One to Remember

It is hard to pick a favourite design in today’s society as there is such a widespread of innovation and creativity going into the products and solutions we are facing. Moreover, with the vast amount of designs there are endless mediums like 3D printers, VR, wood, metals, paint and electrical programmes which are all interesting to observe and grasp.

However, one of my most favourites which I mentioned on the first day of class is: Aguahoja I by Neri Oxman, and her team at MIT Media Lab called Mediated Matter. This work pushes boundaries. It is large scale and its form is made from molecular components derived from tree branches, insect exoskeletons; and organic compounds such as chitosan, cellulose and pectin. The work is completely compostable and the process of developing the form was done by a robot they created. Oxman once stated that “It has become increasingly challenging to differentiate between the man-made and the nature-grown.” Additionally, “In my [research] group, we believe in the future; we will not build our products and our architecture, but rather we will grow them.” There are more than 300 million tons of plastic being manufactured each given year which is impacting our environment drastically; taking a toll on mother nature and our planet as a whole. Aguahoja I is demonstrating how society can adopt enhanced thinking to establish more organic and environmentally friendly ways of making products for our day to day. The structure urges you to think about the future of design and where we are heading in terms of innovation.

With Oxmans work you are forced to consider, what will be possible in 10 years time?

Can I do the ‘impossible?’ Further, how far can we stretch our crazy ideas and dreams?

The answer - nobody knows unless you try.

#Des100

Langmuis, M. (2019) Elle. Neri Oxman Has All the Answers.Retrieved from: https://www.elle.com/culture/a28646115/neri-oxman-interview/

Mit Media Lab. (2020)Project Aguahoja. https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/aguahoja/overview/