Narratives of Soil 2021

Narratives of Soil -

WENDY TEO ATELIER + ELIZA COLLIN

A MATERIAL RESEARCH PROJECT

MAT ERIA L R E S E A R C H - Wendy Teo Atelier + Eliza Collin

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Narratives of Soil -

< INTRODUCTION >

The process of working with soil is a humbling one. The material narrates a lesson for all involved about their landscape. Building and objects that use soil take on its meaning. But often, the hegemony dictates that this meaning is humble and undignified. In this project, we are interested in exploring the vocabulary of soil through the eyes of ancient and emerging practitioners. Through comparative study we will get to see what soil can reveal to us, contextualising our landscape in relation to what it has been through. In this time when climate change is affecting the entire planet, global connections using familiar materials are important when exploring solutions.

MAT ERIA L R E S E A R C H - Wendy Teo Atelier + Eliza Collin

Narratives of Soil -

WENDY TEO ATELIER + ELIZA COLLIN

A MATERIAL RESEARCH PROJECT

Conversations -

< CHAPTER >

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1.1 A review on the challenges and potentials of soil.

1.2 Featuring conversations with soil practitioners around the world

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Workshops -

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2. 1 Reflective soil 2.2 Translucent soil 2.3 3D printing soil 2.4 Soil battery 2.5 Mud dyeing

Connections -

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3.1 Connections through Culture 3.2 What we know thus far?

3.3 Connecting the Dots

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— Conversations — Wendy Teo Atelier + Eliza Collin

1 Reflective Soil A series of Dorodango inspired mud ball polishing to achieve reflective finishing.

Photograph taken from Wendy Teo Atelier

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Challenges and Potentials — A REVIEW

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3

NOS Live Forum

Forum Structure

NOS live forum was attended

There were two sessions in

by more than 60 participants

the forum, Translating Soil

from around the world on 1st

and Manipulating Soil.

of April, 2021.

Written by Karen Shepherd

This narrative is founded on a series of conversations between practitioners of several disciplines, all bound together by the soil. Each practitioner approaches this common material in their own manner, as a basis for education and for innovation.

The project started in its simplest form as a dialogue between an architect and a textile artist, the first in Southeast Asia, renovating a heritage building for a new community space, and the other in the United Kingdom, researching the Southeast Asian sarong – a full circle.

From this foundation, their discussion spread out across the map, creating connections through mud culture in a series of podcasts and finally a forum, drawing together these disparate elements into one narrative whole to inspire eventual experimentation.

What follows is taken from a real conversation between these two initiators, a mid-stream reflection on the forum and on the project as a whole: its challenges, its discoveries, and its potentials.

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Humble beginnings Universal and accessible. These two words recur in any conversation about soil research. Architecturally, it starts from the statement that half the population of the world have a close association with mud architecture.

Yet the limited research being conducted, while exciting and innovative, is often scattered and isolated.

Wendy: How does this really help to bring back the ancient memory that we have? A lot of people used to live with mud. A lot of cultures started in a mud architectural setting until we moved onto something more modernist, more to do with concrete or steel.

Mud is an ancient material, as old as the people who have practised with it. Mud dyeing, still seen in Japan and Southeast Asia, is also found on pieces of textile in Europe, suggesting that it is one of the most ancient art forms. Yet, it is declining in Southeast Asia where cultural preservation focuses more on the symbols created in the weaving while the material processes are

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Experimentation with

Learning from

Local Soil

the Conversation

Kuching Red Soil

Soil Battery Workshop guided by

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Sean Ross

embracing synthetics.

Transformation and Technology This brings up resistance to the idea that soil can be a source of innovation, going to the heart of what constitutes innovation and the levels of transformation that it demands to deserve the title. Even among current practitioners, there is a huge disparity in the levels of manipulation of the mud. At one end, it involves the ancient act of dipping fabric into a muddy pond, at another the harnessing of soil microbes into transmitting electricity and then the baking, testing and playing with soil until it can be transformed through a 3-D printer.

exploring the rehabilitation of degraded landscapes or the impact of industrialisation on salt and soil. It can even be through a reframing of the narrative itself, reclaiming the rituals that once bound heritage to the earth and its resources. The idea of innovation suggests change. The conventional perception calls for some use of technology. But, with mud, in many cases, the conversation turned instead to a change in the attitude of people rather than in the material.

