##Scaffolding a context-aware global material commons: what will your local archive contain?
##Scaffolding a context-aware global material commons: what's in your local archive?
**The goal of this project was to explore and develop simple methods for open material archiving....**
**The goal of this project was to explore and develop simple methods for open material archiving....**
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##Outcomes
##Outcomes
A curated selection from best practices found in research labs, material archives and design studios from all over the world. The information itself was already widely known, this project is an effort to ask new questions, and think up new structures for organising and building on this knowledge in open, collaborative ways, not over-simplifying nor mystifying the information and skills needed. It is also an exercise in learning globally, but practicing *locally*, using resources locally abundant in your location (which for me, was the Netherlands).
-[**development brief**](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YRHikbOnj0WLbVhc2BELcTUBk30rFFGOpYzF1ra7Jp4/edit?usp=sharing) for a context-aware, collaborative materials database that enables peer feedback, ratings and constructive criticism.
-[**development brief**](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YRHikbOnj0WLbVhc2BELcTUBk30rFFGOpYzF1ra7Jp4/edit?usp=sharing) for a context-aware, collaborative materials database that enables peer feedback, ratings and constructive criticism.
-[**25 foundational recipes**](../recipes) to start your own sample archive (based on ingredients that are largely locally abundant in the Netherlands). What will be *your* list of 25 recipes using resources abundant in your location?
-[**25 foundational recipes**](../recipes) to start your own sample archive (based on ingredients that are largely locally abundant in the Netherlands). What will be *your* list of 25 recipes using resources abundant in your location?
-[**list of tools**](../tools) needed to start your own material samples archive
-[**list of tools**](../tools) needed to start your own material samples archive
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-[**a glossary of terms**](https://class.textile-academy.org/2020/loes.bogers/projects/glossary/), explaining the key terms used here (in progress)
-[**a glossary of terms**](https://class.textile-academy.org/2020/loes.bogers/projects/glossary/), explaining the key terms used here (in progress)
-[**an educators' note**](https://class.textile-academy.org/2020/loes.bogers/projects/note_for_educators/) with some suggestions for how this archive might be incorporated into classes oriented to designing/material research/critical making/design & crafts history/machine building classes.
-[**an educators' note**](https://class.textile-academy.org/2020/loes.bogers/projects/note_for_educators/) with some suggestions for how this archive might be incorporated into classes oriented to designing/material research/critical making/design & crafts history/machine building classes.
This project is indebted to 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.
###Future development
###Future development
- realising the online database further with a designer and developer
- realising the online database further with a designer and developer
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**Tactile experience of materials**
**Tactile experience of materials**
The ways of categorizing and describing material samples listed above are useful and easy to implement in text-based databases. But can only give a limited feel for the aesthetics and tactility of a material.
The ways of categorizing and describing material samples listed above are useful and easy to implement in text-based databases. But can only give a limited feel for the aesthetics and tactility of a material.
The physical [Material Archive](https://viftrup.com/textilelab) developed at Textile Lab Waag, by Cecilia Raspanti and designed by Maria Viftrup and others from 2017 onwards continues to be one of the most effective ways of offering alternatives to designers. Not only because it offers visitors to meet the materials, and touch, smell and manipulate them, but it also allows them to take them home. Not in the sense that they can take the materials home, but because the recipe and technique to recreate the material is documented on the back of the label attached to the sample.
The physical [Material Archive](https://viftrup.com/textilelab) developed at Textile Lab Waag, by Cecilia Raspanti and designed by Maria Viftrup and others from 2016 onwards continues to be one of the most effective ways of offering alternatives to designers. Not only because it offers visitors to meet the materials, and touch, smell and manipulate them, but it also allows them to take them home. Not in the sense that they can take the materials home, but because the recipe and technique to recreate the material is documented on the back of the label attached to the sample.
<p><ahref="https://vimeo.com/243628535">Material Archive promo - by Maria Viftrup</a> from <ahref="https://vimeo.com/waagmakers">Makers of Waag</a> on <ahref="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<p><ahref="https://vimeo.com/243628535">Material Archive promo - by Maria Viftrup</a> from <ahref="https://vimeo.com/waagmakers">Makers of Waag</a> on <ahref="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
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The [Institute of Making](https://www.instituteofmaking.org.uk/) at UCL London has a materials library with another interesting approach that lets go of classification systems altogether. Their exhibition space continuously changes to offer fresh perspectives on materials, and can vary from chronological ordering, or it can be an exhibition around controversial materials. The story is the organizing factor here, and always depends on the availability of staff and slots to visit the archive. They offer a valuable (design-)historical perspective on materials, but do not organize or offer any practical information for manufacturing and manipulating them.
