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6. BioFabricating Materials

References & Inspiration

We explored the theme of BioMaterials for the week 06. We enjoyed firstly a lecture from Cecilia from the Textilelab in Amsterdam.

She is defining 3 categories for BioMaterials : BioBased, BioDegradable & BioCompostable.

And 5 typologies of material sources : animal, vegetal, microbial, fungal, biosynthetic.

Then she proposed a segmentation between families of current existing products : BioPlastics, Natural Leathers, BioFabrics & Yarns.

Some references, mainly developed from algae

get inspired!

Here are some projects examples presented during Cecilia's lecture that seem very inspiring :

Loes Bogers Eric Klarenbeek & Maartje Dros Carolyn Raff Alessia Pasquini Beatriz Sandini Paula Cermeno Leon Ottan Studio Lara Campos Nienke Hoogvliet Emma Van Der Leest Verena Brom Elissa Brunato

These references are available in a open Miro board with other weeks inspirations : INSPIRATIONS

Research

My first exploration, coming from the lecture recipes

  • I didn't have Gelatine at my disposal for my 1st trial, and tested same ratios by replacing it with Arabic Gum and then with Agar Agar. It is not working with Arabic Gum (it stays liquid), and it creates a more dense bio material with Agar. Other recipes are available below for Agar resins, with better ratios.

  • Usually, Gelatine or Agar are used as gellants, and Glycerine, is here to make the final texture more or less flexible. This component is also used in soap production. Plenty of Glycerine ratios are possible for each recipe depending on the desired texture.

Task

Here is a Miro board with initial and adaptated recipes of each week EXPLORATIONS.

Tip

We have a nice drugstore for specific chemical products in Brussels called Le Lion.

Some researchs of applications of biomaterials in Fashion & Product Design
  • I chose to develop this subject for my long project, proposed during week 13.