

Cosstores.com,. "COS". N.p., 2016. Web.

MATERIALS INNOVATION

/ unit five.

When previously looking at 3D printing with ceramics I came across this article on the Guardian of 3D printed teeth demonstrating the development and attainability the innovation of 3D printing possess.

With the development of 3D printing Dutch scientists at the University of Groningen have developed teeth which are made from an antimicrobial plastic. The plastic, which is embedded with antimicrobial quaternary ammonium salts kills the bacteria responsible for tooth decay. The 3D printed teeth have been through many tests and procedures including exposing the teeth to the bacteria within saliva that causes tooth decay. The results show that the teeth do kill more than 99% of bacteria and showed no signs of being harmful to human cells. The teeth have not yet been tested in a human mouth but specialists such as Joseph DeSimone of the 3D printing company Carbon3D speaks on the possibility of while-you-wait tooth printing.

I found the innovation of 3D printing teeth, which allow teeth to remain white and pristine, quite interesting even though the idea of a 3D printed tooth inside your mouth might not be so appealing to others. The growth of 3D printers in medicine and dentistry is exciting and promising with other areas such as ‘bio-printing’ human skin tissue and bone.

/REFERENCES

Basulto, Dominic. "The Latest Advance In 3D Printing: Replacement Teeth". the Guardian. N.p., 2015. Web.

MATERIALS INNOVATION

/unit five .

‘CONCRETE TREND’

After a lecture with Sioban Imms we were shown how to see the beginnings of a trend and forecasting.

After recently viewing the 2017/18 trend forecast by WGSN I found that the four trend categories have the overall sense of minimal and essentials within design, with the idea of less being more and unnecessary waste being abolished.  

I think that the use of materials within interiors could be placed under these trends. For example, exposed brick walls and exposed pipes but more so single materials such as concrete being apparent and brought to light with less use of other materials to cover or disguise.

Smooth. textured or polished concrete. Used in different ways but unmistakably concrete walls, floors, sideboards, ceramics, lighting and more.

/ REFERENCE

WGSN Fashion Trend Forecasting and Analysis,. "WGSN Fashion Trend Forecasting And Analysis". N.p., 2016. Web.

Thomortiz.tumblr.com,. "Snake Ranch". N.p., 2016. Web.

More images for Novacem green concrete.

/ REFERENCE

evenmobetter,. "Material Of The Year Winner: Novacem's Carbon Negative Cement". N.p., 2011. Web.

MATERIALS INNOVATION /unit five.

‘CONCRETE’

This week we have been asked to compare two designers or manufacturers who use the same materials or techniques. I have chosen to look at the material concrete as I was interested in an image I came across of coloured concrete. Linking on from pigments. The two innovations of concrete are focused on the same material, but have different outcomes and uses; one is for form, the other function.

Reinforced concrete was used to make building columns and decks in high rises in the 1960’s to replace steel girders and steel decking. Concrete is often used in residential driveways, house foundations, walls, as well as many other uses such as paving and curb & gutter applications. These applications are often covered over and not made a feature of so it is safe to say concrete is used for functional and practical purposes.

Two university students have developed concrete to make it transparent. Aesthetically advancing the material so it is 30% lighter than normal concrete and lets in 80% more light. This adaptation to the material makes its use value increase as it can now be used for areas within interiors to bring the material to the surface and not just the solid structure substance in buildings. Not only does it mean that the innovation to concrete can be used in more alternate ways but the aesthetics have changed with the newness of colour since just about any pigment can be added to the mix, making it possibly more engaging.

Many people may see concrete as a cold, cheap material, however more recently it is used in interiors in alternative ways. I personally love the aesthetics of concrete whether it is in its raw state, polished or combined with recycled flecks of glass or other contrasting materials.

But besides from aesthetics… concrete is responsible for 5% of carbon dioxide emissions. An enormous amount of emissions polluting the environment. So the second innovation of concrete I am going to look at is a new type of cement developed by the company Novacem. They are advancing the material to make it more sustainable and environmentally friendly by storing carbon dioxide in the cement itself.