The [Institute of Making](https://www.instituteofmaking.org.uk/) at UCL London has a materials library with another interesting approach that lets go of classification systems altogether. Their exhibition space continuously changes to offer fresh perspectives on materials, and can vary from chronological ordering, or it can be an exhibition around controversial materials. The story is the organizing factor here, and always depends on the availability of staff and slots to visit the archive. They offer a valuable (design-)historical perspective on materials, but do not organize or offer any practical information for manufacturing and manipulating them.
It is difficult to separate the material from the form however. Most of the "materials" in this library are already *applied*. They have already taken shape as a functional object, which could make it challenging to disentangle the form and possible functions/shapes/forms. Also, this library contains a lot of materials that would be hard to impossible to recreate without specialist tools and knowledge.
###3. Open-access publications: Material Activism
###3. Open-access publications: Material Activism
Great! But static. How do we make it ongoing?
Great! Sharing the recipes, ONLY renewable stuff. Super demystifying. Really focused on materials, form is very rudimentary, keeps open to interpretation and further development.
But static. How do we make it ongoing?
Also not very sophisticated in how to exert any control, tooling, drying time etc. Very rough start.
###4. Collaborative databases: Materiom
###4. Collaborative databases: Materiom
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But no peer reviewing, no relationships, no context, no history
But no peer reviewing, no relationships, no context, no history
## STARTING POINT: A MANIFESTO
*This is a manifesto for the obsessively curious, the critical makers, the material nerds. By Loes Bogers, 2 April 2020*
-**we need *ongoing* material activism**, especially in the face of smart and advanced materials increasing popularity. What could be methods to continue to demystify material craftsmanship as materials research evolves and becomes highly technical and less accessible due to increasing complexity as well as patenting intellectual property?
-**if plactics are not the only issue, then bioplastics are not the only solution**, dyeing and chemical treatments and finishes are equally if hazardous for the environment and workers.
-**designers and makers need to get comfortable drawing from different fields of knowledge** and their methods like empirical approaches and systematic ways of experimenting and documenting, such as in fields of biology, chemistry and other "hard" sciences.
- but we need to be equally **aware of history, cultural heritage and the politics of design materials** in terms of their cultural history, as well as their socio-economic and ecological implications.
-**we need open-source material knowledge**: if resources are part of the commons, then so are material kowledge and craftsmanship, but we need to contiue to build it up and keep it alive.
-**make materials from scratch**: as this will bring the entire ecology of material knowledge, production, distribution and legislation into view and open to questioning;
-**cultivate material craftsmanship** and understand the importance time and controlled environments effect on a material's growth/curing/drying. But equally, learn to work *with* any material (rather than expecting it to bend to your will).
- look for and learn to appreciate **locally abundant resources** and their potential, and start to see them appear in very unlikely places;
-**spend time with materials and resources**, attention and dedication to the cooking/curing/drying or growth process will allow you to start seeing alternative uses, options, applications.
-**learn from practices from all over the world** to strengthen your own locally centered practice (not yielding to the temptation of turning that wealth of knowledge into a candy shop);
-**ask questions to stay with the trouble** of socalled sustainable materials, rather than setting out to find silver bullet solutions.
-**document and share** your process, research and outcomes using formats to describe their sensory and technical properties, and give an impression of their tactile, and auditory qualities.
##References
##References
Lerma 2010 1-8
-**Materials ecoefficiency and perception** by Beatrice Lerma, in Proceedings: CESB 2010 Prague - Central Europe towards Sustainable Building 'From Theory to Practice', 2010: pp. 1-8.
Material District
-**Materiology: The Creative Industry’s Guide to Materials and Technologies** by Daniël Kula & Elodie Ternaux, Basel: Birkhäuser, 2014.
Materiology
-**Institute of Making - Fourth Year Report 2016-2017**, by the Institute of Making, UCL London, 2017: [link](https://www.instituteofmaking.org.uk/about)
Institute of Making
-**Recipes for Material Activism** by Miriam Ribul, 2014, via issuu [link](https://issuu.com/miriamribul/docs/miriam_ribul_recipes_for_material_a)
Material Archive Waag
-**Research Book Bioplastics** by Juliette Pepin, 2014, via issuu [link](https://issuu.com/juliettepepin/docs/bookletbioplastic)
MATto
-**The Secrets of Bioplastic** by Clara Davis (Fabtex, IAAC, Fab Lab Barcelona), 2017, [link](https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/the_secrets_of_bioplastic_).
