Material Acts

In Venice, myself and a dozen material ‘activists’ gathered together for a knowledge exchange on the environmental matters surrounding us and our empathy towards their circumstances. Thank you @beabiyue @umslaimcollective @syn.architects @saudipavilion @studio_ossidiana for the invitation to come together. I presented verbing with materials @materialacts but was missing @kateyehchiu A highlight was to live in the story of the seagull and the crab by @mohammadalfaraj with @studioeidola @pietro.rigolo joined me in the visit as an extra treat ❤️

Less than 3 weeks left to experience Material Acts:Experimentation in Architecture and Design at Craft Contemporary before it closes on January 5th!✨ 🧱 Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design, part of the Getty PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative, explores how nature inspires material experimentation in architecture, craft, and science. Curated by Kate Yeh Chiu @kateyehchiu and Jia Yi Gu @jiagu , the exhibition is organized into five acts—Animating, Disassembling, Feeding, Re-fusing, and Stitching—highlighting dynamic material transformations in response to climate and ecological crises. Supported by the Getty Foundation, with additional funding from The National Endowment for the Arts, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, and The Antonia and Vladimir Kulaev Cultural Heritage Fund. CONTRIBUTORS
Adobeisnotsoftware @adobeisnotsoftware 
After Architecture @afterarchitecture 
Anupama Kundoo @anupama_kundoo 
Assemble @assembleofficial 
Assia Crawford wild.futures_lab
Atelier LUMA @atelier_luma 
BC architects @bcarchitectsandstudies 
Charlotte Malterre-Barthes @charlottemalterrebarthes 
DOSU Studio Architecture @dosustudio 
Dylan Wood #dylanwood
Gramazio Kohler Research @gramaziokohlerresearch 
HANNAH @hannah.office 
Joar Nango @joarnango 
Maru Garcia @marugfe 
Natural Materials Lab @naturalmaterialslab 
Omar Khan #omarkhan
Post Rock #postrock @chriswh119 @thommoran @mer.mer.m 
Rael San Fratello @rrael @vasfsf 
Sara Inga Utsi Bongo @saraingaub 
SOFTLAB fadometer
Soft Matters @softmatters_ensadlab 
Sutherlin Santo @sutherlinsanto 
Yogiaman Tracy Design #yogiamantracydesign ——————————————————————————— 📸 Photo Credit: Installation view, 2024. Photos courtesy of Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles. Exhibition Installation Images: Marc Walker @dollhouse.360 @pstinla @materialacts @craftcontemporary @neaarts @grahamfoundation 
#MaterialActs #ArchitecturalExhibition #InnovativeMaterials #pstartandsciencecollide #MaterialResearch #ArchitectureAndMateriality

If you are in Los Angeles, have a look on our work "All flowers are of paper", currently exhibited as part of the collective show: Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design @craftcontemporary until the 5th of January 2025. The show, curated by Kate Yeh Chiu and Jia Yi Gu, explores how nature inspires material experimentation in architecture, craft, and science. It is organized into five acts—Animating, Disassembling, Feeding, Re-fusing, and Stitching—highlighting dynamic material transformations in response to climate and ecological crises. Don't miss "All flowers are of paper" in the Feeding Act, an output of the ANR funded project ImpressioVivo exploring the circular 3D printing of biosourced materials co-crafted with bacteria, developed at @ensadlab / @ecoleartsdecoparis with the support of @anr_agencerecherche under project ANR-21-CE43-0023-01 and collaborators from @citacph . Team members: Aurélie Mosse, Daniel Suarez Zamora, Tom Samson, Quentin Poudoulec, Vincent Rennie. Picture: Marc Walker/Courtesy Craft Contemporary #3Dprinting #biocalcification #biomineralization #architecture #design #ensadlab #biodesign #circulardesign

Please join us on Friday, November 22 to celebrate the book launch of Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design, conceived as a companion piece to the exhibition currently on view at Craft Contemporary. Join book editors Kate Yeh Chiu and Jia Yi Gu, and contributors and guests Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Anupama Kundoo, Matthias Kohler, Ben Loescher, Katie MacDonald, Meredith Miller, and others for a preview of the catalog. The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP via the link in bio Event Details: Friday November 22, 2024 6:30-8pm Craft Contemporary 5814 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA, 90036 Edited by: Kate Yeh Chiu (@kateyehchiu ) and Jia Yi Gu (@jiagu ) Managing Editor: Kate Rouhandeh (@cremepouf ) Associate Editors: Strat Coffman (@bagstrat ) and Hilary Huckins-Weidner (@hilary_hw ) Book Design: Becca Lofchie (@becca._.l ) Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design is on view at @craftcontemporary until January 5, 2025 as a part of the Getty PST: Art and Science Collide initiative. @pstinla