Eliza: Composites are seen as innovative, but they are actually some of the biggest problems that we are dealing with today because they are so hard to break down again and so hard to recycle.

The Nature of Soil

Eliza: The symbols that they weave into their sarongs have no meaning if they are not attached to the materials and rituals that gave birth to those symbols.

So if heritage techniques are going to survive, you also need to redesign the meanings behind them.

That is innovation, creating those new stories that can accompany the techniques because they are very relevant techniques that can still be used today.

Eliza: It was about how can I change this material as little as possible; how can I use it as it is and then how do I return it back as it is through the process of using it and gaining from this material? How do I change it as little as possible? For me, that was true innovation and the least damaging way that we can work with materials.

Innovation comes in many forms. It can be through the application of technology or even its mitigation,

The simplicity of soil inspires a level of respect for its very nature and also for the nature at its source. It raises 11

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Soil Workshop

Soil Workshop

Experimentation on

Experimentation on

Reflective Soil

Translucent Soil

at Wendy Teo Atelier

at Wendy Teo Atelier

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the question of how technology can work in unison with the material instead of aiming for its transformation.

It asks instead how the change wrought by innovation impacts on the environment; how the age-old technique of mud dyeing can naturally produce the deep, dark hues that are most toxic when sourced synthetically. It asks how the level of interference impacts on sustainability.

Eliza: Once we have used this material in the way that we use it today, we use it to a point where we damage it, sometimes irrevocably. How can design then regenerate the material as well?

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS TO JIA WOEI CHAN

In many ways, mud research involves the undoing of ideas, a celebration of the local over the global, of the humble over the complex, of the accessible over the commercialised. As the discussion described many practitioners digging the mud from their own backyard, it called to mind the economy, dominated by steel and concrete. The conversation returned to the fact that over half the world’s population live in mud-related buildings and wondered whether research is stifled by capitalist centres of control. It considered whether the hegemonic narratives must change more than the material itself.

A global connection

Wendy: With this kind of universal material, it could be more impactful when it is like something you do locally but then has relevancy to other areas.

In the end, soil is embedded in its environment and equally defines it. Under the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic, connections were facilitated and access also limited. Real world travel plans for co-working were suspended but replaced by virtual reality. The material research became increasingly rooted but the connections crept outwards through the tendrils of technology. Constraints became expansive; challenges turned into potential.

Universality in a world of specialists requires cross-disciplinary collaboration and this is perhaps now the defining feature of the project. It returns to the eternal nature of the material and seeks instead the transformation of the practitioner. It considers the need for education in a world where half the population live in mud architecture and yet many are detached from the soil that they stand on. The connection to soil served as a salve for the soul and an antidote to depression. It calls for greater education so that the children of the planet can experience that solidity again.

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Speaker 01 - I Yao Chuang [Taiwan] PODCAST + FORUM I Yao Chuang is a promoter of environmental education, who believes natural architecture can enable people to establish the connection between themselves and nature through their bodily experience with it.

Over the past few years, Chuang’s environmental education programme has engaged a number of children, young people and adults. Along the process of constructing natural building with the community, he witnessed the change in people, including himself.

Before becoming involved in the practice of environmental education, Mr Chuang used to be a researcher and engineer in the field of IT technology. The unbalanced lifestyle of his previous career and the memory of his childhood times in nature resulted in his eventual subscription to a natural lifestyle.

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Featuring Conversations with Soil Practitioners around the world — PODCAST SERIES + FORUM Speaker 02 - Maria Roy Deulofeu [United Kingdom] PODCAST Maria Roy Deulofeu is a London-based designer, researcher and maker exploring craft that encourages more sustainable practices.

She uses critical design, and traditional and experimental modes of production to explore new narratives that evolve from an anthropocentric and extractive culture towards one that seeks to immerse species and the environment.

Her interdisciplinary approach throughout her practice allows her to work collectively along with a range of disciplines such as ceramics, archaeology and biology, researching alternatives for our current ecological, political and social crisis.

