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    Natural Material Studio crafts entire home interior from bioplastic

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    As part of 3 Days of Design, Danish practice Natural Material Studio has created a futuristic fossil-free home interior where all the elements, from the curtains to the sofa, are made from the same bioplastic.

    White Utopia is Natural Material Studio’s most ambitious installation to date, adapting the studio’s Procel bioplastic to form massive functioning furniture pieces across three separate rooms – a dining room, a lounge and a bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe.
    The White Utopia installation includes a lounge (top image) and dining room (above)The exhibition envisions a future where our homes are made entirely using biomaterials like this, which can be endlessly remade into new products and backyard composted at the end of their life, rather than ending up in landfill.
    “The installation has for sure been the most challenging to date due to the complexity in scale and the three-dimensionality of the whole ‘house’,” studio founder Bonnie Hvillum told Dezeen. “You can really start to see how we can live with these new materials.”
    Every element down to the lampshades is made from Procel bioplasticNatural Material Studio initially developed Procel as a flexible biotextile, used to form everything from clothes to curtains. But recently, the studio started experimenting with adapting its recipe to create whole load-bearing furniture pieces.

    The core ingredient is a specific – although nondisclosed – natural protein, which Hvillum says can be derived from either plants or animals.
    Among the larger pieces is a monobloc biofoam sofa”It’s very much used in the medical industry, also in bookbinding,” said the designer, who sources her protein from different suppliers across Europe.
    “It’s used in many different places,” she added. “But when I called them and said ‘can you figure out a way of supplying this to me’, they were like ‘okay, we’ve never had this question before’.”
    The installation also features a bedroom with a walk-in wardrobeTo create Procel, this natural protein is mixed with a small amount of chalk for strength and a natural softener made from plant oils for flexibility.
    Combined in different rations and cast into different moulds, this mixture was used to create not just the textile room dividers found in White Utopia but an entire bio-foam sofa for the living room, stools for the dining area and a giant platform bed that visitors were encouraged to sit on.

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    By taking out the softener, Natural Material Studio was also able to create more rigid pieces, including a dining table that was originally cast as a simple rectangle but deformed into a more organic shape as it dried.
    “The presented design objects are really pushing the possibilities of these materials,” Hvillum said. “Opening the door to making them structural is a completely new route for us.”
    “I think it holds so much potential, creating materials that resemble polystyrene and vacuum-formed plastics.”
    Visitors were encouraged to sit on the bioplastic bedFurnituremakers including Isomi and Natuzzi have already started experimenting with using natural latex as an alternative to traditional polyurethane upholstery foam, as the plastic is hard to recycle and contains toxic chemicals.
    Hvillum argues that Procel could offer another promising alternative, as it can be endlessly recast to form new products or simply buried outside in the garden, where it will degrade within a month.
    “We are basically investigating fluidity,” Hvillum said. “So everything is in motion and things can move on to have another life. ”
    “This is how we envision the future to be.”
    Procel biotextiles were also used to form wall coveringsProcel has already made it out into the real world with clients including Calvin Klein and Copenhagen restaurant ÅBEN.
    A collaboration with a Spanish luxury fashion house is also in the works, despite the brand being weary of using animal-derived protein.
    However, Hvillum argues that animal polymers can actually be more sustainable than their vegan counterpart because they are made from waste residues from the meat industry.
    The dining table deformed as it dried”When we work with animal-based materials, we can actually tap into a waste flow so we work with second-generation materials,” she explained. “Whereas when we work with plant materials, we work with virgin materials.”
    “Sustainability is a lot more complex than just: is it animal or is it vegan,” she added. “It’s more about: what sources can we reuse from so that we keep things in a circular loop.”
    The photography is by Peter Vinther.
    White Utopia was part of 3 Days of Design, which took place at venues across Copenhagen from 12 to 14 June. See Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.

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      Nina+Co uses salvaged materials and biotextiles for Big Beauty’s first store

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      Design studio Nina+Co has used materials informed by the ingredients used in natural skincare products for Big Beauty’s first store in Hackney, London.

