Hello Materials is a fascinating exhibition being held at the Danish Design Centre in Copenhagen. Experience
fascinating examples of present and future materials and gain an
insight into what they will mean to society and the individual.
Exhibition Date: 2/4/12 - 21/9/12
Colourful! Durable! Cheap! Modern! The 20th century’s new materials helped drive the development of the consumer society, and it was a development that everyone could follow. From plastic and nylon to foam rubber, stainless steel and Teflon – these materials were found in every home, they were popular and they were visible in people’s daily lives. The benefits they brought with them were tangible at a time well before pollution, recycling and wasting resources had become popular issues.
In the 21st century, the amount of new materials is even greater. Now, however, their development takes place in the background and it is driven by several significant and mutually dependent factors. Some materials develop out of a desire to reuse resources that have already been recovered. Others stem from the new possibilities for form, function strength and durability. And a large group of new materials are ‘invisible’ to the naked eye, yet add new value or provide beneficial properties to our existing consumer goods.
The “Hello Materials” exhibition takes a look at these new materials – as well as looking at the new uses being made of ‘old’ materials. Some come into being out of a specific need, for example the need to reduce pollution, reuse existing resources or save energy. Others are more to do with comfort, luxury, status and aesthetics. Some materials are ready for use and well documented. Others, particularly ‘intelligent’ materials’, inspire awe and stimulate the imagination but create more questions than they answer. ~ HELLO MATERIALS
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| HELLO! |
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| Goodbye to smelly feet: Cupron's deodorant comfort socks
shield against bacteria, fungi, and microbes that cause foot odor, thanks to the properties of copper. |
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| As light as a feather,: Nike footwear with added LyTec Wire; strong as steel. |
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| Hydropack is a self hydrating drink pouch used as an emergency water filter. It's a paper-thin pouch that overnight can transform dirty water into a flavoured,
healthy drink. Invented for victims of natural disasters. |
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| Not a waste of materials: Reducing waste in landfill, recycling and reusing to extend a product's lifecycle, decreasing the environmental impacts. Challenging perceptions and creating new alternatives. Waste is not 'waste'. |
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| HOW LONG YET? If the World continues to consume raw materials at the same rate as today, how many years before the resources are depleted? |
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| ^ Food for thought. ^ |
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| Trigema: Compostable polo shirts. |
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| Catalytic Clothing, field of jeans: The World's first potential air purifying jeans. |
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| You'd be surprised where your bottles wind up: Sportswear by Nike made from recycled plastics. |
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Recycled trainers: converting shoes into surfaces.
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| Colour-changing Polyurethane: heat response material. Synthetic leather is environmentally better than PVC and animal-friendly. Here is an example of an aesthetically pleasing material without focus on beneficial use to the user. |
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| Sharklet has antibacterial properties inspired by the natural brilliance of shark skin. Here we see an example of material development to benefit man/environment via biomimicry. |
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| The Gravity Stool: In dialogue with a natural phenomenon. The Gravity Stool thanks its unique shape to the cooperation between magnetic fields and the power of gravity. Watch a video of the designer's process on Vimeo here: Gravity Stool .........................................
Hello Materials enlightens with knowledge about current available materials from inventors in fields of design and science who are challenging the status quo in a way to alter perspectives and realities on design for a better life, for innovation or sustainibility, promoting change.
Sustainibility isn't the forefront of this exhibition but the subject is certainly challenged. Material diversity and developments are the core of the exhibition, with resource consumption as a by-product, which pertains to sustainibility issues. Although, the material is one among many interconnected factors affecting ecological impacts, which the exhibition also explores. Other areas surrounding the material's lifecycle in its many stages of development are discussed throughout the exhibition, from its cultivation, production to manufacturing, the distribution stages, consumer use, reuse and disposal.
The exhibition engages with this quote from a book I'm currently reading. I was reminded to: "...link a fibre with its lifecycle, a material with a user, and an industry with the ecological and cultural systems that support it." ~ Kate Fletcher, Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, Design Journeys.
Hello Materials is a highly inspiring exhibition. Highly recommended.
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