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1 Speaker 03 - Sean Ross [United Kingdom] PODCAST + FORUM Sean Ross is a multidisciplinary designer interested in exploring the intersection of nature and technology and how we can create a symbiotic relationship between the two. Within his work he is looking at emerging scientific developments and, using design as a tool, creates sustainable interventions that stimulate conversation and even ignite action around how we can build a brighter future.

We explore the intricacies of his most recent project 'Transmitting Nature' which focuses on today's digital technology driven world and tackles it by creating a counterfactual history that makes use of our contemporary knowledge to explore the possibility of re-engineering the hardware, maintaining greater sympathy for, and working in collaboration with, Nature. He also completed a recent exploration in collaborating with soil to design new surfaced textures for wood with designer with Emily Boxall.

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Speaker 04 - Peter Webb [United Kingdom] PODCAST Peter Webb is a UK architect who has been focusing on the innovative use of materials in architecture since his school days in UCL Bartlett. Throughout his career in Arup, Foster and partners and Heatherwick studio, he has worked on over 30 brickwork and architectural terracotta projects around the world. Many of these projects he has worked on have received national and international awards for architecture and sustainability.

Peter’s love for clay started when he was looking at using building material sourced locally. He used to dig up clay from my backyard and started to build models out of it. For him, the process of digging up clay and simply firing it in a kiln to create something that can last hundreds of years was magical.

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4 Speaker 05 - Aayushi Bajpayee [United States] PODCAST + FORUM Aayushi Bajpayee's areas of research include sustainable material development, produced water treatment, soil stabilization for automated construction, environmentally-safe alternatives to concrete, and carbon capture.

During her research journey, she is especially proud that she never strayed from the inevitable constraints of developing an entirely sustainable process. She strongly believes that if necessity is the mother of innovation, there is no greater need now than to take care of our planet.

Contributors: Aayushi Bajpayee, Mehdi Farahbakhsh, Umme Zakira, Aditi Pandey, Lena Abu Ennab, Zofia Rybkowski, Manish Kumar Dixit, Paul Arthur Schwab, Negar Kalantar, Bjorn Birgisson, and Sarbajit Banerjee

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Speaker 06 - Erez Nevi Pana [Israel] PODCAST + FORUM A vegan and passionate animal rights activist, Erez Nevi Pana’s practice is based on investigating natural phenomena and environmental processes through material exploration.

Nevi Pana’s investigations of salt have developed into a long-term research project; he has been working with salt in the Dead Sea for the past eight years—investigating the devastating imbalance of an over-abundance of salt caused by the industrialization and mineral extraction of the region. The culmination of this research is a body of work entitled Bleached (2018), where Pana submerges wooden structures encased in loofah into the Dead Sea to absorb the wasted salt, which then crystallize like coral formations over time.

We acknowledge the support of this work from the X-Grants Program: A President’s Excellence Fund Initiative at Texas A&M University.

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7 Speaker 07 -Unknown Fields Division [UK/AU] FORUM Unknown Fields is a nomadic design research studio directed by Kate Davies and Liam Young. They venture out on expeditions into the shahows cast by the contemporary city, to uncover the industrial ecologies and precarious wilderness its technology and culture set in motion.

8 Speaker 08 - Thom Bindels [Netherland] FORUM Thom Bindels is a design researcher looking to restore the human relation to ecological processes.

As a starting point, Thom focuses on our natural surroundings and finds possibilities through collaboration with people from a variety of fields. Through a hands on process he aims to create a holistic solution that can have a place in the complexity of the world we live in.

9 ‘Narratives of Soil’ Invitees for Forum and Podcast Series, 2021 Hosted over Spotify and Zoom

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> CHAPTER 02

— Workshops — Wendy Teo Atelier + Eliza Collin The workshop series explores two trajectories. It looks into the very nature of soil, exploring its properties, but also aims to break the conventional perception of the material by showcasing its unconventional qualities.

Borneo based Wendy Teo Atelier was already active in investigating the potential of soil use in the construction industry, an interest driven by the prevalence of mud architecture worldwide coupled with the apparent dearth in research into and discussion about this material.

The Atelier was engaged in the renovation of a city centre building, dating back to the early 1960s and Wendy Teo aimed to embark on an open-ended and exploratory investigation in conjunction with the renovation of their new space.

