“The pressures we exert on the planet have become so great that scientists are considering whether the Earth has entered an entirely new geological epoch: the Anthropocene, or the age of humans. It means that we are the first people to live in an age defined by human choice, in which the dominant risk to our survival is ourselves.”  - Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator

To evolve and revolutionize as humans on this planet we see a huge need of a radical, material transition.To the truly regenerative, naturally and locally anchored resources available for us to live with. Larger movements within bio technology are returning us to nature, as the place we left at the start of industrialization. We can only speculate in how our relation to the material world will be, but we can design and build for a more paternalistic connection between human and nature.To do so, we
have to acknowledge the importance of material perception - how we perceive, interact and relate to materials, especially the ones we do not yet have a long history with.

Framed around the theme of ‘Natural Resources’ we have speculated on the concept of a material transition as an interactive and transformative installation. The installation is created with layers of biomaterials designed by Natural Material Studio. They encapsulate particles based on local, natural resources from the rural landscape of Denmark that we foresee to shape the future of materials: The coast, field, meadow, sea and forest.

As you walk through the installation you experience 5 layers of these resources. With the installation we aim to create an immersive and tactile experience that triggers a renewed reflection and re-connection with natural resources as a design material.

LAYER 1 - COAST
Shells / calcium / breathable / natural loops

LAYER 2 - FIELD
Hemp / strong / fast-expanding / regenerative

LAYER 3 - MEADOW
Grass / fibrous / unexploited / systemic potential

LAYER 4 - SEA
Algae / microorganism / biotechnological process / complex

LAYER 5 - FOREST
Fungi / growing system / polymetric / probiotic