Bioplastic pavilion
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
The creation of plastic was revolutionary, unfortunately due to its misuse it has become a problem for the environment. Building construction is the second industry to produce large quantities of plastic in the world. The need to create an alternative has become imminent. This proposal is focused on bioplastic, a novel material that could be applied to temporary architecture due to its ephemeral nature to tackle the problem of waste.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
Our aim is to make youth conscious about the origins and life cycle of materials.
Plastic, as a primary material of our age, has been critical to our modern life. Unfortunately, its misuse and overconsumption from industries have led to an alarming increase of environmental pollution.
We must rethink our current mindset and systems by implementing innovative materials that do not produce harmful waste and respond to circular economy.
Bioplastic is a sustainable alternative which has the potential to be implemented in a variety of industries, including the built environment.
Through various compositions, properties such as strength, elasticity and viscosity can be adjusted according to the needs, while its high malleability allows it to be molded into different shapes.
Our research focuses on a bioplastic that is bio-based that can be reused and recast into new forms.
As an afterlife, it can be degraded in water and become nutrition for soil.
Despite the current climate crisis and the need for more resilient materials, society is not yet fully aware of the several advantages and opportunities of bioplastic.
In order to raise awareness on this matter, we strongly believe that youth has to be engaged with a hands-on approach in the process of making.
Through participation, the users can gain understanding that we all have a responsibility and a role to play in the whole chain of a product’s life cycle.
Key objectives for sustainability
For this proposal, we developed a bioplastic that follows the principles of circular economy. It is composed of natural ingredients, gelatine as a by-product of the meat industry, plant-based glycerine, water and sugar for aesthetic purposes.
The objective of the material is to not become waste and be adaptable. As it is made from renewable nutrients, it can be placed in the biological materials of the “butterfly” diagram (Ellen McArthur Foundation). Its life cycle fulfills the idea of circular thinking, due to its ability to cascade within the consumer, be composted and regenerate into the biosphere that results in the growth of new plants. Through manipulation of the proportions, it can adapt according to different needs such as flexibility, strength and appearance. It can cascade through melting and remolding of the material into a new product. At the end of its life is possible to be used as a fertilizer. Due to a high concentration of nitrogen in gelatin, is suitable for enriching the soil. Additionally, is less expensive than common fertilizers. According to research on gardening, it releases nitrogen slowly which results in enriching plants for a longer period. It can be done by dissolving the material with water until it reaches a liquid state after it is ready to be poured into the soil.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The objective of the material is to be personalized through additives such as natural pigments, different quantities of sugar for transparency purposes and wax for water repellency.
Pigments: All dyes are natural and come in the form of unprocessed fruits and vegetables or powders. In order to extract the dye, the picked fruit or vegetable had to be cooked in boiling water for several minutes and later on the liquid had to be added to the mix. In case of the powder, it has to be directly added into the composition and carefully mixed to obtain a homogenous bioplastic. Some pigments used were: turmeric, blueberry, green and blue spirulina, blue butterfly pea powder, radicchio, etc.
Sugar: with the addition of sugar, translucency of the material can change within weeks. In order to keep the material transparent, no sugar is needed. This can be chosen by the aesthetic purposes of the user and experience how the material evolves.
Wax: Gelatin during the interaction with water dissolves, forming a gel mixture. To avoid this result and keep the sample unchanged in a humid environment several tests had to be performed. In order to achieve the best results many trials had to be done with different kinds of natural wax such as soybean, candelilla and beeswax. The addition of wax changes the appearance of the bioplastic and gives it a texture.
Key objectives for inclusion
The bioplastic is easy and fast to make as cooking a recipe. The ingredients and tools are easily accessible and affordable. In order to understand better the process of making, a video has been produced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mvC3UjCnkY&ab_channel=KasandraBolivar
Innovative character
The material is aimed to be used for temporary structures as cladding to not generate waste in the built environment field.
Nowadays architects and designers more often than ever create pavilions, installations and temporary structures for events, expositions, and conventions. There is an intense use of energy and material resources even though these projects are mostly built and used for a short period of time and then they are promptly discarded.
While temporary architecture should respond to environmental concerns, as it creates less of a footprint than permanent structures, many of the above-mentioned structures generate a significant amount of waste. They usually follow a linear economy approach where all materials and components are being discarded after their use. The end of the event does not determine the afterlife of the parts used for the project.
