BBoBB - “Echoes of the earth”

Als je goed kijkt, zie je het: de natuur is een stille tovenaar. Ze weeft, vormt, creëert en hergebruikt zonder afval, al miljoenen jaren.

In deze tentoonstelling presenteren we makers en bedrijven die in haar voetsporen treden. Stel je een wereld voor waarin we bouwen en creëren met wat in de natuur groeit: stoelen gemaakt van schimmeldraden, verpakkingen van algen, muren versterkt met vlas. Allemaal vervaardigd uit levende materialen die ademen, vergaan en weer tot leven komen.

Deze tentoonstelling gaat over biobased en regeneratief design: creëren met materialen van biologische oorsprong die het milieu niet schaden, maar juist helpen herstellen.

Is de toekomst biobased?

Deze tentoonstelling wordt georganiseerd in het kader van het internationale project Building Based on Biobased (BOBB) in samenwerking met Universiteit Gent Campus Kortrijk, en met de steun van Interreg Regio Noordzee en de Provincie West-Vlaanderen.

Ontwerpers:
Andrei Silviu Nitu
Anouk Verstuyft
Annah Ololade Sangosanya
Andy Cartier
Saartje Allosserie
Amanda Brezell
Kurt Van Overbeke & Pia Vandeputte & Xavier Coenen
Jeremy Leung
Indré Mikucké
Dries Laperre & Laura Willems
Michiel Wierinck
Masterstudenten UGent campus Kortrijk Productontwerp
Arno Hoogland voor Unilin Panels & BLOK Plaatmateriaal
Gabriela Farias voor Spore
Mogu
Nienke Hoogvliet voor Releaf
Erjen Gregoire voor ONBETAALBAAR

Hennepbeton, een mengsel van hennepscheven, kalk en water, is een biobased materiaal met krachtige eigenschappen: het helpt bij het ontwikkelen van temperatuur en vloeibaar, absorbeert geluid en neutraliseert zelfs geur.

Ontwerper Andrei-Silviu Nitu maakte een kattenhuis en parfumverpakking als prototypes om te onderzoeken hoe veelzijdig hennepbeton kan zijn. Zijn werk laat dat het materiaal niet beperkt is tot regelconstructies. Het kan ook groot tot groot ontwerpen worden.

Voor de verpakking van parfums verlegde hij de grenzen door hennepbeton in vormen van slechts 8 millimeter dun te gieten. Gecombineerd tussen hij dat het materiaal zelfs in delicate toepassingen sterk en functioneel blijft.

In Fungal Functions, designer Anouk Verstuyft explores the creative potential of mycelium through three experimental pieces. While the material is still under active development, this collection adds a fresh perspective to its growing field of applications.

The stool is coated with a mycelium composite that turns hemp waste into a regenerative material with impressive strength.

The cabinet showcases a self-pigmenting process, made possible by a fungus that naturally generates its own color.

The lamp is cultivated in textile wastewater. As it grows, the fungus breaks down leftover dyes, creating new material while simultaneously cleaning the water.

This jacket is crafted entirely from mycelium, making it a fully bio-based material. It offers a biodegradable alternative to both traditional and synthetic leather. The soft gradient in color is completely natural. No dyes were used.

Designed from modular panels held together with rivets, the jacket can easily be taken apart and reassembled, underscoring its circular design approach.

What happens when nature takes the lead in design? This surfboard and armchair weren’t so much ‘manufactured’ as they were ‘grown’.

The surfboard is made from mycelium reinforced with hemp fibers and sealed with a natural resin coating. The armchair combines mycelium with locally sourced agricultural waste.

Both pieces were created (or, in a sense, ‘grown’) at the Dutch company Spore. Spore explores and develops applications using mushrooms and mycelium. Designers and makers of bio-based products can source materials through Spore’s online shop, while the lab near The Hague offers hands-on support for creating objects, experimenting, and prototyping.

The prototype surfboard was first developed by Andy Cartier as part of an R&D project and is now being brought to market by KOZ, a startup working to introduce regenerative materials into surf culture.

Made from pure, unglazed porcelain, Pollina avoids chemicals, requires lower firing temperatures, and can be fully recycled. The result is a stable, colorfast, and durable material, perfect indoors and out.

In collaboration with local ceramicists, the process is being refined to scale up production, aiming for a locally crafted light object with a minimal ecological footprint.

Fennigan’s Farms, the work of social and biobased designer Amanda Brezell, is one of many grassroots initiatives bringing new life to Detroit.

After finishing their studies, Amanda Brezell returned to their hometown and started a city farm. Drawing on African and Indigenous agricultural traditions, they clean and restore contaminated soil, turning vacant lots into spaces that benefit both the community and the environment.

Herbs and vegetables from the farm are shared freely with neighbors, while flowers are sold at events and pop-ups. Crop byproducts are transformed into innovative materials, including bioplastics, biocomposites, and the panel material on display here.

At NewLab Detroit, these experiments are further developed into working prototypes.

From nature to object and back again: this stool, made from mycelium blended with hemp and flour, is designed primarily for the events sector.

