Swiss Material Matters

Can sustainable materials innovate design? Zurich-based firm FluidSolids® thinks so, and they are sharing their novel new solution with design-minded audiences on the West Coast.

The company has created a game-changing, fully biodegradable material made entirely of industrial by-products, replacing the need for metal or plastic. Think of any common object from a clothes hangar to a bowl to a stool. FluidSolids can handle it and look good, too.

In June, FluidSolids makes its North American debut at swissnex San Francisco during the Material Matters events—part of San Francisco Design Week—and then travels to Los Angeles to wow crowds at Dwell on Design, the largest design fair in the US.

Architonic first introduced FluidSolids in 2012, when it made its first public appearance at the Milan Furniture Fair and was nominated for the Design Prize Switzerland in new materials.

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At swissnex San Francisco on June 14, FluidSolids founder and designer Beat Karrer leads a one-day design lab aimed at students and young designers centered around his new biodegradable material, together with Design Prize Switzerland nominator Lukas Scherrer, of the San Francisco-based Shibuleru.

During the Design Lab, up to 20 participants will be tasked with designing an inspiring object using the novel new material and compete for a $3,000 travel grant and fellowship at FluidSolids in Zurich to make his or her design a reality.

In the evening, during a public event at swissnex San Francisco, Karrer, Scherrer, and an esteemed jury select the best ideas from the day and award a winner, who will also receive a residency at the Zurich University of the Arts and a feature in Architonic.

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The awards are followed by a panel discussion on the role of new materials in design, featuring Thomas Overthun, associate partner and design director at IDEO; John Hamilton, the Director of Design at Coalesce; Collin Owen, co-founder of Sparse and Assistant Professor at CCA; Fabienne Barras, project leader at Swiss Design Prize; in addition to Scherrer and Karrer.

On June 20, Karrer and the 2014 edition of the Design Prize Switzerland exhibition travel to Los Angles, to Dwell on Design, where they will showcase the best of contemporary Swiss design to the public.

swissnex San Francisco is a platform for the exchange of knowledge and ideas between Switzerland and North America in science, education, art, and innovation.

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Events:

June 14: Material Matters: Designers Talk
June 14, 2014: Material Matters: Design Lab
June 20-22, 2014: Dwell on Design