      For its first retail space, Big Beauty founder Lisa Targett Bolding wanted to create a space that was an extension of the brand’s ethos. She worked closely with Nina+Co, which chose to incorporate waste materials and biomaterials like mycelium into the design.
      According to Nina+Co founder Nina Woodcroft, every material choice was aimed at minimising waste or reviving waste products.
      The Big Beauty shop was designed by Nina+Co”Lisa was determined to push the boundaries of material use and circularity and is willing to take risks, which is necessary when experimenting with materials and processes that are new,” she told Dezeen.
      “There are many great materials and solutions that we desperately need to become mainstream, but making them commercially viable can be a slow and long-winded process,” she continued.

      “The goal at Nina+Co is to bridge this gap, to show how beautiful and useful these materials and processes can be, and to work on changing attitudes towards waste and considering end-of-use.”
      The project features salvaged and biomaterialsRaw stone edges, metal patination, and earthy tones were blended with soft, oversized, rounded forms to create a calming effect throughout the space where, besides the retail area, there is a private treatment room for massages and facials.
      The main space was designed to be flexible and host events, with seating arranged around a large travertine stone table, which was sourced 50 per cent from salvage and 50 per cent from offcuts.
      Salvaged travertine stone was used for the central table with only minimal shaping to some edgesThe travertine used for the central table was kept in the large slabs in which it was found, with only minimal shaping to some edges, in a bid to reduce wastage and retain integrity for future applications.
      As well as the reclaimed natural stone, Nina+Co used expanded cork blocks that were shaped into storage units and salvaged steel, which has been re-worked into shelving.
      Expanded cork blocks are used to create storage unitsMany of the materials chosen were informed by the minerals and ingredients used in natural skincare such as clay, seaweed and mushroom extracts.
      Mycelium was grown to form plinths and legs using the reishi species. Reishi mushroom and clay were also used to pigment curtains of a seaweed biotextile, which have tiny trapped air bubbles to look like sea foam or bath bubbles.
      The seaweed biotextile, along with hemp fabric, was hung as a backdrop for the window display that shades the interior.
      Seaweed biotextile panels feature tiny trapped air bubblesWhen asked about the challenges of working with mycelium, Woodcroft said “every project has its hiccups. Mycelium needs precise conditions to grow and contamination is tricky to avoid without serious lab facilities.”
      “We inoculate organic waste with mushroom spores then the fungus digests the substrate and binds together with tiny hyphae threads into a homogenous form within a mould; when gently dried, the mycelium becomes inert and we are left with strong, organic pieces of furniture that are ultimately compostable,” she explained.
      “There’s so much more to explore with mycelium and I intend to.”
      A glass block wall encloses a private treatment room.Also as part of the renovation, the studio removed the existing timber floor and underlay, which were both sold locally with proceeds going to charity.
      The grey concrete beneath was then stained to a warmer brown using iron sulphate, a common grass fertiliser. Cork tiles with a natural hard wax finish were used for the kitchen and toilet. The walls and ceiling were coated with a limewash paint made from clay, minerals and natural pigments.
      Mycelium and Reishi mushroom species were used to create plinths and legs for the displaysAccording to Woodcroft, each area of the shop tells a story of material exploration and experimentation.
      The space offers – as the brand puts it – “a sense of provenance, connection and reverence” for the natural components of the skincare products on the shelves.
      Big Beauty’s windows feature panels of mycelium biotextileNina+Co has previous experience working with ancient and pioneering materials like mushroom mycelium, algae and bioplastics. The design studio worked on the fit-out of Silo, a zero-waste restaurant in the London suburb of Hackney Wick, and more recently the MONC eyewear store also in the British capital.
      The photography is by Anna Batchelor

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      Oltre Terra exhibition calls for “constructive relationship” between humans and sheep

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      Design duo Formafantasma has unveiled an exhibition at Oslo’s National Museum of Norway about the history and future of wool production, featuring a 1,700-year-old tunic and a carpet made from waste fibres.

      Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of Formafantasma created the Oltre Terra exhibition, curated by Hannah Eide, to unravel humanity’s past and present relationship with sheep and, by extension, the production of wool.
      Oltre Terra includes a carpet made from discarded wool fibresThe exhibition features archival and contemporary objects, including life-size replicas of seven different breeds of sheep and tools for shearing, arranged across a diorama-style set within a single gallery at Norway’s national museum.
      Among the first animals to be domesticated by humans, sheep were first culled by hunter-gatherers around 11,000 years ago.
      Tools for shearing also feature in the exhibitionThis marked the start of a complex relationship, according to Formafantasma.

