research partner Amy Witte | Spring 2015
UTSOA Advanced Design with critic Igor Siddiqui
UTSOA Advanced Design with critic Igor Siddiqui
Edible Materials Lab used materials as a framework for investigating relationships between constructed environments and our food supply system. Motivated by environmental concerns while leveraging emerging technologies, the studio offered an opportunity for research and development of an innovative material and asked questions about the future of architecture.
As one of eight teams, this project evaluated bacterial cellulose - a leather-esque mat of fibers spun by microbes during kombucha fermentation. Extensive research and experimentation led to the development of material samples and an ambiguous object for display at the 2015 Fusebox Festival, thinkEAST event.
What is SCOBY? Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast
Also known as a ‘mushroom’ or ‘mother,’ SCOBY is a colony of bacteria and yeast that feed off of sugar and tea. While certain species are always present, their ratio varies from mother to mother. The tannish material is rubbery when hydrated and leathery when dehydrated. It expands in size as it metabolizes by spinning a cellulose mat during fermentation. The resulting liquid is known as kombucha, an ancient healing tea.
EXPERIMENTS: Investigating techniques to enhance and/or alter the material during the growth, drying, and dried phases.
1. Air dried 2. Dried with heat gun. 3. Wrung out and air dried. 4. Grown with gelatin 5. Dipped in beat juice after drying 6. Dipped in beat juice when wet 7. Stacked in different thicknesses when wet/stitched when dry 8. Grown with mesh reinforcement 9. Laser cut and etched 10. Dried over metal form 11. Dried over metal pieces 12. Laser cut and etched 13. Laser cut and etched 14. Dried in thin strips, end to end 15. Dried perpendicularly 16. Grown with hibiscus and dried in the sun (wet and dry pictured)
1. Air dried 2. Dried with heat gun. 3. Wrung out and air dried. 4. Grown with gelatin 5. Dipped in beat juice after drying 6. Dipped in beat juice when wet 7. Stacked in different thicknesses when wet/stitched when dry 8. Grown with mesh reinforcement 9. Laser cut and etched 10. Dried over metal form 11. Dried over metal pieces 12. Laser cut and etched 13. Laser cut and etched 14. Dried in thin strips, end to end 15. Dried perpendicularly 16. Grown with hibiscus and dried in the sun (wet and dry pictured)
SAMPLES: refined experiments for UTSOA's Materials Lab collection
Left to right: Fusing - stacked layers and edge to edge; Nutrition - green tea and black tea; Texturing - grown with petals and gelatin; Texturing - grown with mesh and dried over metal; Embossing - dried over wood texture; Dying - with beat juice when dry and wet
Left to right: Fusing - stacked layers and edge to edge; Nutrition - green tea and black tea; Texturing - grown with petals and gelatin; Texturing - grown with mesh and dried over metal; Embossing - dried over wood texture; Dying - with beat juice when dry and wet
AMBIGUOUS OBJECT
Fabrication for Edible Materials Lab
Fabrication for Edible Materials Lab
An ambiguous object highlights key qualities of the material, while remaining open for interpretation of use. This cellulose mat relies on SCOBY's unique ability to fuse together in order to create density, strength, and unlimited size, while maintaining translucency and flexibility. The sum of parts reveals the varying nature in color and quality of the base material.
MAKING THE AMBIGUOUS OBJECT: Triangular pieces were cut to size and applied to a thin base layer. The guide grid was drawn using oxidation - metal wire created lines that would remain visible while the pieces were wet. During the drying process, the mat was tampered with, and an unfortunate accident became proof of SCOBY's resilient, flexible, fuseable nature. The mauled area was cleaned, patched, and reassembled with fresh, wet pieces. Once the mat was dry, it was peeled off of the wooden base as a single, triangulated sheet.
TRANSLUCENT QUALITIES: details of the ambiguous object in different lighting conditions
Fusebox Festival 2015
Exhibition for Edible Materials Lab
Exhibition for Edible Materials Lab
Curated by professor Igor Siddiqui and Jen Wong, the Edible Materials Lab Exhibition brought together a selection of material samples from the Materials Lab at The University of Texas at Austin, along with the student work produced as a part of design studio coursework. The samples from the Materials Lab reflected food-based material innovations currently on the consumer market. Fully functioning as structural composites, paneling, membranes, insulation, upholstery, and finishes, these samples all contain substances derived from edible sources. The selected material samples and prototypes produced by UTSOA students demonstrated a range of possibilities for material innovation using common edible ingredients including animal and plant-based polymers (gelatin, agar, starch), microbial cellulose, mycelia, minerals, fibers, and natural gums. In an age of mass-customization, the exhibition argued for the consideration of materials as designed rather than found resources. This approach opens up opportunities for innovative design strategies and their potential impact on the lived environment.
In addition to the research and experimentation work on SCOBY, I was the lead designer for the exhibition's identity and promotional design. I photographed the event and took the bottom four images (published in Texas Architect).
FOOD AS MATERIAL
A photographic investigation examining the characteristic potential for edible sources to influence material qualities.
A photographic investigation examining the characteristic potential for edible sources to influence material qualities.