Inspired by the outcomes of their podcast series and forum, and also their own ongoing research into Sarawak soil properties and applications, four workshops were conducted by Wendy Teo Atelier, re-envisioning mud as reflective, translucent, solid and conductive in turn.

1 Workshop Objectives A series of material testing was conducted for featuring the unconventional quality of soil.

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A RT I S T - Eugen chifndkg

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PROJECT - Between the Brokern pieces

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Reflective Soil _

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS TO SERENE LIM

Inspired by a meditative mud ball making process - Dorodango practice from Japan - this chapter of research explores how to achieve a reflective surface for architectural finishing. In conventional Dorodango practice, several layers of finishing materials are applied to a mud ball to fill any potential gaps within the surface. The final layer can be finished with graphite powder to showcase the glossy, reflective surface of the completed ball.

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Dorodango — INSPIRATION

1

1

2

Dorodango

Base Coating

The practice of Hikaru

Clay(Screened)

: 1 part

Dorodango, known as

Sand

: 4 part

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M AT E R I A L I T E R AT I O N S AT W E N D Y T E O AT E L I E R , 2 0 2 1

nated from Japan. Translat-

IMAGE:

Dorodango for short, origi-

the effect.

ing to “mud dumpling”, earth and water are moulded and

3

carefully polished to create

Secondary Coating

a delicate shiny sphere

Clay(Screened)

: 1 part

that resembles a billiard

Silica Sand

: 2 part

ball. The material use has been enhanced to the point that we were able to make reflective soil. This was also a project done by a youtuber

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Nito Project where he shows

Final Coating

that it is possible to achieve

Graphite Power

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Moonlight Sonata —

By Wendy Teo Atelier Moonlight Sonata takes the reflective soil developed through the traditional Dorodango process and applies it to create a backlit round soil mirror to be hung in Think & Tink’s bathroom. With soil as the base material, further layers of sand, clay and silica sand have been solidified and polished with the same method and principle inherited from the practice of Dorodango. The final result has then been coated with graphite powder to produce the reflective shine needed for a mirror. The month-long study on the finishing is being explored together with a variety of natural materials that could be extracted or procured locally in Borneo Kuching.

As a product of persistent research on polishing soil material and methods, the reflective finishing of the soil mirror aims to inspire viewers on the material potential of such humble origins. The traditional Dorodango ball is both material research and meditation – a practice conducted by Japanese schoolchildren in search of perfection. Applied to a mirror, it brings to mind questions of self-reflection and, at the simplest level, of seeing ourselves in the soil.

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1 The Finished Product The reflective quality of the material finishing was achieved through persistent material experimentations

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A RT I S T - Eugen chifndkg

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Translucent Soil _

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS TO JIA WOEI CHAN

Soil is more often characterised as solid, dense and dark. Commonly associated with burial and hidden depths, this research aimed to explore whether soil could be paired instead with light and clarity. It examined both ideas of beauty through this pairing but also of practicality for a modern construction industry that is so conceptually opposed to mud as a primary material.

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Translucent Soil Modules —

By Wendy Teo Atelier This soil module started from three distinct design questions. Can soil be translucent? Can that effect be applied as a visual motif for architecture? Can the process serve the modern construction industry?

It began with the first in a mixed media exploration – in glass, plastics and fibre optics – to bring translucence to the material. The effects created with the combination of local soils and these translucent elements immediately answered the second, creating beautiful patterns of light within soil walls which can be applied as a visual motif in architecture.

For the third, Wendy Teo Atelier explored this potential by incorporating 3D printing technology and developing the hybrid material into a modular system, designed to be applied repeatedly. The result is beauty, form and function.

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1 Translucent Soil Modules Prototypes The prototype incorporated modularised translucent soil blocks.

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3D Printing Soil _ Despite the hegemony of modern architecture which has seemed determined to move us away from using soil as the fundamental material in building for the last 50 years, more than half of our population still live in buildings made out of soil. This chapter of research investigates the application of technology to this ancient material as a source of innovation. 3D printing has become the next frontier of production and, by applying it to soil, this has exciting implications for the use of such a universal material in the modern construction industry.

