Manufactured Nature

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One of my greatest passions is experimenting with all manner of materials and the materially appropriate realization of the results in product form. The goal is to grasp the potential, think the impossible, probe the boundaries and then execute the possible. And that is precisely what we will be doing during the workshop in abbreviated form – quasi as a "crash course": We will realize various design projects with the focus more on thought, development and design processes rather than the finished product. In terms of the content, a few guiding keywords are material research, undogmatic thinking, material development, eagerness to experiment, materially appropriate design, direct implementation, presentation – with a dash of wit and poetry thrown in for good measure.

Material: As the object of investigation and material, I have chosen biopolymers, a group of compostable plastics. Biopolymers possess interesting properties such as: simple manufacture from renewable raw materials, ease of processing even when using rudimentary means of production, worry-free disposal and not least, depending on the composition, very high strength values. We will manufacture various biopolymers using the simplest of ingredients and self-created recipes and then investigate, test and strengthen the results and refine the formulations accordingly.

Objects: Parallel to the explorations of the material, we develop and design objects for the exterior that can be produced from one of the biopolymers we create. Once the proportions, colours, structures and appearance have been determined, we will build the corresponding forms for our favourites and create these objects out of the plastics we have developed.

Poetry: The assignment also includes placement of the manufactured objects on the estate where they will take on quite a different appearance depending on the selected location as they enter into dialogue with the environment and assume different uses. Thanks to their particular materialization, the objects will interact with the landscape in more than just a formal sense. They will also slowly decompose over the course of time and again become part of nature – "manufactured nature" – the title says it all.

Languages: German, English, Spanish

Beat Karrer (CH)

Where does a product designer get his ideas from? From new materials which encourage challenging new application possibilities. From new production techniques which make the previously unthinkable possible. And by observing everyday life manifesting unsatisfied needs.

It is in this arena Zurich designer Beat Karrer develops new products which resound favourably with his renowned clientele such as Anthologie Quartett and Designerslabel (Germany), Boffi (Italy), Offecct (Sweden), Burri, Röthlisberger and Tossa (Switzerland). As well as among the juries at international furniture exhibitions in Belgium, Germany, Spain and Switzerland which awarded Beat Karrer with several prizes for his designs which often are unusual in their approach yet very functional and practical in their daily application.

Nowadays Beat Karrer is also an active guest critic at ETH Zurich, lectures all over Europe, participates in juries and holds a summer workshop at Vitra. Beat Karrer's ideas have appeared in many publications and various books, for example the "International Design Yearbook 2004".