“Making cement for concrete involves heating pulverised limestone, clay, and sand to 1,450 °C with a fuel such as coal or natural gas. The process generates a lot of carbon dioxide: making one metric ton of commonly used Portland cement releases 650 to 920 kilograms of it. The 2.8 billion metric tons of cement produced worldwide in 2009 contributed about 5 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions… eliminate those emissions with a cement that absorbs more carbon dioxide than is released during its manufacture. It locks away as much as 100 kilograms of the greenhouse gas per ton.”

However as there are no legalities to the use of concrete industrial building companies will more often than not choose the cheaper more reliable and known concrete they have used for many years. Hamlin Jennings (a professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at northwestern university) commented that; “They are introducing a very new material to a very conservative industry.”

There are other companies working on and advancing ‘green concrete’. To name a few:

Kurt Zenz House, MIT Calera, Los Gatos, CA Joseph Davidovits, Geopolymer Institute, FRANCE

I have learnt from my peers that there are other revolutionary processes being developed such as growing bricks by the company ‘Biomason’. They grow bricks from sand and bacteria to reduce CO2 emission, and have developed a method on growing materials by employing microorganism. So the obvious advantages to Novacem concrete are that it is more environmentally friendly than normal cement but it also hasn’t changed the process, ingredients as much as other processes. Possibly making for the progression from companies using concrete to green concrete such as the material created by Novacem a little easier.

What I found interesting when being shown my peers blogs is the idea of people needing an object to be aesthetically interesting or deemed as ‘beautiful’ for the viewer to engage with it. This idea was brought up in conversation about ‘Wonderland’, the dresses made from PVA and soluble fabric that dissolve in water and are essentially sustainable. The dresses are extremely detailed and beautifully decorated so when they do dissolve the process evokes the question of what happens to the material after you use them? So adapting and developing the material for aesthetic and environmental reasons are as important as one another but possibly combining the two could make the material breakthrough.

/ REFERENCES

Greayer, Rochelle. "Translucent Lightweight Concrete - Pith + Vigor - Cultivating Garden Style". Pith + Vigor - Cultivating Garden Style. N.p., 2009. Web. 

Tickell, Oliver, and Terry Macalister. "Novacem's Green Technology Rights Bought By Mystery Firm". the Guardian. N.p., 2012. Web.

/ IMAGE

Transparent concrete, by Mexican students Joel Sosa and Sergio Omar Galván, is 30% lighter than normal concrete and lets through 80% of the light.

Novacem Concrete. Carbon negative cement. 

MATERIALS INNOVATION / unit five.

'TRADITIONAL’

Linking on from previous blogs which have focused on pigments I tried to find an artist or designer who uses natural materials in a relative way. Then I came across the Chattanooga based artist Amanda Brazier. She makes all of her paint from pigments processed from the soils near her home in Tennessee. This process of using natural materials cuts out the chemicals in manufactured paints and allows a more personal aspect to her work. I have been asked to consider the implications to the aesthetics and industry; the implications of this process aesthetically is that colour palette is limited, especially with the grand expanse of readily available paints there are today. The implications in terms of industry is that the innovation has already happened throughout the ages. So the questions for analysis does not fully fit to this designer in particular; as she isn’t intending to be innovative. However instead is using a process which has been industrialised in a personal more ethical and environmentally friendly way. Unfortunately this designer does not fully fit the intentions of the materials innovation task as she is essentially doing the opposite of materials innovation by taking the process back to the ‘roots’ / home grown sources however is being innovative in the sense that other designers nowadays use ready made pigments after the innovation of paint tubes in 1841.

Brazier explains her process in the text that follows. “My work explores man’s elemental interaction with his environment, particularly in the measured way he builds and inhabits shelter. Influenced by the forms and materials of primitive earth dwellings, my visual language is grounded in architecture and repetition. Like the building process, the paintings develop through stacking, weaving, and assembling simple forms. In addition to referencing the physical structure of a home, the textures and patterning of the paintings suggest woven cloths or quilts, also symbols of protection and comfort. I make paint from pigments processed from the soils near my home, constructing a painted sanctuary with a sense of its origin and culture.”