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3D Printing Soil Workshop —

By Proteus 3D For 3D printing, material must be deposited, joined and solidified, translated from a computer drawing into a real-world object. Inspired by 3D printing soil as the latest tendency in construction, especially in the work of Aayushi Bajpayee, Wendy Teo Atelier invited Borneo Kuching-based 3D printer start-up Proteus to incorporate Borneo local soil in their exploration.

To enable 3D printing soil with the Proteus machine, the two-fold exploration comprised upgrading the machine nozzle and tubing for a soil mixture to flow through. This mixture itself was the key element of experimentation, through a series of recipes with different ratios of clay, sand and lime powder to balance flow rate through the printer with eventual structural integrity. Initial attempts included cement, the industry staple, but this was slowly reduced.

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1 3D printing with soil Proteus team's attempt in 3D printing soil.

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Soil Battery _

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS TO JIA WOEI CHAN

With Sean T Ross, the Narratives of Soil team learned that, through the simple arrangement of humble materials and soil, microbes in the mud can be the source for harvesting renewable energy – the intersection of nature and technology. This chapter of exploration shows the exciting potential of creating light and power through the universal materials commonly found in each backyard around the globe.

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Soil Battery Workshop —

By Sean T Ross Sean’s work, shared initially through the podcast and forum format, came to Borneo in a digital workshop on 1 May 2021, but linking with participants from around the world. It was the ultimate expression of taking the local global, applying the techniques that he had developed using the soil from his own area to that found by the participants in their respective regions.

In the workshop, Sean taught the participants how to build their own electrolytic earth battery. The set up consists of zinc-coated screws and copper wire as electronic pins that link a closed loop of soil microbial fuel cells. In the later part of the workshop, he discussed how a soil battery can be used to power small devices or electrical components and be integrated into a variety of projects.

The local soil, with its high iron content, initially presented a challenge to the Borneo-based Narratives of Soil team. But eventually, the bulbs lit, turning the 24 capsules into a battery component equivalent to 1.5AA batteries. Applications are now being considered for use in the eventual exhibition ground

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1 Lit LED of Soil Battery The LED lit continually for more than 1.5 month at Wendy Teo Atelier studio after the workshop.

or even the vertical garden developed by Wendy Teo Atelier as part of the Borneo Lab’s Green Pockets Project.

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Mud Dyeing _

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS TO ANA LARRUY

Contemporary dye techniques are contributing to some of the most damaging polluting activities of our time. Mud dyeing, a technique which was once widely practiced in ancient cultures internationally, is today only produced by a very small number of studios, mainly in South East Asia. Following on from Eliza’s experiments with the technique, we have worked with the Threads of Life studio in Bali to produce some further samples of creating patterns using traditional techniques.

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1 -RightEliza’s first experiments with the mud dye technique These samples show the range of colours you can achieve with different base textiles, different sources of naturally occuring tannins

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and sources of iron salts.

Mud Dyeing Workshop —

By Eliza Collin

2 -BottomSecond wave of experiments in collaboration with dye studio Threads of Life.

Samples of experimentation with batik combined with the Indonesian mud dye

Samples of what have been identified as being ancient pieces of mud dyed cloth have been found in Africa, Indonesia, New Zealand, South America and even Switzerland which date back to 3000 BC. This technique varies depending on location but is based on the basic ingredients of tannins and iron salts which can be found naturally occurring in different sources worldwide. Tannins are mainly found in leaves, bark, nuts or roots of certain trees and plants, and the iron from fermented (stagnant) mud. These basic and naturally occurring ingredients produce dark colours ranging from brown to purples and blacks which all vary depending on location. If developed correctly, this technique could propose a more sustainable solution to achieving dark dyes which are some of the most toxic when it comes to contemporary chemical dyes.

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P H O T O G R A P H Y C R E D I T S T O W I L L I A M I N G R A M AT T H R E A D S O F L I F E

technique.

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> CHAPTER 03

<

— Connections — Wendy Teo Atelier + Eliza Collin

1 Workshop Objective A series of material testing was conducted for featuring the unconventional quality of soil.

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The 8 Team — Connections Through Culture

4 I Yao Zhuang

Connections Through Culture (CTC) is an arts grants

Podcast + Forum

programme run by the British Council in the UK

Environment Educator

and East Asia. It was established in August 2019

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in Southeast Asia to provide grants to residents of the UK, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam from the following groups: Artists, Cultural and arts professionals,

Julia Davis

Representatives of art collectives, networks or

Forum Opening Guest

organisations.

