Materials need to be seen, touched and played for new ideas to blossom and to motivate designers and product developers to work with new elements that transform imaginations into design innovations. Cebu, being the Philippine hub of creativity and the home of the design curious, a playground for exploring, discovering and getting inspirations from is conceived by three organizations dedicated to cultivating the culture of research and development: Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF), Department of Science and Technology Region 7 (DOST 7), and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP). This is the Materials Library – a facility also serving as a response to the need of the creative sectors for new material development and innovation. Materials Library is a work in progress as gathering and sourcing of materials continues from rural, countryside and indigenous communities around the Philippine archipelago and even beyond. It is tangible, dynamic and useful – offering swatches of indigenous and imported materials, and handpicked books on natural substances, technologies and eco-design. An online database is also currently in the works, linking materials and suppliers. This contains a suppliers’ databank and a map of material sources around the country. The Materials Library is conveniently housed at DOST Science and Technology Center in Banilad, Cebu City. It is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9:00 AM- 5:00 PM.
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