As an individual who is quite specific in choice of aesthetics even though the works by Brazier may not be similar to my taste her consideration for materials is inspiring and one which I should consider in my own practice. Most objects around us are given little consideration as to where they have come from or how they were made however Brazier considers every point of her work such as which part of the ground she digs up her pigments to use in her artwork.

/ REFERENCES 

Thejealouscurator.com,. 'The Jealous Curator /// Curated Contemporary Art  /// Amanda Brazier'. Web.

MATERIALS INNOVATION

/ unit five.

Amanda Brazier. Process of making paint from soils found outside her own home.

/ REFERENCES

MATERIALS INNOVATION

/ unit five.

‘RESOURCEFUL’ 

This is a video from YouTube posted on how to make your own pigments. There are countless tutorials on youtube of ‘How to make your own pigments’ from substances that are readily available to us today however these ingredients are still made up of many components. Videos like the one linked also demonstrates how modern day innovations such as a simple coffee blender are reused freely and also indicates that generally, society own, have and hold more and more materials and objects. This makes me think back to Thomas Thwaites consideration to components and how his project reflected the lack of thought we give to materials as consumers.

/ REFERENCES

How To Make Your Own Pigments/Weathering Powders. YouTube: Simon Cressey, 2013. video.

MATERIALS INNOVATION

/ unit five.

‘HISTORY OF PIGMENTS’

Following on from last week I have been asked to research the history behind the process or material that I have previously analysed.So I began to think about pigments and how they one of the earliest forms of innovative material and essentially made from the purest natural minerals.

The definition of a pigment is a material that changes the colour of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption.Pigments can be dated back to the stone age and the history and development of each colour is quite broad so therefore I have decided to look briefly over the history instead and not delve into the meaning behind the many individual pigmented colours.

The earliest ‘paintings’ were found in caves as walls were covered in decorative images made from dirt or charcoal mixed with spit or animal fat. These are referred to as ‘earth pigments’.

‘Earth pigments’ are (minerals limonite and hematite, red ochre, yellow ochre and umber), charcoal from the fire (carbon black), burnt bones (bone black) and white from grounded calcite (lime white).

Traditionally the earth pigments are prepared by grinding and sifting in water native clays. The mineral pigments are obtained by pulverising natural ores and the organic dyes derived from plant sources and extracted variously from roots, berries, barks and leaves.

The history of pigments is divided up into;

prehistory / antiquity / medieval age / renaissance & baroque / modern age / industrialisation / contemporary age

The main innovations throughout that have changed the ‘ingredients’ and processes of the materials …

Humans discovered that pigments worked more effectively when mixed with a medium such as water or saliva.

Pre historic dwellers discovered that, unlike the dye colours they were using which were derived from animal and vegetable sources, the colour that came from iron oxide deposits in the earth would not fade with the changing environment.

The Minoans are attributed with inventing the fresco by applying pigments directly to a fresh lime surface. The pigments they used were earth pigments because they were unaffected by alkalis.

Egyptians made paints by using the ground pigment with gums or animal glue, which made them workable and fixed them to the surface being decorated.

Egyptians began to fix dyes onto a transparent white powder base to produce pigments (madder lake, carmine lake). Solutions of organic dyes extracted from parts of plants were mixed with hydrated clay or tannin to form an insoluble pigment.

In the 15th century, egg began to be replaced by walnut or linseed oil as media. These dried more slowly than tempera and created a paint that was more versatile.

Smalt is a very good dryer and was used for this purpose and also to give bulk to thick glazes containing lake pigments, which are poor dryers.

William reeves discovered that the addition of honey to the colours prevented cracking in storage.

Collapsible tin paint tube, invented in 1841 by american painter John Rand. This revolutionised the technique of oil painting by offering a range of pre-mixed colours in a convenient, portable medium.

The most important painting invention of the 20th century was acrylic paint, commercially available since the 1950s.

“Nowadays, almost everything used, worn or consumed is coloured, and many thousands of dyes are in current commercial use.” (Osborne 1980:58) As Osborne explains, from the 20th century and proceeding into the 21st and the current day almost everything in use is coloured or dyed making it an important process when creating innovative materials or objects.

REFERENCES

Webexhibits.org,. ‘Pigments Through The Ages - Detailed Pigment Histories, Recipes’. Web.

Osborne, Roy. Lights And Pigments. New York: Harper & Row, 1980. Print.

MATERIALS INNOVATION / unit five.

‘THE TOASTER PROJECT’

This week Thomas Thwaite spoke about ‘The Toaster Project’ which he completed for his second year studying at the Royal College of Art. In the project he used design to create debate instead of a solution. He explained his process of taking to pieces a cheap toaster from Argos and categorising each part into the singular substance they were made from; he discovered that there were hundreds. The reason for doing so was to ‘start from the ground up’; as everything essentially started from the ground, as ‘rock’ or ‘sludge’. His project made me rethink basic objects and the materials/time/energy that goes into each small part of the bigger object.

/ REFERENCES

Thomasthwaites.com,. 'THOMAS THWAITES   » The Toaster Project'. Web.

'Daniel Alexander Photography'. N.p., 2015. Web.

MATERIALS INNOVATION / unit five.

‘MELTING PIGMENTS’

Adam Guy Blencowe’s interesting reversal in process led me to thinking about the process of melting. Melting is defined as to make or become liquefied by heating, and automatically as a student practicing textiles I thought about ways in which you can manipulate fabrics through melting. Such as the melting of synthetic fabrics to create texture, dissolvable fabric that melts in water, resist dye techniques using melted wax (batik) and so on.

Then I came across Nadine Goepfert’s melting pigment on materialsagency.tumblr.com. The image on the Materials Agency is from a series of photographs from the work titled ‘COICEIDENCE 2009′ by Goepfert. What I find most interesting about this process is that, like the ice stool, the creator has some but little control over the final outcome as it is unpredictable and therefore creating a uniqueness in each piece.

Goepfert has controlled the sizes of pigmented ice chunks as well as shape and placement but little more can be done. Pattern on the fabric can be created depending on the volume of water/dye ratio to affect the intensity of the dye as well as the size of the ice block. Small chunks could be placed far apart to create a pattern or many chunks to fully cover with dye the chosen fabric or material. If there are many blocks of ice on or above a fabric the ink colours from the ice blocks may blend and run which would also be interesting to see. I began thinking of ways to add or develop the technique and considered that texture can be added by including another material in the frozen blocks of pigment that would fuse to the fabric. For example frozen natural dyes such as blended raspberry dye with pulp included could be experimented with.

In her own words, Goepfert explains the blanket she dyed with the the process:

“THE RESULTING BLANKET IS "DESIGNED" THROUGH THE INITIAL CHOICES MADE BY THE END-USER IN SELECTING THE SHAPES AND COLOURS OF THE ICE CUBES, AN THROUGH THE FOLLOWING ACT OF MELTING IN WHICH COINCIDENCE PLAYS THE CENTRAL ROLE.”

As the goal is to start thinking how to use different processes in my practice this technique could be used to dye my warp, instead of initial dying the yarn with acid or milling dyes. Furthermore if the warp is layered, the melting pigments would drip down to other layers creating a unique colour tone.

/ REFERENCES

Nadinegoepfert.com,. 'COICEIDENCE : Nadine Goepfert — Textile & Design'. N.p., 2015. Web.

Materialsagency.tumblr.com,. 'Materials Agency'. N.p., 2015. Web.

MATERIALS INNOVATION

/ unit five.

ADAM GUY BLENCOWE. THAW PROJECT.

Further images of the ‘ice stool’ when it is removed from the box full of Plaster of Paris. As the excess is brushed away the more texture is revealed.

/ REFERENCE

Adamguyblencowe.com,. 'Adam Guy Blencowe'. N.p., 2015. Web.