Design Miami Symbiotic Habitat by dieDAS
dieDAS was pleased to present Symbiotic Habitat in collaboration with Dr. Hauschka, an installation of unique works by the first fellows of Germany’s dieDAS - Design Akademie Saaleck, a recently launched academy dedicated to innovative, sustainable, and socially relevant design, architecture, and craft. Guided by the partners’ shared pioneering spirit and commitment to engaging the natural world with humility and respect, the presentation explores possibilities for crafting a mutually beneficial coexistence with nature while spotlighting works from the next generation of craft and design. Featured emerging talents include Talin Hazbar, Marginal Studio, Pollyanna Moss, Carolina Pacheco, Sasson Rafailov, and Basse Stittgen. Within an immersive, mycelium-wrapped space, the young talents’ objects engage in dialogue with the innovative bio-material backdrop, calling to mind questions—and possible guideposts—as we navigate the path forward in rethinking and rebuilding our relationship to nature, in pursuit of a truly symbiotic dynamic. The presentation features a constellation of Mogu tiles composed of mycelium—the vegetative structure of mushrooms—and agro-industrial residues. Symbiotic Habitats is curated by dieDAS Artistic Director, biomaterial expert, and Mogu founder Maurizio Montalti.
Dr.Hauschka – „A different view on..“
Dr Hauschka has always been different. Ever since they were established in 1967, they had been rebelliously and systematically cultivating ‘A different view on..’. They produce more than just natural cosmetics: our medicinal plant gardens protect the diversity of our planet.
Through their actions, they are improving the future of our society and our environment today. In partnership wit dieDAS and Maurizio Montalti they extend Dr. Hauschka’s „A different view on..“ during Design Miami 2021 with the work presented by the 7 dieDAS fellows showcasing their personal views on nature, beauty, impact and design.
WALA Heilmittel GmbH has been developing natural preparations since 1935. In the early days of its history, it was considered avant-garde and pioneering in a society that was barely even aware of natural preparations. “We naturally felt like rebels when we developed these unconventional cosmetics”, commented Elisabeth Sigmund, speaking about the early days of Dr. Hauschka in 1967. Today, the foundation company exports products to over 50 countries.
The Mogu Acoustic collection comprises a range of 100% circular products, created by growing selected strains of fungal mycelium on pre-engineered substrates from other industries (e.g., agro, textile, manufacturing, etc.). Hence, allowing to valorize such residual resources by transforming them into high value products. Thanks to Mogu’s cutting-edge natural technology, it is therefore possible to create technically sound, safe, stable, durable, and aesthetically pleasing products, within short timeframes and with limited use of resources. The products are designed to maximize acoustic comfort in noisy spaces such as restaurants, offices, galleries, and retail spaces with high reverberation time. The modular installations on dislay comprise both the Wave acoustic panels, as well as the Foresta Acoustic System.
The Punkah was a handheld fan used during colonial times in South-East Asia. It is an emblematic object that connects the history of Imperialism and climate change. Through this object we inquire about the stories of diasporic communities and environmental catastrophes as a tool to reframe dominant narratives and research how objects can reflect non-human agency and interact with global issues in a participatory process. The marquetry is realized in collaboration with the Bangladeshi community of Palermo and local craftsmen.
Shepherds maintain biodiversity of the landscape and wellbeing of their flock of sheep while preserving culture. Pollyanna Moss sought to make their contribution manifest by creating blankets from the wool of five breeds of sheep. Each blanket paints an intimate portrait of a shepherd‘s relationship to the flock and the countryside they inhabit.
The name 1⁄5 makes reference to the amount of water a Chilean has access to, in comparison to an avocado monoculture at Petorca Valley in Central Chile. The piece involves a series of vases that are meant to reveal the tension between this industry’s relationship with, and access to, water in comparison to a local human population. The avocado-based composite has been formed into vessels, themselves carriers for water. Each vase is meant to visualize how the material reacts when proportionately less or more water is used in the formula. By using ranges from 100% for the ‘ideal’ material composition to just 20%, the material illustrates the unequal distribution of water between avocados and people.
Like a seismic sensor, this totem catches the vibrations of stones as they shear through the earth beneath us. The top surface is rippled to receive these signals as they emerge from the ground below, and the bottom is polished smooth to fit naturally in human hands as we establish our connection to this unique type of existence. In holding this totem you may join that telluric journey from afar, feel the slow crushing of stone against stone, and capture the tremors sent out in your own hands, all through the soft touch of new life.
never fully seen is an object made out of 100% discarded animal blood with no additives. By utilizing this invisible waste and by-product, the work becomes intertwined into a complex conversation of how we relate to industrial animal farming. It aims to mend the disconnect we have as consumers towards the slaughter-house industry, by offering a platform for reflecting on the human-to-animal relationship through physicalization of this unseen matter.
Vessels to Hold Carbon is a collection of three objects which have been 3D printed from a new climate-positive material being developed through a collaboration between architects and material scientists at Harvard University. The material is made from photosynthetic microorganisms which absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the carbon-equivalent required to manufacture the pieces. The vessels take on the fluid forms of the medium which they have captured, rendering the air that it embodies.
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