Material Alchemy

A learning tool to enable academics, designers and students to actively engage and explore new future materials via interactive workshops.

Material Alchemy presents the most innovative, thought-provoking design approaches to materials within the 21st century. Enlisting the help of luminaries from the world of science, technology, and design to showcase new responses to material innovation and providing key insights into how materials will be utilised to shape our future environments.

Exploring key topics such as synthetic biology, how designers and scientists are designing with living matter, utilising the laboratory as a means to cultivate and grow new materials. To technological innovations, how new technologies such as 3D printing are revolutionising the manufacturing industry.

This book not only provides new insights into how designers, scientists and artisans are exploring materiality, it also presents opportunities to physically engage with materials through the following chapters: ‘Low-Tech', ‘High-Tech', ‘Molecular Gastronomy' and ‘The Laboratory'.

The use of materials within art, design and architecture is a dynamic and growing area of research. How we use and define a material no longer applies in the 21st century, a material is more than just a material to clothe and shelter us, our desire for intrinsic value and connectedness has driven the way for new interpretations of materiality, as opposed to merely applying materials for commercial applications.