
Seven uses of unconventional materials at Lake Como Design Festival
A lamp made of volcanic rock and a cork chair are among the products exhibited at Lake Como Design Festival that make use of unconventional materials. More
A lamp made of volcanic rock and a cork chair are among the products exhibited at Lake Como Design Festival that make use of unconventional materials. More
After years of exploring the merging of biotechnology with design, Natsai Audrey Chieza and Christina Agapakis have started what they describe as the "first biodesign lifestyle brand", which launched at London Design Festival. More
Promotion: architectural product manufacturer NOWN has developed a number of 3D-knitted products for architectural specifiers looking for sustainable acoustic surfaces. More
A team of scientists from universities in the United States have developed a silicon-based coating that can help stop the spread of fires by preventing materials coming in contact with flame. More
Local design firm Prowl Studio and investment company Baukunst have shown a variety of sustainable materials including aquatic plants meant for animal feed and an electric RV at a pop-up exhibition in San Francisco. More
Dutch architecture studio Overtreders W has created Stable Stack, a temporary cabin hotel built using straps and borrowed materials, in Veenhuizen, the Netherlands. More
Central Saint Martins graduate Arianna Pezzano has developed a way to make nipple prosthetics from keratin extracted from hair lost during chemotherapy, to help breast cancer patients "regain a sense of wholeness". More
Materials can become a much bigger part of our everyday lives and the way we see the world if people are willing to give up mass production, Natural Material Studio founder Bonnie Hvillum tells Dezeen in this interview. More
The first materials designed by AI could be less than 18 months away, according to Orbital Materials CEO Jonathan Godwin, who aims to harness the technology to create materials to help with carbon capture. More
North Carolina firm DR Horton has begun construction on a residential home using building materials from local technology studio Plantd, including panels made from compressed perennial grasses. More
The growth of AI will put an increased environmental burden on the planet, say experts who argue it's time to think about the invisible physical infrastructures of our technology. More
Dutch design studio Loop Loop has pioneered a process of adding colour to aluminium using pigments made from plants rather than petroleum. More
Scientists from Texas A&M University and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico have observed metal cracking and fusing back together, in a discovery that could pave the way for self-healing machines, vehicles and bridges. More
A research team at the University of Michigan has created biodegradable formwork out of sawdust in an attempt to mitigate wood waste in the process of laying concrete. More
Architecture practice Studio Bark has collaborated with artist Michael Pinsky to create the wooden Making A Stand installation, which aims to explore material life cycles and "stand in solidarity with climate protestors". More
Passive cooling techniques in architecture, reflective paint and water-filled windows are featured among the methods that designers and architects are using to mitigate heat in energy-efficient ways. More
An exhibition has opened at Copenhagen Contemporary that suggests what a city made out of experimental biomaterials might look like. More
London studio ConForm has added a marble side extension to a Victorian terraced house in Hampstead, London. More
Designer Alice Potts has created a collection of baseball caps covered in crystals grown from the sweat of the people who have worn them. More
Fashion brand Ganni and materials company Polybion have debuted a jacket grown by bacteria during the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, marking a milestone for bacterial cellulose as a leather alternative. More