Potatoes are made up of starches and fiber components that are able to bond with each other and harden which makes them a versatile starting point for different materials.
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Loved dearly by many, misunderstood and feared by some - hemp carries a lot of cultural associations, most of which have little to do with its potential as a sustainable material in product design and architecture.
Hailed by enthusiasts as a potential ally in changing the way we make objects and buildings, many designers and scientists are researching new uses of hemp with interesting results.
Read MoreEggshell is one of the small wonders of nature and a biodegradable material with interesting properties. While used to some extent in agriculture, a lot of eggshell is scrapped as waste. The last couple of years several designers and researchers have looked into how eggshell can be used as component in materials for use in consumer products and objects and surfaces for use in interior design.
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Birgitta Ralston & Alexandre Bau are behind the design practice Ralston Bau, working with material science, research and design with an activistic approach. With the ambitious Bioregion Vestland project, initiated by Design Region Bergen, they are exploring how experimental material design can help revitalize local industry on the Norwegian west coast.
We have spoken with Birgitta on the project and the way forward for new plastics.
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How do birds coordinate in flocks? How does a pine cone open and close depending on the weather? How do animals keep themselves warm? And how does all this relate to how we design our worlds?
We recently had Nina Havermans and Michel Wolfstirn over for an inspiring lunch presentation at Elementa. They run Biomimicry Norway together- an Oslo based non-profit seeking to explore and promote the practice of nature-inspired innovation.
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The earth has spent many million years on developing solutions to problems it has faced. Nearly all of nature's materials are produced with a minimal resources, at a normal temperature, without a lot of energy and with recycling of waste. Nature is sustainable.
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