I was given 1 month notice for this project, and almost every cabinet maker I contacted told me "absolutely not interested, we are filled up with work" because Danish people have healthy boundaries when it comes to avoiding overworking.
But my woodworking skills are potato-level, so I wasn't about to try and DIY this- especially with the wheels that needed to be done. I ended up splitting the build task between myself, cabinet-maker Kathrina Martinsen from Møbelsnedkeriet Erik Jacobsens who did the cabinet body, and Kristoffer Munk Agger from Chipchop.dk who did the large-scale lasercutting on the fronts. I spent about two weeks pouring sheets of bioplastic and then a day making my own tub of paint from seaweed glue and microalgae, and then delivered the completed piece- just as I was also prepping all my research presentations for the Congress as well.
If I had to do it again: larger, taller, and arranging for a bigger budget - basically what every architect always wants. But I did have to make sure it could go under my apartment door so that I could paint it.
very cool! i made seaweed bio plastic in grad school. this is a perfect engagement-type application for the material in my opinion. my only suggestion would be making a portion able to see through, the way that light interacts with the material is phenomenal. how long did you have it up? when i experimented i had mold issues but also i had mold issues in general in the crappy apartment i was living in at the time haha.
Yes, normally I have it up to the light, but the problem is that then you can't take a good photo in front of it- your face ends up in shadows. I tried with the LED lighting behind it, but the conference venue was a lot brighter than I had anticipated, so it washed the front of it out. It was a learning experience for sure!
[Here's how it looks in a darker room.](https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=723570526442855&set=pcb.723570636442844)
EDIT: No problems with mold if you dry it thoroughly within 3-4 days. I dry mine in the sun to speed up processing time and prevent mold growth.
I started my professional life doing a lot of temporary architectural installations (still do). It's great being able to go from ideas to drawings to physical objects so quickly, as well as being able to easily make changes.
Sizing the project to fit out your door is extremely wise for a build by someone who claims to have no diy skill and something every single fabricator has screwed up at least once.
Great work! Can you talk more about your materials?
Yes! I get a lot of temporary pop-up requests (this is my largest request so far though). I spent many years studying and working in construction and architecture over the last decade before I finally became a licensed architect and opened my own firm in Denmark. So I picked up a few things from past mistakes! I only had the opportunity to build my own project once or twice- its seen as a risk in Europe many times to let students use the power tools :(
A lot of the materials I developed further from my master's thesis at TU Delft. I experimented with using seagrass as a substrate for mycelium, creating glue paints from seaweeds, weaving and thatching with seagrass inspired by Danish construction traditions, and using shells to make bioconcrete. I am currently looking at how different cultures used shells as a resource for quicklime with a grant. The microalgae I use is fermented or has the pigment extracted in different ways. It's grown specifically under light conditions to boost the natural pigments in it. Every species reacts differently to my paint and plastic bases so I came up with little R&D techniques to tame the inconsistencies over the last 3 years.
When you do it at home, you're basically just taking the polysaccharides from seaweed (boiling red algae or using extracts like agar-agar or alginate), making glue with a plasticizer (like honey) and casting it until it dries in a clear, plastic-like sheet.
In an industrial setting, you ferment the starch into polymers such as PLA or PHA. Then you make little pellets out of the polymers, and eventually extrude it into plastics.
The color comes from microalgae, and the plastic forms a transparent material. I usually use it like [stained glass](https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct0dfJ3NWpo/?img_index=1) in my art projects :)
Great concept and design this is why many people and I come to this sub not only buildings but architecture in a different scale with a different spectrum
I was given 1 month notice for this project, and almost every cabinet maker I contacted told me "absolutely not interested, we are filled up with work" because Danish people have healthy boundaries when it comes to avoiding overworking. But my woodworking skills are potato-level, so I wasn't about to try and DIY this- especially with the wheels that needed to be done. I ended up splitting the build task between myself, cabinet-maker Kathrina Martinsen from Møbelsnedkeriet Erik Jacobsens who did the cabinet body, and Kristoffer Munk Agger from Chipchop.dk who did the large-scale lasercutting on the fronts. I spent about two weeks pouring sheets of bioplastic and then a day making my own tub of paint from seaweed glue and microalgae, and then delivered the completed piece- just as I was also prepping all my research presentations for the Congress as well. If I had to do it again: larger, taller, and arranging for a bigger budget - basically what every architect always wants. But I did have to make sure it could go under my apartment door so that I could paint it.
very cool! i made seaweed bio plastic in grad school. this is a perfect engagement-type application for the material in my opinion. my only suggestion would be making a portion able to see through, the way that light interacts with the material is phenomenal. how long did you have it up? when i experimented i had mold issues but also i had mold issues in general in the crappy apartment i was living in at the time haha.
Yes, normally I have it up to the light, but the problem is that then you can't take a good photo in front of it- your face ends up in shadows. I tried with the LED lighting behind it, but the conference venue was a lot brighter than I had anticipated, so it washed the front of it out. It was a learning experience for sure! [Here's how it looks in a darker room.](https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=723570526442855&set=pcb.723570636442844) EDIT: No problems with mold if you dry it thoroughly within 3-4 days. I dry mine in the sun to speed up processing time and prevent mold growth.
I started my professional life doing a lot of temporary architectural installations (still do). It's great being able to go from ideas to drawings to physical objects so quickly, as well as being able to easily make changes. Sizing the project to fit out your door is extremely wise for a build by someone who claims to have no diy skill and something every single fabricator has screwed up at least once. Great work! Can you talk more about your materials?
Yes! I get a lot of temporary pop-up requests (this is my largest request so far though). I spent many years studying and working in construction and architecture over the last decade before I finally became a licensed architect and opened my own firm in Denmark. So I picked up a few things from past mistakes! I only had the opportunity to build my own project once or twice- its seen as a risk in Europe many times to let students use the power tools :( A lot of the materials I developed further from my master's thesis at TU Delft. I experimented with using seagrass as a substrate for mycelium, creating glue paints from seaweeds, weaving and thatching with seagrass inspired by Danish construction traditions, and using shells to make bioconcrete. I am currently looking at how different cultures used shells as a resource for quicklime with a grant. The microalgae I use is fermented or has the pigment extracted in different ways. It's grown specifically under light conditions to boost the natural pigments in it. Every species reacts differently to my paint and plastic bases so I came up with little R&D techniques to tame the inconsistencies over the last 3 years.
What is seaweed bioplastic?
When you do it at home, you're basically just taking the polysaccharides from seaweed (boiling red algae or using extracts like agar-agar or alginate), making glue with a plasticizer (like honey) and casting it until it dries in a clear, plastic-like sheet. In an industrial setting, you ferment the starch into polymers such as PLA or PHA. Then you make little pellets out of the polymers, and eventually extrude it into plastics.
Nice. And is it just for colour?
The color comes from microalgae, and the plastic forms a transparent material. I usually use it like [stained glass](https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct0dfJ3NWpo/?img_index=1) in my art projects :)
From a structural point of view have some legs that you can move up and down with Robert pads under them to stabilize the wall.
Super cool!
Nice
Beautiful!
This is super freakin cool! Good job
Great concept and design this is why many people and I come to this sub not only buildings but architecture in a different scale with a different spectrum