Material Activism
-**The Bioplastics Cookbook: A Catalogue of Bioplastics Recipes** by Margaret Dunne for Fabtextiles, 2018, [link](https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/bioplastic_cook_book_3)
Bioplastics Cookbook
Materiom
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#BLURBS BLURBS BLURBS (dont read this)
##Overview
##Overview
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9. (HOW/DOCUMENTATION) User manual if it is a machine or kit
9. (HOW/DOCUMENTATION) User manual if it is a machine or kit
10. Message to the world: what is the project's message? in one line define the future possibilities of the project.
10. Message to the world: what is the project's message? in one line define the future possibilities of the project.
##1. AN ARCHIVE OF DIY, OPEN-SOURCE MATERIALS
##1. AN ARCHIVE OF DIY, OPEN-SOURCE MATERIALS
A curated selection from best practices found in research labs, material archives and design studios from all over the world. The information itself was already widely known, this project is an effort to ask new questions, and think up new structures for organising and building on this knowledge in open, collaborative ways, not over-simplifying nor mystifying the information and skills needed.
A curated selection from best practices found in research labs, material archives and design studios from all over the world. The information itself was already widely known, this project is an effort to ask new questions, and think up new structures for organising and building on this knowledge in open, collaborative ways, not over-simplifying nor mystifying the information and skills needed.
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-**A framework for collaborative online archiving** following these principles, that can be further developed in the future
-**A framework for collaborative online archiving** following these principles, that can be further developed in the future
##2. BECAUSE MATERIAL ACTIVISM NEEDS DEMYSTIFICATION
-**we need *ongoing* material activism**, especially in the face of smart and advanced materials increasing popularity. What could be methods to continue to demystify material craftsmanship as materials research evolves and becomes highly technical and less accessible due to increasing complexity as well as patenting intellectual property?
-**if plactics are not the only issue, then bioplastics are not the only solution**, dyeing and chemical treatments and finishes are equally if hazardous for the environment and workers.
-**designers and makers need to get comfortable drawing from different fields of knowledge** and their methods like empirical approaches and systematic ways of experimenting and documenting, such as in fields of biology, chemistry and other "hard" sciences.
- but we need to be equally **aware of history, cultural heritage and the politics of design materials** in terms of their cultural history, as well as their socio-economic and ecological implications.
-**we need open-source material knowledge**: if resources are part of the commons, then so are material kowledge and craftsmanship, but we need to contiue to build it up and keep it alive.
##3. FOR THE OBSESSIVELY CURIOUS, THE CRITICAL MAKERS, THE MATERIAL LOVERS
*You are a maker or designer, a design student or maker educator. Your are o board with all of this. Where and how do I start, you ask?*
-**make materials from scratch**: as this will bring the entire ecology of material knowledge, production, distribution and legislation into view and open to questioning;
-**cultivate material craftsmanship** and understand the importance time and controlled environments effect on a material's growth/curing/drying. But equally, learn to work *with* any material (rather than expecting it to bend to your will).
- look for and learn to appreciate **locally abundant resources** and their potential, and start to see them appear in very unlikely places;
-**spend time with materials and resources**, attention and dedication to the cooking/curing/drying or growth process will allow you to start seeing alternative uses, options, applications.
-**learn from practices from all over the world** to strengthen your own locally centered practice (not yielding to the temptation of turning that wealth of knowledge into a candy shop);
-**ask questions to stay with the trouble** of socalled sustainable materials, rather than setting out to find silver bullet solutions.
-**document and share** your process, research and outcomes using formats to describe their sensory and technical properties, and give an impression of their tactile, and auditory qualities.
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BLURB BLURB BLURBS BELOW
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##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?
##Why?
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- tactile / sound demo often lacking but very necessary
- 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.
##References
##Process
##Future steps
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## 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
- 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
25 recipes to start your own archive of material samples, and learn some of the most important techniques to start your own R&D lab for design materials.
| Nr | Title | Approx. Price | Image | Link |
A selection of 25 biofabricated materials we suggest to build as your "starter archive". It is developed 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. By making this archive starter of material samples, you will learn some of the most important techniques to start your own R&D lab for design materials.