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6

Celebrating the diverse cultural expression in both

British Council

Erez Nevi Pana

regions, the programme offers support, information,

Connections through

Podcast + Forum

advice and networking opportunities for professional

Culture Programme

Vegan Designer

development. Grantees both from the UK and the East

Programme Managers:

Asian countries benefit from the inspiration gained

Florence Lambert

from exchanging ideas and sharing their cultural

Erica Choong

The primary objective is to support exchanges and collaborations between the UK and Southeast Asia.

history.

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1 Wendy Teo Atelier Architectural atelier working alongside Borneo Laboratory at Think & Tink, Kuching Borneo Malaysia Research & Production: Wendy Teo Serene Lim Jason Lim Proteus 3D

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Ivan Yong Writer Karen Shepherd Photographer

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Jia Woei Chan

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Videographer Eugene Chin

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2 Eliza Collin A fashion designer and textile researcher based in

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London, UK Sean Ross Soil Battery Workshop Instructor Forum+Podcast Maria Roy Deulofeu Podcast

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8

9

Designer

Thom Bindels

Unknown Fields Division

Peter Webb

NOS Forum Moderator

Forum

Forum

Podcast

Designer

Researcher

Architect Researcher

Molly Bonnell

Aayushi Bajpayee Forum+ Podcast Scientist

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M AT ERIA L R E S E A R C H - Wendy Teo Atelier + Eliza Collin

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Soil Practices — What we know thus far?

Through our research, we learned about a number of fascinating contemporary soil practices around the

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highlight them for the inspiring work they have done in

WASP Tecla Project

Isabella Breda

their respective regions.

Italian 3D printer

Since 2006, the Italian

manufacturer WASP has

interior designer has been

completed the 3D printing

exploring the aesthetics of

house with earth

architectural finishing with

world, which we thought are quite timely and worth featuring. We might not have been able to feature to all of them at length in our project, but we would like to

earth

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FO C US - Narratives of Soil

M ATERIAL RES EARCH -Wendy Teo Atelier + Eliza Collin

5 Onearth Architecture The Chinese design studio has been incorporating local rammed earth building technique in building design and process.

6 Dorosome Practice "Dorosome" is Amami prefecture's treasure

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Oshima Island in Kagoshima method of dyeing fabric with mud to create a distinctive rich black color.

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7 Gary Simpson For fifteen years of his life, the late artist had collected soil samples from all 193 countries for his large-scale art project—a series of 196 abstract panels created

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with a mixture of soil; our common ground.

8 Nader Khalili Best known for his inventive structures that incorporated a range of atypical building materials to provide shelter in the developing world and emergency contexts.

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Anna Heringer + Martin

Sexual Ceramic Art

Wind Star Studio

Threads of life

Rauch

Barcelona based iranian

The Taiwanese workshop

The studio has been working

The duo Architect and

designer Fatemah Nejati

has been organising earth

with local community on

Engineer has been

has been developing sexual

building workshop and

developing the mud dyeing

developing the rammed

ceramic art workshop in Iran

course with the community.

techniques and patterns.

earth building technology

to liberate the conversation.

since 2008.

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M AT ERIA L R E S E A R C H - Wendy Teo Atelier + Eliza Collin

FOCUS - Narratives of Soil

What's Next — Connecting the Dots 'Narratives of Soil' research project by Wendy Teo Atelier and Eliza Collin, is made possible with the support from British Council 'Connections through Culture' research programme.

We are thankful for all the supports we have received from and beyond our network towards the research project.

If you are interested in our future conversations, you can connect us from our instagram account @narratives_of_soil @wendyteobt @elizalicollin

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DIGITAL RESOURCES

EXHIBITION VENUE

Supported by

Supported by

FO C US - Narratives of Soil

M ATERIAL RES EARCH -Wendy Teo Atelier + Eliza Collin

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS TO JIA WOEI CHAN

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A RT I S T - Eugen chifndkg

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PROJECT - Between the Brokern pieces