Cork

Materials Library Project

Artist and maker Zoe Laughlin is a co-founder/director of the Institute of Making and the Materials Library project. As they define themselves, the Materials Library is a collection of some of the most wondrous materials on earth. It is a resource, laboratory, studio and playground for the curious and material-minded.
From their collection, I have selected a couple of the most mind-blowing materials:


-Ulexite: a mineral with unique optical properties. If you put a piece of polished ulexite on top of a picture, the picture appears as if it is on top of the rock. It is referred to as the "TV Rock" because of this properties.


-Rapid Prototype Nylon Chainmail: this material can be computer designed an produced. With no joins it can easily produce a versatile material.

An here I leave the presentation that Zoe Laughlin made for TED in Brussels:

Nano Science

Some of the materials that we have uploaded on the blog are nanomaterials that have very interesting properties. Today I want to post a video that explains a little bit further the properties of the nanomaterials:

Bubble wrap applications

Just like the Bubble wrap Iphone application, I wanted to bring some new uses for this material. Bubble Wrap is an excellent insulator, and has also been used for house insulation. Fashion Design has also used this material as inspiration and we can find clothes made out of this materials. Even accessorizes can be made with bubble wrap. One of the most musical applications is the Bubble Wrap Hip Hop.

Bread Toast Potrait

Ultra Ever Dry Product

This superhydrophobic material repels almost any liquid. It has a superior coating adherence and abrasion resistance that allows is to be used in all kinds of applications.

Recycled glass loudspeakers

Designed by Alex Killeavy, these loudspeakers are built for sustainability both for entertainment and for the environment as well. Using recycled glass the designer has created user friendly woofers and tweeter components which are replaceable. The design is sophisticated and created with sound material choices to last a lifetime. Its aesthetic design is pleasing for home decor as well.

Decafé Lamp

Taking advantage of the renewable and biodegradable attributes of coffee, Spanish designer Raúl Laurí created an innovative, experimental and very cute lamp. Dubbed the Decafé Lamp, it is made from a new composite material made from recycled coffee grounds. Shaped like a cup, this comforting, aromatic luminaire has a switchless design – to turn it on simply pick it up and place it on its base.

The Decafé Lamp recently took first place in this year’s Salone Satellite Awards during Milan Design Week 2012. The award was given in recognition for the design’s development, research and experimentation with sustainable materials. Laurí’s innovative recycled coffee material has great potential – we’d love to see it turned into an entire range of caffeine-based products!

Beer can house

Here I leave you a video explaining how to make the beer can house real. Comedian Jiff Hilliard interviews the owner of this particular house.

Gardening in tires

In this tire garden experiment we can see how many ways of recycling a tire we can use when designing a green area. Some of them look pretty easy to build.