Material PioneersMaterial Pioneers

The current cross-pollination between nature, science and creativity is producing radical changes in material reality. An evening for sharing and discussing new developments. Speakers included Olivier van Herpt, winner of the New Material Award, Diana Scherer, the New Material Fellow for 2016 and designer Bart Hess. The discussion was moderated by Andrea van Pol.

More and more materials can be 3D printed, including clay. Olivier van Herpt has built a 3D clay printer that he can manipulate while he is printing. Because clay is an unpredictable material, chance plays a role. Van Herpt creates craft objects using the most advanced technology. His 3D printer can now print an 80cm-tall clay object in three hours. Van Herpt is now building a larger printer capable of producing ceramic architectural construction elements.

Diana Scherer uses moulds buried in the ground to steer the growth of plant root systems. During the growth process, the roots adapt themselves to the pattern of the moulds, weaving themselves into a textile-like material. For her research, Diana Scherer works together with biologists and ecologists from the Radboud University in Nijmegen. Her aim is to discover a root system that can be used to develop a strong, durable material. Scherer is currently conducting research with botanist Gerard van der Weerden from the Radboud University to see if it is possible to grow items of clothing underground.

He has pinned, stretched, slimed and scraped materials in relation to the human body, and collaborated with the likes of Lucy McRae, Nick Knight, Lady Gaga, Iris van Herpen and Walter van Beirendonck.

Editor and presenter Andrea van Pol is known for AVRO's Kunstuur and De Slag om Nederland. She is closely involved with the Dutch cultural sector. She acts as a presenter and moderator for events throughout the country.

De New Material Award is een samenwerking tussen Stichting DOEN, Fonds Kwadraat en Het Nieuwe Instituut. Zij zien voor kunstenaars, ontwerpers en architecten een belangrijke rol weggelegd om nieuwe ontwikkelingen in de samenleving in gang te zetten en een antwoord te geven op actuele en urgente vraagstukken. Nieuw materiaal of vernieuwend materiaalgebruik vormt daarbij de leidraad.

A diverse series of dialogues with makers, designers, journalists and critics on design. The discussions take a close look at the designer's process from raw material to final object, exploring issues of aesthetic and technological change, ethical positions, sustainable cycles, and innovation in how objects perform and interact. In a culture saturated with design and mediated by digital technologies, these dialogues explore how the traditional sense of meaning, value, and materiality are being reinvented.