January 16th to 19th 2023 : Remixing Materials¶
Assignment:Choose and analyse three materials:one material around me, one from the class references, and one ideal material.
- Material around me: stainless steel
Properties: Durable, anti-corosion, usable for a variety of applications from kitchenware to lab benches. Used to provide an elevated experience in homeware.
Description: Stainless steel is a corrosion-resistant alloy of iron, chromium and, in some cases, nickel and other metals. Completely and infinitely recyclable, stainless steel is considered sustainable.
Story & Applications: Stainless stell is the result of a series of discoveries originating in Europe, but is especially due to the discovery of chromium, which, when miwed with other metals develops a strong resitance to rust phenomena. Depending on the mix of thre stainless steel, its application range from Boiler market, aeronautics, electronic components, railway equipment, tubes, chemical tanks and food vats, marine applications, containers, Asphalt tankers, tubes, food containers, silos, conveyor chains, safety soles,Cutlery, cutting tools, hand tools, and springs.
- Reference material: Mycelium
Properties: depending on the mycelium strain used and the substrate it has been grown on mycelium can be tasty, fire resistant, structural, hrydropobic, textured,
Description: Mycelium usually is a white or brownish material, which can then be transformed in a variety of ways. It can be given a leather finish, or a “natural” finish if it is simply dried.
Story & Applications : Mycelium materials begin being seen on an industrial scale because of one company: Ecovative. They have patented several species and processes for working with mycelium. However many open source forums emerged where a sharing of knowledge between hobbyists created many new discoveries and applications for mycelium composites - from acoustic pannels to surfboards and seafood replacements.
- Ideal material: Electric Skin
Properties: A biomaterial that generates electricity. Beautiful, Growable, Compostable. .
Description: Alginate composite embedded with protein nanowires from bacteria Geobacter Sulfureducens.
Story & Applications: I am co-developing Electric skin as part of a collective of 4 women including Nada El Kharashi, Catherine Euale, Sequoia Fisher
Straddling speculative energy futures and current innovation, we are developing a new biomaterial that can generate electricity from the humidity in the air, using pili: the protein nanowires from Geobacter sulfurreducens. We are doing this with the help of UMASS University, and the lead scientists at the origin of this research who pioneered the basic technology: AirGen. We recently were awarded a small grant from the European Commission’s Worth Project to develop Electric Skin and are being incubated by this program as well as Pandora Hub to prototype and scale the technology. Our vision is of a radically sustainable energy future, where our power generation and our electronics are growable and compostable. Where our electronic devices have a new materiality, complex, textured, and perhaps even alive.
If we manage to scale this technology the applications may be endless, from biobatteries to “skins” capable of powering small electronics to power-generating wallpaper.
Assignment:Research and Experiment with a New Material.
White and Black Minimalist Modelling Portfolio Video Presentation by June Bascaran Bilbao