ABOUT ALIVE TEXTILES
Welcome to Alive Textiles.
We believe that a healthy and sustainable interior functions as a living ecosystem in balance. Yet, how can we design interiors as ecosystems?
This was the starting point for an ongoing research project initiated by Studio Samira Boon in collaboration with the HybridFormsLab by Raoul Frese / Biophysics of Photosynthesis VU Amsterdam and Waag Society. This website is a growing archive of the research process, outcomes and presentations to create ‘Alive Textiles’ as living ecosystems to make our indoor climate healthier and more sustainable with living textiles developed with microorganisms.
Our interiors consist for the most part of an invisible, but very essential ‘mass’: air. As several studies from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) show, the air quality of the built environment is one of today’s crucial challenges, and poor air quality can become a threat to our health. This is especially true for public buildings like schools and offices. In the past years we conducted extensive research on how to translate systems and reactions from nature into architectural objects that function in symbiosis with the users.
The first steps were taken in 2019, when we started the research project Living Aero Bacterial Systems (LABS): Future Interiors.
The project takes kombucha scoby biofilm as its raw material and conducts research into bacteria grown textiles as 100% biodegradable interior elements and as substrate for air-purifying plants. During LABS: Future Interiors research process we developed the material KOMBUTEX. The material offers smart opportunities to tackle the challenges of indoor air quality towards a more healthy environment. This kombucha-based material has the power to make our future interiors grow and evolve to become alive, regenerative and interactive spaces. In the long term, KOMBUTEX is a catalyst for sustainable and biodiverse indoor ecosystems.
The first KOMBUTEX results were showcased at the Embassy of Health during the Dutch Design Week 2020, offering a smart and innovative solution to the spatial and social challenges of today and to the theme of Urban Transformations.
The research continues… Curious about next steps? Have a look around on this website and get inspired by the research, demonstrators, and visions for the future.
LABS: Living Interiors is a collaboration between Studio Samira Boon and the HybridFormsLab by Raoul Frese / Biophysics of Photosynthesis VU Amsterdam and Waag Society. The project is supported by the Grant Programme Architecture of the Creative Industries Fund NL.
Alive Textiles, its research and outcomes have been featured in: