Transmaterial » biomaterials

Woven Horsehair

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:00:47 +0000

Marianne Kemp develops woven textiles out of unconventional combinations of materials. Using small bunches of horsehair interwoven with linen or cotton, Kemp creates curious fabrics in diverse colors and textures. The horsehair is sourced from live horses overseas, mainly from Mongolia. In the weaving process, Kemp manipulates the bunches through knotting, curling, and looping. Each final weaving expresses the unique shine, texture, and flexibility of the horsehair fiber.

Kemp explains, “I’m fascinated by the movement of the weavings, how the horsehair is manifest in the net of the weaving technique. Also, the way the light falls on the weaving plays an important role in the process. Each piece of work has its own unique character.”

Contact: Marianne Kemp, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Symbiosis

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:00:51 +0000

A course at the Department of Microbiology at the University of Wageningen taught Jelte van Abbema how to handle bacteria and their surroundings. Armed with this new knowledge and with the help of a microscope, Abbema began experiments in living font manipulation. According to Abbema, “the page becomes a feeding ground where bacteria can proliferate, but it is the surrounding environment that determines the image’s growth potential.”

In recounting his experiences, the designer explains that “for these hungry little creatures to grow they require a nice hot and humid environment and food. Give them this and they basically grow on anything. In order to get the bacteria interested in the paper I used agar (a substance scientists use to cultivate bacteria in the laboratory). Fortunately some of them liked it, and some even started eating the cellulose of the paper. However if you let them grow without rules it immediately becomes chaotic. So to form images I had to control the shape of the bacterial culture right from the outset. For this I used various techniques such as silk-screen printing and old wooden-cut letters. At first the ink on the paper is hardly visible because the quantity of bacteria is minimal. But then, as they start to grow their pigment is unveiled and you begin to see them. In a converted poster box where the paper can reveal its life, messages appear and change through time.”

Contact: Jelte van Abbema, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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BAMbOO

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:00:07 +0000

BAMbOO panels are made by casting bamboo sections in translucent resins. The diagonally-cut bamboo sections may be open or filled with a different color resin for a dramatic spatial effect. By changing the amount, size, or direction of bamboo ovals, the acoustic performance of the panels changes as well as their look and feel. The simple production technique allows the panels to be customized easily based on aesthetic and functional requirements.

Designers Yvonne Laurysen and Erik Mantel developed BAMbOO for the project ‘Design Interventions for Stimulating Bamboo Commercialization’ by Pablo van der Lught.

Contact: LAMA Concept, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Kebony

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:00:32 +0000

Kebony is a high performance wood that is modified by a process called Kebonization, which is an environmentally friendly procedure that enhances the properties of wood using biowaste from the sugar industry. Kebony is a durable alternative to impregnated surface-treated and tropical timber.

The process, which is based on a liquid extracted from biowaste, strengthens the cellular walls of wood, increases the density of the materials, and makes the product stiffer and significantly harder than untreated wood. Kebonization results in the wood cells being permanently blocked, which reduces shrinkage and swelling by approximately 50% when compared with untreated wood. The polymer is permanently bonded to the cell structure in the wood by means of a process that cannot be reversed; thus, Kebony contains no chemicals that can be released into the environment. In the waste disposal phase, Kebony can be treated as regular untreated wood.

Available Kebony species are pine, spruce, oak, beech, maple and southern yellow pine. The raw materials for Kebony are acquired from commercially managed forests with large timber harvests. Kebonized wood has a golden brown colour that naturally turns grey. Kebony acquires a natural silver-grey patina and exposure to sun and rain creates an interesting effect of visual depth.

Kebony exhibits good durability and long life spans in harsh climates, and there is no need for paint or sealing. The increased resistance protects against decay, fungi, insects and other microorganisms. Required maintenance is limited to normal cleaning.

Contact: Kebony ASA, Skien, Norway.
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Strandwoven Bamboo

Blaine Brownell — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:00:57 +0000

Strandwoven bamboo is one of the most durable hardwoods known. Used typically for hardwood flooring (and other millwork components), Strandwoven bamboo is suitable both in residential and high-traffic commercial applications. Thin filaments of bamboo are mixed in a low-VOC heat sensitive resin and compressed under intense pressures to form a consistent and extremely dense log/ beam. This log is then milled into the required dimension.

Strandwoven bamboo is not only superior in its hardness and stability, it is also superior in its environmental attributes. Bamboo is a grass and grows up to sixty feet in height in a couple of months, at which time it is left to internally mature before harvesting. Unmatched with any other wood used in construction, Strandwoven bamboo uses eighty-four percent of the raw material harvested (for comparison, “traditional” bamboo flooring, which uses material significantly more effectively than any other wood, uses only sixty-five percent of the raw material harvested) in addition to using a significant percentage of postindustrial scrap, which would otherwise be burned.

Contact: Strandwoven Wood Company, Boulder, CO, USA.
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Give Back Curtain

Blaine Brownell — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:00:51 +0000

The Give Back Curtain is part of a series of techno-fabric designs that rethink the traditional and modern applications of portable fabric screens. The Give Back Curtain gives a pliable fabric matrix the capacity to illuminate, define space dynamically over time, and provide a portable form of privacy without partitions.

The Give Back Curtain recycles light through a fabrication process that integrates photo-luminescent pigments in synthetic or natural fibers. Light of a shorter wavelength, such as sunlight or fluorescent light, is absorbed by the fabric, retained, and then released as visible light emitted within another part of the color spectrum.

Contact: Sheila Kennedy with Sheetal Khanna-Ravitch, Boston, MA, USA.
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Mycobond

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:00:40 +0000

Mycobond is a mycological bio-composite that can be used in a wide variety of applications. Instead of conventional manufacturing processes, Mycobond uses mycelium—which is essentially the root system of a mushroom—to transform loose aggregates into strong composites. This process can be varied by using different species of fungus and mixtures of aggregates in order to make a composite with an optimal density, strength, appearance, and performance for the specific application.

Additionally, Mycobond represents a low-embodied-energy manufacturing process as the material self assembles at room temperature and pressure in the dark. Furthermore, Mycobond upcycles resources like rice hulls, cotton burrs, and buckwheat hulls that are otherwise thrown away, transforming them into valuable products, including rigid board insulation and protective packaging buffers.

Contact: Ecovative Design, Troy, NY, USA.
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Gouged Collection

Blaine Brownell — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:08:41 +0000

Architectural Systems offers a collection of wood and integral-color MDF panels with a striking 3D-milled surface effect. A variety of milling surface patterns, wood veneers, and specialty finishes, such as matte velour, stains, and pearlescent colors, are available. The panels may be hung, affixed, or incorporated into any interior flat or curved surface. Panel thickness varies according to the selected substrate material.

Contact: Architectural Systems, Inc., New York, NY, USA.
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NovaCork

Blaine Brownell — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:00:04 +0000

NovaCork panels are ideal for tackable surface applications located in high-traffic areas. The combination of post-consumer recycled cork and a post-consumer recycled Homasote substrate provides a durable and environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional cork boards. NovaCork panels are also available with a Class A fire-rating.

Contact: Homasote, West Trenton, NJ, USA.
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BL Special

Blaine Brownell — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:37 +0000

Designed by Steven Holl with Nick Gelpi, Alberto Martinuzzo, and Alessandro Orsini, BL Special is a composite panel comprised of wood veneers and a proprietary substrate. BL Special was developed to overcome limitations presented by conventional composite panels when modified with a laser cutter. BL stands for “Bi-Legno,” which translates as two layers of wood. The material may be readily folded along scored lines and is designed for the assembly of complex geometric structures as well as rapid prototyping applications.

Contact: Ableflex, di Gaiarine, Italy.
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