Design News is your tiny dose of design, technology and other important news, curated monthly by Interwoven Design. In this issue we take a dive into Checkerspot’s algae based polyurethane, Seratech’s commercialized carbon-neutral cement, Zena Holloway’s bio-designed fashion, Athos 3D printed climbing shoes and Patricia Urquiola breaking the mold in fashion.
Checkerspot launches algae based polyurethane Pollinator Kit
The bio-based material manufacturing company, Checkerspot has officially launched their new Pollinator Kit and it is available for purchase. Instead of using hazardous raw materials for making polyurethane, Checkerspot altered the traditional make up to incorporate an algae base instead of traditional oil. Not only is this product more sustainable but is so high performance that it is used in Wonder Alpine’s snow skis. Checkerspot is targeting designers and makers by putting their Pollinator Kit right right in the hands of people creating objects. Being able to experiment with a sustainable material like algae based polyurethane with an easy barrier to entry is a game changer!
via Core77
Carbon neutral cement, Seratech wins Obel Award
Sam Draper and Barney Shanks, two PhD students from the Imperial College London, recently won the Obel Award for their carbon neutral cement, Seratech. The award is an international recognition of human development through architecture. They commercialized their research, which focuses on replacing a portion of cement with carbon dioxide emitted from factories. Currently, cement accounts for 8% of the world’s carbon emissions. Standard cement gives off stored carbon during its production process, while Seratech focuses on its Carbon Capture Storage (CSS). Not to mention this new formula is easy to scale and low cost. This is a direct result of Seratech’s raw materials consisting of raw materials that are found easily all over the world.
via Dezeen Awards
Zena Holloway launches her bio-designed collection, ‘Rootfull’
Multidisciplinary designer, Zena Holloway presented her exploration of grass root grown wearables and sculptures in this year’s London Design Festival. Zena creates a template carved from beeswax and implants the wheatgrass seeds. She uses this template to grow a “botanical skeleton” while sewing, cutting, and manipulating the material while keeping the natural workflow to keep an honest result. The collection, “Rootfull,” features pieces including fashion wearables, a dress, wall hangings and a lamp all consisting of this similar organic texture. These naturally generated pieces promise that the same outcome will never be duplicated, making each piece one of a kind.
via Design Boom
ATHOS, the customizable 3D Printed climbing shoe
ATHOS, a Spanish startup company from Barcelona, has targeted the need for customized 3D printed climbing shoes. The need stems from climbers using shoes 2 to 4 sizes smaller so the fit is as snug as possible. The pain comes second to this fit which is essential for performance. The company uses a phone app to scan a user’s foot and input other information including climbing type, color, etc. The following steps include printing, post processes and assembly. ATHOS takes advantage of a collaboration of technology of Sculpteo and HP’s Jet Fusion Technology. This allows the team to manufacture the printed shoe body easily then assemble the straps and rubber parts. The ATHOS team has recently been recognized for their innovative climbing shoes by being named a runner up for the 2022 James Dyson Award.
via Design Boom
Patricia Urquiola releases capsule for Weekend Max Mara
Patricia Urquiola recently left her comfort zone by presenting her fashion capsule for Weekend Max Mara. This collection is dedicated to providing women with casual and informal fashion. Patricia’s past work spans the architectural, industrial and furniture categories, but has never released a fashion line. For this reason, she decided to break the mold and highlight her approach to fashion design. The capsule stems off of her extensive work in textiles and features her unconventional mixture of color. Her capsule entitled, ‘Habito,’ expresses her feeling that the clothing that a woman wears is her emotional habit. Instead of searching for a female silhouette with her design Urquiola focused on oversized, gender neutral elements. The designer explained how important it was to position herself in new situations with new opportunities and perspectives.
via Wallpaper
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