Bio-Fold: A Circular Design Exploration with the FRAKTA Bag
Collaborative Project between Katya Bryskina & Tomás Clavijo & SPACE10
How do we democratise the benefits of parametric design? How can we develop more sustainable furniture fabrication, using already existing everyday objects? Is it possible to grow and cast furniture from home?
The global food production industry creates millions of metric tons of agricultural waste every year — mostly in the form of vegetal fibres: straw, husk, leaf, stem, and similar. Currently, only 10% of this material gets put to use. In response, designers Tomás Clavijo and Katya Bryskina have created Bio-Fold: a playful research project that proposes to use vegetal fibres to create biocomposites, a pliable, easy-to-use and fully biodegradable material.
Specifically, Bio-Fold is a method for homegrown circular fabrication. It allows anyone to grow, cast and shape their own furniture from waste, and then fully recycle it after use. The key elements are a clever use of a reusable plastic bag — IKEA’s versatile FRAKTA bag — to create a mold for casting biocomposite materials, and parametric design thinking. Working with the standard dimensions of the FRAKTA bag, it was possible to create a library of designs that anyone could attempt to make at home. In this way, we hope to democratise sustainable furniture fabrication, empowering anyone to grow their own furniture.
Read the Full Article about the project
