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Final Project: Material Archive

Caption, Image credit, Year

##What?

A proposal for an online accessible open-source material archive with DIY recipes for renewable and biocompostable (or recycled) materials for designers. It is based on the knowledge collected and created in and around the Fabricademy network, and builds upon the (physical) Material Archive at Textile Lab Waag that was realised by Cecilia Raspanti, Maria Viftrup and others in 2016-2017.

A selection of 25 biofabricated materials is already documented and forms a suggested "starter archive" for anyone who would like to build their own physical archive with samples. Building the basic archive will teach you the foundational techniques that most other recipes will build upon, and require you to collect the basic tools and ingredients you will need.

I analysed at a number of online and offline archives, such as Materiom (link), Materiability (link), The Institute of Making at UCL London), Material Archive Textile Lab Amsterdam (link), Material District (link) for how they....

  • item 1
  • item 2
  • item 3

##Why?

Biofabricating can be further demystified

Some archives tend to mystify the process of biofabricating (using expert terminology, not explaining in detail how to actually do something). Getting very scientific or very technical about it without explaining hands-on knowledge in laymen's terms.

Biofabrication can be further clarifying (but not simplified!)

alternatively, archives and resources tend to oversimplify the process (a three step summary of a process where many more intricated details matter. Knowing how to cook a bioplastic is easy, knowing how to dry it well is much less documented.

Material Archives can and should take an open-source DIY approach (Do-It-Yourself)

Many archives will show you what's out there (to buy), but don't give the concrete info you need to biofabricate yourself even though you can often try out these things in your kitchen and most recipes are in the commons and can be used by anyone.

Do-It-Together

When recipes and how-to's are shared (e.g. Material Archive, Materiability etc.) there is often no way to disagree on recipes. What is there is there and cannot be improved or responded to by others.

Context-aware approach (exit the candy shop)

A lot of

Tactile / sound demo often lacking but very necessary

The tactile dimension that is so important part of a physical archive is lacking in most online ones to help people understand the kind of material they can make with a given recipe

Other arguments:

  • sustainability
  • nuance: no perfect material but let's collect information
  • not mystifying
  • but also not simplifying
  • technique is half the work
  • thorough documentation and referencing highlighted
  • thorough and feedback system by committed peers
  • local specificity
  • cultural/historical perspective incl contestations
  • including technical and sensory specifics
  • tactile / sound demo often lacking but very necessary

##Who?

Designers, material crafters, students, educators, researchers, hobbyists.

The recipes in the archive are accessible to anyone with a device that has a browser and an internet connection.

Anyone dedicated to biofabricating materials and some experience in at least one of the processes can submit a recipe manually. If the recipe is thoroughly researched, the person can join as a contributor and get a log-in account.

##How?

  • Prototype/mock-up for an online platform to host a digital material archive
  • Offer selection of 25 recipes for biofabrication for a material archive starter that teach you the foundational techniques
  • A physical material archive for my university's lab :)
  • Future: get funding to build it (working on that)

##What we can look at so far! (23 March)

###Archive starter

Video samples on Youtube

Nr Title Price Image Link
1 Biofoam €0,50 Recipe
2 Extra Flexible Foil €0,78 Recipe
3 Bioresin €2,56 Recipe
4 Biosilicone €1,68 Recipe
5 Starch rubber €2,26 Recipe
6 Biolinoleum €0,78 Recipe
7 Egg shell powder €0,00 Recipe
8 Alginate net €0,00 Recipe
9 Alum crystal silk €0,00 Recipe
10 Borax crystals €0,00 Recipe
11 Kombucha paper €0,00 Recipe
12 Overripe mango leather €0,00 Recipe
13 Agar foil €0,00 Recipe
14 Agar composite €0,00 Recipe
15 Alginate foil €0,00 Recipe
16 Recycled PLA scraps €0,00 Recipe
17 Alginate string €0,00 Recipe
18 Alginate coated yarn €0,00 Recipe
19 Tanned fish skin €0,00 Recipe
20 Madder dye €0,00 Recipe
21 Copper oxide €0,00 Recipe
22 Red cabbage dye €0,00 Recipe
23 Coffee waste dye €0,00 Recipe
24 Bacterial dye on silk €0,00 Recipe
25 Flower paper €0,00 Recipe
26 Avocado stone dye €0,00 Recipe
27 Yellow onion skin dye €0,00 Recipe
28 Beetroot dye €0,00 Recipe
29 Hibiscus dye €0,00 Recipe
30 PH modifiers €0,00 Recipe

