AUTHOR AS DESIGNER
MATERIAL SCIENCE
a project for
Vitra’s philosophy is based in a collaborative effort with designers who are ‘authors’. The ‘authors’, with their personal worldviews and creative independance, design to “bear a message that goes far beyond the impulse of merely trying to please.” as quoted by Rolf Fehlbaum.
Vitra is no stranger to material innovation and material forming. With the introduction of three-dimensionally molded plywood, Vitra has always been on the frontier of material development, so the obvious next question is, what are the next steps in contemporary material fabrication?
Combining the concept of authorship and the evergrowing trajectory of sustainability practices within the design industry, I will be focusing this project on the use of paper as the driving medium.
Paper representing both its use in housing the stories told by authors, i.e. books, as well as its use in creating innovative fabrication techniques that utilize paper as a circular material.
PaperShell is a durable, bio-based composite material made by layering FSC-certified kraft paper (derived from Nordic forestry residue) and impregnating it with a natural binder, then pressing it under high heat and pressure into rigid, moldable components for furniture and other products.
