Innovation Inspired by Nature by TAG

M M C

INNOVATION INSPIRED BY NATURE

SHAYAN G U N AWA N

H ANDS ON/ H ANDS OFF This project is about ‘making’ with a material you are completely in love with. Material in this case can be anything! From code to wool to water to ink to electricity to sound to the body to e-ink to language to film to you name it. What material would you interrogate and question: How do you work? And what can you become? This project is not just about the love for the material, it starts with a deep understanding of not just a material, but a material’s history. (Shorter, 2015) And through this aims to expand your critical thinking through making. “Materials have desires, affordances, and textures; they have grains. We can work with that grain, understanding what the material wishes to be, wishes to do– or we can deliberately choose to work against it. We must understand that grain and make a deliberate choice.” (Shorter, 2015) Key to the process of this project is to make, to reflect and to externalise ideas through prototyping. Aim: Creating meaning through making.

INDEX Plastics

Prototype [two plastics = efficiency]

Biomimicry [plastic + organic material timeline prototype nature does it best current changes are needed for progress]

Reflection & Outcome [ plastic as a metaphor for large industries, the now, change & innovation plastic is parallel to organic both depend on each other for maximum efficiency two perspectives to mimicing]

P LASTICS

WHAT IS IT? Plastics are the most versatile materials ever invented. Indeed, the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;plastic,â&#x20AC;? which derives from the Greek word plastikos, meaning to mold or form, has come to be used as a general description for anything particularly adaptable or flexible. Since the first plastic, celluloid, was developed as a replacement for elephant ivory in the 1860s, many different types of plastics, including nylon, polyethylene, and TeflonÂŽ have revolutionized the manufacture of commercial goods as diverse as nylon stockings and car-body parts. Although the use of plastic continues to grow and revolutionary new plastics are constantly being developed, concerns have been raised about the environmental effects of using and disposing of so much plastic material, prompting the invention of bioplastics. SCIENCE Plastics are synthetic chemicals extracted mainly from petroleum and composed of hydrocarbons (compounds made from chains of hydrogen and carbon atoms). Most plastics are polymers, long molecules made up of many repetitions of a basic molecule called a monomer; in effect, the monomers are like identical railroad cars coupled together to form a very long train. Thus, as many as 50,000 molecules of ethylene (which has two carbon atoms bonded to four hydrogen atoms) can be joined end to end into a familiar polymer called polyethylene (or polythene). The process of building polymers by adding together monomers is called additive polymerization. Polymerization produces two different kinds of plastics. Sometimes, polymers form very long straight or branched chains. These are present in so-called thermoplastics, which always soften when heated and harden when cooled down. Examples include polyethylene and polystyrene. Polymers can also form more complex three-dimensional structures, which give plastics very different physical properties. Thermosetting plastics, as these are called, harden the first time they are heated when cross-links form between different plastic molecules. Thermosetting plastics never soften again no matter how many times they are heated and this makes them particularly suitable for objects that need to operate in hot environments. Epoxy resins and bakelite are examples of thermosetting plastics. MANUFACTURE Plastic goods such as hosepipes or washing-up bowls begin life as a raw material, or resin, produced by polymerization. Initially, the resin starts off as a powder, or as pellets or flakes, to which various other materials are added. Some of these provide color or texture, while others give the plastic particular physical properties, such as fire-resistance, slight electrical conductivity (to reduce static buildup), or added strength.

P R OTOTYPE

MAKE PLASTIC BY INCORPORATING PROPERTIES OF BOTH TYPES OF PLASTICS “I started by studying the basic facts on plastics and how it works. I recognized that plastics fit into two categories called thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. The difference between these two types of plastics is that thermoplastics can be heated and reshaped over and over again, while thermosetting plastics can only be heated and shaped once. I pursued my research by focusing fist on one of the most common reaction polymers called polyurethane. This polymer creates both kinds of plastics and resins by reacting two types of compounds together. So by mixing two reacting compounds together, the PU can result in a resin, foam or rubber. My first goal was to create and experiment with all three of these types of plastics of PU, and then also include polyester resin. I created these resins and foams to understand how the reactions wok and feel as they heat up, expand and speed up reaction, to get to know the plastic materials first hand. Eventually, I found out that the third form of PU, the rubber, could not be made at the station so I chose to create a different kind of rubber, silicone rubber. As I was making the other resins and foams, I was also mixing and matching them together just out of curiosity of what might happen. Observing the reactions, I could understand the properties of the materials better, and how it works. This time, as I created the silicone rubber, I also mixed it with other plastics such as the resins and foam. I tried to layer it with other solutions and also tried to mix it. Then I found it was an interesting start for my prototype where I ask, ‘how can we change the properties of a plastic by incorporating some characteristics from each type of plastic?’ That is, by combining for example a thermosetting plastic with a thermoplastic to create a new quality of plastic. So first I’d combined the solution of silicone rubber, a thermoset, with the solution of a PU resin, a thermoplastic, equally together, mixing it instead of layering it. Then experimenting with the similar idea, I combined solutions of hard foam with soft foam. I mixed equal amounts of both components and formed a semi-hard foam, the in-between. So I then asked, ‘how do changing the ratios of each plastic affect the strength of the resulting plastic?’ My aim for changing ratios and combining two properties is to find a way to have two different uses meet to work together. Maybe from this I’ll be able to find an efficient way to hand a plastic for multiple functions. Basically, as I’ll keep experimenting, I’ll narrow it down to specific materials and find a way to link my findings with ideas of efficiency and research the function of the plastic in biomimicry.”

B I O M I MICRY

WHAT IS IT? Biomimicry is an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies. The goal is to create products, processes, and policies—new ways of living—that are well-adapted to life on earth over the long haul. The core idea is that nature has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with. Animals, plants, and microbes are the consummate engineers. After billions of years of research and development, failures are fossils, and what surrounds us is the secret to survival. SECOND PROTOTYPE “My goal for analyzing plastic as a material for this project is to address how we interact with it, what we are doing to it, and understanding how we might change the disastrous path we appear to be on. Since my last prototype I’ve realised how plastic is really a dark matter. I had the goal to continue by finding ways to make good use of plastic, looking at ways to achieve efficiency for our growing need for the material. Some people believe that plastic is at the center of every one of the environmental, social, and health crises the world now faces. I thought of how we value or do not value plastic everyday, and after researching the causes of our overuse, I wanted to explore the possible ways of reaching a better use of plastic. Therefore, looking at biomimicry, the term refers to new ways of sustainable solutions to human challenges by imitating nature’s patterns and structures. I am now working towards a concept that also relates to the term anthropocene, where I show that at the end, ‘nature does it best’. With anthropocene, it kind of tells that the past is the key to the future. I also reflect on the behaviours of now, and see with biomimicry, that were depending on nature for solutions to such environmental problems as well. With my last prototype, I combined different types of plastics to find new uses. Now I combine plastic material with natural material to show our shift to a more efficient lifestyle. I see the need to remind people to accept and realize that we are in a state of transformation, so I want to present this process of going back / forward to the organic object example. Trillions of pieces of plastic are already in the ocean, and billions of new plastic goods are made everyday. It is not going anywhere. So I accept that we might never reach the full extent of biomimicry, as we have a constant drive for innovation, but do need to go through this middle phase of change that will get us to achieve more and offer much better solutions. Therefore, I will work with contrasts and comparisons that should depict our daily options and habits with plastic.”

RE F L ECTION & O U TCOME

IN-BETWEEN STATE We cannot switch to the complete organic lifestyle because usually nature has no room in modern cities. The in-between state is most important. That’s where there’s most room for change and solutions. We are in the phase of giving lifeless materials a chance for growth and living. I make this metaphor for the current changes we’re undergoing.

TWO PERSPECTIVES Manipulation of ‘plastic’ into patterns of nature for effiency and biomimicry Manipulation of organic systems to fit the needs of the ‘industry’ to reach efficiency

Planted Forestry

Checkerboard Forestry

Beehive Tower Honeycomb Inspired Vertical Farm

Cubed Watermelons in Japan, efficient for shipping

The Hexagon is nature’s most efficient shape

Vertical Tower by Stefano Boeri

RE F L ECTION & O U TCOME THIRD PROTOTYPE The plastic, manufactured sponge is a replica of sea sponges. I planted seeds in them to represent how the big industries are turning back to nature for new productions and systems. This gives the idea of how the different materials can work together for efficiency. Although the outcome may be a way of reaching efficiency, we have to be prepared for unexpected changes. Both the seeds and the sponge can work together, forming new patterns. The roots change according to the sponge, growing around it, and the sponge will likewise adopt a new structure. From these representations of biomimicry in different layers of production, I think about what would happen next. I believe that we will keep imitating for the better and continue to find new ways, properties, functions and structures from accepting change.

I N NOVATION

IM ITATION