##References

##Process

##Future steps


Research

  • sensory description system
  • technical qualities
  • raw vs. made
  • physical form
  • organic vs. inorganic
  • criteria

Definitions

  • Abundance-aware (local physical archive only from locally abundant materials)
  • Circular
  • Plant-based/vegan if possible
  • Cruelty free
  • Non-toxic
  • Contested
  • Biobased, biodegradable, biocompostable
  • Open-source (we know how it's made)

Decisions

  • color comes from somewhere too: no added colors
  • until we know how synthetic food coloring is made, no food coloring
  • color is a material
  • stuff that is grown in a controlled environment is also "made"
  • physical selection should show variation in physical forms, and show the main ingredient types we know to use to biofabricate.
  • physical selection is made in such a way to also demonstrate a variety in textures and sensory qualities
  • recipes should include pointers for drying/curing
  • recycling or upcycling also has a place in the archive
  • we don't use food unless it's considered waste (e.g. onion skins, egg shells, overripe mangos from the market). So no fresh berries for dye.

Local archive

  • Every new entry is a variation on an existing one
  • A variation can only entail one change at a time (don't change both the additive and the curing process).
  • Reason for the variation is stated (e.g. local tap water is too alkaline so we use mineral water, wanted a more flexible biosilicon).
  • Shows relationships between the samples (network)?

Local recipe should include

  • ingredients
  • utensils
  • process
  • drying tips/tricks
  • pros and cons/concerns/contestations/question marks
  • potential health hazards
  • estimated cost and vendors
  • technical qualities (e.g. water/heat/light proof?)

Digital archive

  • Includes all information except hyperlocal info
  • A new entry is made when the recipe is changed to the extent that the qualities of the material change and the sensory descriptions do not match the resulting material anymore.
  • The criterium of being locally abundant does not apply here.
  • Entries should state where an ingredient is grown/sourced.
  • Entries should state how long it takes for an ingredient to renew itself.
  • Entries should state the cultural and/or intellectual history of the material (including references or further reading)
  • Entries should describe the sensory qualities of any material (because this is lost in digitization)
  • Entries contain a video/gif for sound and haptic info

Keep options open for

  • info about technical material tests
  • chemical interactions etc
  • techniques, case studies, applications
  • peer reviewing/upvoting
  • section for techniques
  • section for open-source tooling

Typologies

Made vs raw....Not very specific. Also raw seems like it's just there. Nothing is ever just there. Made could be:

  • extracted
  • cooked
  • grown
  • knotted, tied or woven
  • modified (chemically)
  • chemically connected or combined (e.g. glued)
  • mechanically connected or combined
  • eroded
  • encapsulated
  • pressed or flattened

Alternatives:

  • ingredient vs. result
  • ingredient vs. outcome
  • ingredient vs. semi-product/material vs. processed "bewerking"
  • singular vs. processed
  • singular vs. connected through processes and techniques

None of them really work! Is something ever really singular? Is something EVER really from scratch? Maybe ingredient > material is the better so far.

  • matter vs. material
  • substance vs. material
  • matter vs. culture ;-P hehehe

Or maybe fivefold:

  1. matter (the substance)
  2. techne (the craft, "thick")
  3. technik (the abstract rules, "hard").
  4. doxa
  5. episteme

Where techne is being able to do it well to be able realise it and technik might be seen as the hard science behind it (the chemistry for example). And doxa could be the denominator for how we normally relate to it, related to its functions (like we'd call something biosilicone but it's not silicone, or kombucha leather, but it's strictly speaking not "leather" but it helps us understand each other in common terms.

And episteme, or understanding would be the holistic understanding of all of those, including culturally/historically/politically.

Materials

Qty Description Price Link Notes
1 Material one 22.00 $ http://amazon.com/test Order many
1 Material two 22.00 $ http://amazon.com/test
1 Material three 22.00 $ http://amazon.com/test
1 Material five 22.00 $ http://amazon.com/test
1 Material eight 22.00 $ http://amazon.com/test
1 Material twelve 22.00 $ http://amazon.com/test
1 Material eleven 22.00 $ http://amazon.com/test

Useful links

Code Example

Use the three backticks to separate code.

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
  // initialize digital pin LED_BUILTIN as an output.
  pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
  delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
  delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
}

Gallery

Video

From Vimeo

Sound Waves from George Gally (Radarboy) on Vimeo.

From Youtube

3D Models