Molded nature

Summer Workshop in collaboration with the Vitra Design Museum.

12.07. - 18.07. 2009

Bending, rolling, kneading, casting, pressing, modelling, folding, drawing, tying, laminating... These are just a few of the techniques for processing the materials, achieving the envisioned form and realizing the desired function. Depending on the selected material and processing method, the results will vary considerably, from precisely defined to repetitively different up to intentionally random.

In the context of these variations, we will work with semi-finished products made of biopolymers and probe the range of possibilities as well as the limitations of forming and processing the material. The focus is not on achieving the perfect product, but on remaining undaunted in our approach. We will not investigate the material itself, but its potential for realizing a design. We will not seek to execute established processes, but to implement our own ideas.
 

For the materials, we will employ biopolymers in various forms, since their possibilities as well as their limitations make them ideal for experimentation. Biopolymers have numerous positive characteristics: they can be shaped with all manner of techniques, they are relatively easy to process without the need for any special safety precautions and they can be disposed of without any concerns about the environment. Yet because they decompose very quickly under certain conditions, depending on the formulation, they are susceptible to moisture and are more or less limited in the duration or place of application. All these aspects will be incorporated into the various projects and their implementation and we will respond to the specific properties of materials and procedures.
Yet in addition to all the technical questions, the subject of biopolymers also challenges us to think about the oft-cited issue of sustainability and the broader social impact of our work - hence we will also be trying to shape a number of arguments in our discussions.

Link / www.boisbuchet.org
Link / www.jakob-winter.de
Link / www.fkur.de
Link / www.swiss-composite.ch
Link / www.saropack.ch
Link / www.bioresin.de