Design Studio
Design Studio
Dr. Ramune Kuktaite, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, is a researcher at the Plant Breeding Department, where she studies protein and biopolymers. William Newson is a post doctor at the same department and together they have opened up their laboratory for industrial designer Petra Lilja in the project What Matter_s. While Kuktaite and Newson mainly look into the mechanical properties of biopolymers made from the proteins of gluten (part of regular wheat flour), Lilja’s enthusiasm lies in the sensory properties, what it looks and feels like. Lilja has experimented with different formulas to create a wide variety in tactility, color and texture resulting in a large and aesthetically intriguing material collection. Conducting user studies, she got feedback on the tactile and aesthetic values of the materials as well as suggestions for potential future applications. The properties of this new gluten based material resembles both leather and rubber, hence the title Gleather Glubber. Mixing scientific rigidity with Lilja’s creative making skills, the team kept making more and more material samples in the lab, the last one was a freeze dried foam that ”exploded” in the petri dish after some free styling outside of the planned research question and formulation... Still, they all agree that it’s in these moments of “mistakes” innovation can happen! The material samples were exhibited at Form/Design Center in Malmö and at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, 2018.