✨Join us for an exclusive evening to unveil the Material Acts exhibition catalog, featuring bold, innovative works at the intersection of art, architecture, and design. 🎨 Meet the Creators: Several guest artists and contributors will be on-site to sign copies of the catalog. It’s your chance to get a personalized autograph and meet the visionaries behind this exhibition. 📚 Catalogs available for purchase at the event—don’t miss out on owning your own copy! 🗣️ Spread the word and bring your friends, colleagues, and fellow art + architecture lovers. Light refreshments will be served as we celebrate this exciting launch. We can’t wait to see you there! MATERIAL ACTS CATALOG LAUNCH PARTY Fri, Nov 22
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM FREE 🔗LINK IN BIO TO RSVP

🌍 What if materials could tell stories? MATERIAL ACTS: A SYMPOSIUM at USC invites you to explore a groundbreaking approach to how we think about materials—not as static objects, but as living processes that evolve with human interaction. This one-day event brings together innovators from art, design, and architecture to rethink the role of materials in a rapidly changing world. 🔬💡 Explore bioregional design, waste economies, living systems, and regenerative practices through the eyes of thought leaders such as Anupama Kundoo, Ben Loescher, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Matthias Kohler, and Meredith Miller. Together, they’ll challenge conventional ideas of materials, presenting them as dynamic, interconnected systems at the intersection of care, constraint, and environmental responsibility. 🗓 SAT, NOV 23 10 AM – 4 PM Verle Annis Gallery, USC
FREE
🔗 Link in bio to RSVP and view full event schedule ⚠️ Important: USC Campus requires guest registration—RSVP is mandatory. Parking and access codes will be sent one week prior to the event. —————- This symposium is organized by Jia Yi Gu @jiagu and Kate Yeh Chiu @kateyehchiu as part of Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design, and is hosted by Craft Contemporary @craftcontemporary and USC School of Architecture @uscarchitecture as part of the regional initiative Getty PST Art: Art and Science Collide. #FutureOfMaterials #SustainableDesign #RegenerativeDesign #BioregionalDesign #WasteEconomies #LivingSystems #MaterialInnovation #ArchitecturalDesign #DesignSymposium #EcoInnovation #MaterialScience #SustainabilityInDesign

Join us on Saturday November 23 at USC School of Architecture for Material Acts: A Symposium, which brings together artists, designers, and architects experimenting with material processes and systems. Understanding materials as process-based events with human actors, rather than artifacts found in stasis, this symposium on new materials explores the rich milieu of ideas that accompany their making, including practices in bioregional design, waste economies, and living systems, alongside perspectives of care, constraint, and regeneration. Contributors including Anupama Kundoo @anupama_kundoo , Ben Loescher @adobeisnotsoftware , Charlotte Malterre-Barthes @charlottemalterrebarthes , Matthias Kohler @gramaziokohlerresearch , and Meredith Miller @mer.mer.m will present their research and thinking against the backdrop of accelerating environmental degradation, framing materials as a chain of operations, rather than fixed objects. Please note: USC Campus requires guest registration for all visitors. RSVP is required. Upon RSVP, guests will receive parking and campus access code one week before the event. Please register via link in bio. Saturday November 23 10:00am-4:00pm USC School of Architecture Verle Annis Gallery & Harris Courtyard Full schedule available via link in bio. The symposium is organized by @jiagu and @kateyehchiu as part of Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design, and is hosted by @craftcontemporary and @uscarchitecture as part of the regional initiative Getty PST ART: Art and Science Collide.