      “The National Museum of Norway [which commissioned Oltre Terra] was interested in us developing a body of work that relates to the local community in Oslo, because wool was an extremely important material in Norwegian culture before the development of the industry connected to oil and farming,” Trimarchi and Farresin told Dezeen.
      The exhibition design nods to dioramasOltre Terra aimed to combine artefacts typically seen in natural history museums with ones more commonly exhibited at art and design galleries, in order to highlight the interdependency between biological evolution and production processes.
      Among the pieces on show are a cream carpet by CC-Tapis made of four different wool fibres extracted from 12 Italian sheep breeds.
      This wool was left over from production and would usually be discarded for its coarseness, but the carpet intends to illustrate how these rougher fibres can still be used to make products that are not in direct contact with skin.
      The exhibition shows artifacts typically seen in natural history museums and art galleriesAlso on display is a 1,700-year-old woollen tunic, which was found preserved under a mountain ice patch 200 miles northwest of Oslo in 2011, and woollen sails that were used for Viking Age boats.
      At the centre of the installation sits a video that Formafantasma created with artist Joanna Piotrowska. Called Tactile Afferents, the film focusses on the sense of touch and explores the ways in which humans have interacted with sheep over time.
      Pieces range from contemporary to historical artefactsThe exhibition also features replicas of notable examples of the species, such as Shrek, the Merino sheep from New Zealand who – like many others – was discovered in the wild with an overgrown coat in 2004 after he escaped his domestic flock six years prior.
      This is an example of when sheep need humans, according to Formafantasma.
      “Many people are against animal farming, which, when it is intensive farming, we also think is extremely problematic,” said the designers.
      “But sheep at the moment are not like their wild ancestors, Mouflons – they do not naturally lose hair. They need humans to shear them.”
      A 1,700-year-old woollen tunic features in the exhibitionThe show’s exhibition design nods to the concept of the diorama – miniature or largescale models found in museums that are encased in glass and typically display three-dimensional figures.
      For Oltre Terra, the diorama was “exploded” into sections and left open, rather than covered in glass, to allow visitors to feel more connected to the pieces and to question the boundary between art and science.

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      “For us, it’s about unifying narratives and showing how these are complex ecologies that should be displayed together,” said Trimarchi and Farresin of the installation.
      “The scope of the exhibition is to explore this very intimate yet intricate relationship between humans and animals, in which the boundaries between tamer and domesticated fade,” continued the designers.
      Tactile Afferents is a film presented in the centre of the dioramaTrimarchi and Farresin explained that one of the exhibition’s overarching aims was to promote mutual dependence and respect between humans and sheep, especially when it comes to farming practices.
      “The relationship between humans and sheep is much more complicated and complex,” they added.
      “As with human relationships, there are abusive relationships, and there are just relationships and constructive relationships. What we’re doing now [with livestock] is, in some cases, extremely abusive, but this does not mean that sheep and animals and humans cannot live in a process of symbiosis.”
      Formafantasma created numerous sheep replicas for the exhibitionThe show took its name from the etymology of the word “transhumance”, which is formed by the combination of the Latin words trans (across, ‘oltre’ in Italian) and humus (grounds, ‘terra’) and refers to the practice of migrating livestock from one grazing ground to another.
      Founded by Trimarchi and Farresin in 2009, Formafantasma has previously presented other shows that investigate materials, including an exhibition on timber with furniture brand Artek that was held at Helsinki’s Design Museum last year. The studio also redesigned its website to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
      The photography is by Ina Wesenberg. 
      Project credits:
      Formafantasma team: Sara Barilli, Alessandro Celli and Gregorio GonellaCurator: Hannah Eide
      Oltre Terra is on display at the National Museum of Norway from 26 May to 1 October 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Nina + Co brings biomaterials into MONC eyewear store in London

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      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.
      The first MONC eyewear location sits along a row of shops in MaryleboneWhen 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.”

      The store features a ceiling installation made from cornstarch foamUpon 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.
      The foam was also used to form small shelvesDisplay 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.
      A recycled PET island sits at the centre of the store beside mycelium display plinthsThe 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.

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      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.
      The plastic was also used to form a bench seat”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.”
      Walls were washed with a calming clay paintMONC 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.

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