The first survey on the interdisciplinary biodesign genius of Neri Oxman, pioneer of "material ecology"
Throughout her 20-year career, Neri Oxman has invented not only new ideas for materials, buildings and construction processes, but also new frameworks for interdisciplinaryª¢and interspeciesª¢collaborations. She coined the term ªmaterial ecologyª to describe her process of producing techniques and objects informed by the structural, systemic and aesthetic wisdom of nature, from the shells of crustaceans to the flow of human breathing.
Groundbreaking for its solid technological and scientific basis, its rigorous and daring experimentation, its visionary philosophy and its unquestionable attention to formal elegance, Oxmanª¡s work operates at the intersection of biology, engineering, architecture and artistic design, material science and computer science.
This bookª¢designed by Irma Boom and published to accompany a midcareer retrospective of Oxmanª¡s workª¢highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the designerª¡s practice. It demonstrates how Oxmanª¡s contributions allow us to question and redefine the idea of modernismª¢a concept in constant evolutionª¢and of organic design. Some of the projects featured in the book and exhibition include the Silk Pavilion, which harnesses silkworms' ability to generate a 3-D cocoon out of a single thread silk in order to create architectural constructions; Aguahoja, a water-based fabrication platform that prints structures made out of different biopolymers; and Glass, an additive manufacturing technology for 3-D printing optically transparent glass structures at architectural dimensions.
Throughout her 20-year career, Neri Oxman has invented not only new ideas for materials, buildings and construction processes, but also new frameworks for interdisciplinaryª¢and interspeciesª¢collaborations. She coined the term ªmaterial ecologyª to describe her process of producing techniques and objects informed by the structural, systemic and aesthetic wisdom of nature, from the shells of crustaceans to the flow of human breathing.
Groundbreaking for its solid technological and scientific basis, its rigorous and daring experimentation, its visionary philosophy and its unquestionable attention to formal elegance, Oxmanª¡s work operates at the intersection of biology, engineering, architecture and artistic design, material science and computer science.
This bookª¢designed by Irma Boom and published to accompany a midcareer retrospective of Oxmanª¡s workª¢highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the designerª¡s practice. It demonstrates how Oxmanª¡s contributions allow us to question and redefine the idea of modernismª¢a concept in constant evolutionª¢and of organic design. Some of the projects featured in the book and exhibition include the Silk Pavilion, which harnesses silkworms' ability to generate a 3-D cocoon out of a single thread silk in order to create architectural constructions; Aguahoja, a water-based fabrication platform that prints structures made out of different biopolymers; and Glass, an additive manufacturing technology for 3-D printing optically transparent glass structures at architectural dimensions.