In just a few weeks, each stool grows within its mold into a versatile seating piece. After its use, such as at the end of a festival season, it can return to the earth, completing the cycle from which it came.

As if it had never been there at all.

With a background in both music and technology, Jeremy Leung specializes in experience design: creating meaningful and immersive moments.

While organizing small-scale live performances in Utrecht, he sought ways to enhance the atmosphere with lighting. This led him to experiment with drums, a process that eventually evolved into his Staples collection: a series of portable light fixtures 3D-printed from bioplastics.

With the Peel table lamp, Leung pays tribute to his grandmother, who would lovingly peel fruit for her grandchildren after lunch.

Created in collaboration with Kauno Kolegija University of Applied Sciences in Kaunas, Lithuania, this curtain was specially developed for the exhibition using algae as its primary material.

Through a natural process, the algae are transformed into a substance that can be precisely shaped with a cutting machine.

Regenerative design lies at the heart of Indré’s practice. With every new piece, she aims not only to avoid harming the environment but to actively restore and even enhance the natural world.

The designers created a new biobased material called Vlastic, made from flax shives, a byproduct of flax processing that amounts to 70,000 tons each year in Belgium.

No binders are added during production, resulting in a lightweight, porous material that is entirely biobased. Vlastic provides a sustainable alternative to foamed plastics like PUR and EPS (commonly known as Styrofoam).

For centuries, flax has shaped the landscapes and economy of Belgium’s rainy regions. Vlastic builds on this heritage: more than a material made from a byproduct, it bridges the region’s past with a sustainable, innovative future.

Handcrafted in Belgium in collaboration with a local basket weaver, these urns are available through www.naturnus-houten-urnen.com.

They are made from recycled cotton, lined with a paper ash bag, and sealed at the base with a wooden lid.

Made entirely from natural materials, the urns are fully biodegradable and suitable for natural burial sites. Once placed in the ground, the urn gradually breaks down, gently returning the ashes to the earth.

Master’s students were challenged to create birdhouses entirely from biobased materials. Each design had to use materials that naturally occur in the habitat of the bird it was intended for.

The resulting birdhouses do more than provide a safe home. They show how biobased design and innovative materials can support biodiversity while reconnecting people with nature.

Students drew inspiration from the UGent Biocomposites Database, a rich resource of examples and knowledge on biobased materials.

This installation showcases the functional and aesthetic potential of Fibralux Biobased MDF panels, a groundbreaking innovation from Unilin.

Designer Arno Hoogland unveiled this futuristic “temple” at last spring’s Salone del Mobile in Milan. The structure is made from sculptural blocks, each precisely shaped with CNC technology.

With Fibralux Biobased, Unilin has developed the world’s first fully biobased MDF panel. The wood fibers come from timber industry by-products, sustainable forest thinning, and roadside maintenance. Its true innovation lies in the binder: a natural resin made from sunflower and rapeseed, replacing conventional synthetic adhesives.

These panels were created by the Dutch company Spore, under the direction of lab manager and designer Gabriela Farias.

The mycelium for the panels is cultivated on hemp and flax, then combined with recycled wool. This not only strengthens the biocomposite but also makes it easier to release the finished panels from their molds. The wool comes from a by-product. Each year, around one million kilograms of wool in the Netherlands are discarded or burned.

Spore develops and tests innovative applications using mushrooms and mycelium. Designers and makers of biobased products can access materials through Spore’s online shop, while the lab near The Hague offers hands-on support for experimentation, prototyping, and creating new objects.

Mogu, an Italian design innovator, is leading the way in bio-based materials for interiors and architecture. In 2018, the company made history by launching the world’s very first acoustic wall panels grown from mycelium.

Unlike conventional manufacturing, these panels are brought to life through a natural growth process. The mycelium feeds on agricultural and textile by-products, transforming them into something entirely new. The outcome is a truly circular material: waste doesn’t just disappear, but is turned into lasting value.

Blending refined aesthetics with ecological ingenuity, Mogu shows that interior products can be both striking and regenerative. Soft to the touch, visually distinctive, and designed for circularity, their panels set a new benchmark for sustainable design. Concep‘trade handles the distribution of the products in Belgium.

Created for Dutch Design Week 2024, the From Plants to Plastic collection was commissioned by the Dutch company Avantium.

The bench’s woven seat is made from Releaf®, a plant-based polymer developed by Avantium from natural feedstocks such as corn and wheat.

With this collection, the designers showcase the versatility of biobased plastics. From packaging to textiles, Releaf® demonstrates how everyday objects can play a role in a circular, climate-friendly future.

Recycling, upcycling, and circular design are at the core of ONBETAALBAAR (“PRICELESS”), a Belgian design and makers’ studio. Together with Orineo, the creators of OriBond, they developed a series of experimental furniture pieces.

OriBond is a fully plant-based binder made from flaxseed oil and proteins sourced from food-industry side streams. In the stool, the OriBond was combined with cranberries as filler, while in case of the split log it was paired with lavender marc, a by-product from lavender processing in southern France.

The team continues to experiment, mixing in unusual mineral fillers such as eggshells, recycled glass, and marble powder, pushing the material into new territories.