We’re a little over a month into our PST exhibition, Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design at Craft Contemporary! Spanning all 3 floors, one of the highlights is the MATERIALS LIBRARY on the 2nd floor, where visitors can interact with material samples from contributing artists. It’s a hands-on exploration of material research across architecture, craft, and science. The MATERIALS LIBRARY showcases a wide variety of material experiments—from chemical reactions and bio-calcified foam to woven earth fibers and environment-reactive metals. It’s become a dynamic space for tactile discovery and contemporary material innovation. Organized by Hilary Huckins-Weidner @hilary_hw and Strat Coffman @bagstrat Contributors: Adrienne Economos Miller @a.economos.miller After Architecture @afterarchitecture Aléa (Miriam Josi and Stella Lee Prowse) @alea_work Alyssa Tohyama @aly.to Amy Chien @amy_art_architecture Bella Marinos @Bellamarinos Ben Thanat Somwong @thanatsomwong Beth Williams @beexbeth Elsabé Johnson Dixon #ElsabéJohnsonDixon Felecia Davis @fadometer Fernando Vazquez @fernando_vazquez_design Fun Stuff Design @funstuffdesign Gramazio Kohler Research @gramaziokohlerresearch Jono Coles @jono.m.coles Laura Civetti, Juanda Cabrera @mattertex Lulú Osnaya @luosnaya Maedeh Tafvizi @maedehtafvizi Mango Materials (Lynda Grose, Krystle Moody Wood, Anne Schauer-Gimenez) @mangomaterials Mari Koppanen @mari.koppanen Martin Alexander Studio @martinalexanderstudio Michael Ortiz Jiménez & Paula Stoddard Sotomayor @woventalesproject Molly Haynes @mollyhaynes_ Omar Khan #omarkhan Post Rock #postrock, @mer.mer.m , @thommoran , @chriswh119 Ruderales Collectif (Baptiste Miremont and Orlando Clarke) @baptistemiremont @orlando_hclarke Sera Ghadaki & Haya Alnibari @seraghadaki @haya_alnibari Sila Ersayin #silaersayin SOFTLAB@PSU and ForMat Lab at Penn State University (Chiara Dognini, Alale Mohseni, Greta Miller, Keia Jones, Benay Gursoy, Felecia Davis) #SOFTLAB @format.lab Sutherlin Santo @sutherlinsanto Victoria Smits @victorialsmits Wildwood School Advanced Biology students, led by Ann Marie Macara @wildwoodschoolla @ammacara

🌿 Meet Sutherlin Santo! Part of our ACT 2: Disassembling series, where we spotlight innovative teams reshaping the future of design and sustainability. Discover how this team is revolutionizing building materials with their groundbreaking biodegradable biogels. In traditional construction, materials like metals and concrete are built to last, but often without consideration for their eventual breakdown. Sutherlin Santo is changing that with biogels made from plant-based matter, designed to biodegrade and return to the Earth when their lifecycle ends. 🌍 Using cutting-edge robotic extrusion, the team prints biogels into multi-layered sheets with customizable rigidity and opacity, creating everything from tiles to stools to wall cladding. One biogel even acts as a carbon absorber, capturing toxins from the environment and purifying the air. 🌱 When these biogels reach their limit, they decompose naturally through biodegradation, powered by microorganisms, transforming waste into a resource that nourishes the Earth. Part of Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design at Craft Contemporary. On view until Jan 5, 2025! #SutherlinSanto #Biogel #SustainableDesign #Innovation #Architecture #FutureOfBuilding #EcoArt #CarbonSequestration #BiodegradableDesign #DesignForTheFuture #Innovation #pstart #pstartandsciencecollide

🪵Meet After Architecture! Part of our second series of artist videos, ACT 2: Disassembling! Discover how this studio is transforming our relationship with timber in building applications. In North America, wood is typically reduced to standardized dimensioned lumber, leading to significant waste from irregularly shaped or infested timber. But After Architecture is changing the narrative! With their project Tangential Timber, they’re embracing the unique potential of non-dimensional lumber. By collecting irregular waste wood and crafting it into distinct, disc-like “cookies,” they’re turning what was once discarded into stunning architectural forms. These cookies are then digitized and woven together through a parametric script, creating remarkable structures like vaults—without any binders. This means their designs can be disassembled while still retaining their strength! #AfterArchitecture #SustainableDesign #TangentialTimber #Innovation #Architecture #Woodwork #DesignForTheFuture #pstart #pstartandsciencecollide

🌿✨Take advantage of the perfect weather and stop by Craft Contemporary with family and friends, to view Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design—spanning all three floors of the museum! Discover the transformative power of materials as we delve into how contemporary practices reimagine nature through five dynamic acts: Animating, Disassembling, Feeding, Re-fusing, and Stitching. This exhibition challenges our understanding of materials, emphasizing their processes and innovative practices that redefine sustainability while engaging with themes of biodesign and degrowth. ✨ Don’t miss our “Curator Walkthrough” on SUN, NOV 3, where you can hear firsthand from our curators working through living systems and notions of ‘liveness’ in new materials. • MATERIAL ACTS: CURATOR WALKTHROUGH• Sun, Non 3 11:30 am – 1:30 pm Free 🔗 Link-tree in bio to RSVP Be sure to also stop by the Museum Shop to pre-order a copy of the Material Acts exhibition catalog! ————————————————————— Curated by Kate Yeh Chiu and Jia Yi Gu, this exhibition is part of the Getty PST: Art & Science initiative. Generous support is provided by The Getty Foundation, with additional support from The National Endowment for the Arts, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, and the Antonia and Vladimir Kulaev Cultural Heritage Fund. @pstinla @neaarts 📷 Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design installation view, 2024. Photo courtesy of Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles. Exhibition Installation Images: Marc Walker. @dollhouse.360 #pstart #pstartandsciencecollide #Innovation #Architecture #DesignForTheFuture