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MaDe Participant
Name
Priscila Gächter
Material
Corncob
Nationality
Austrian
Classification
Vegetable
Workshop
Barcelona
Category
Industry
Profile
Master in Retail Design, Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design and Technicature in Graphic Design. I have participated in conceptualization, design and development phase of projects belonging to the field of industrial design that are thought with social awareness and environmental responsibility. I have also worked in areas of communication design with visual identity graphic design, packaging and multimedia design. I am passionate about research, new technologies and sustainability. I am highly interested in creating my own business in Europe or Latín America related to materials and retail design taking into account the sustainable development with responsible production and consumption.
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Project Information
Material Qualities
CoIor: The middle is golden yellow and sides are brown.
Soft / hard: Hard
Shiny / matte: Shiny in the middle, matt on the sides
Smells: Toasted corn.
Texture: Semi porous in the middle and smooth on the sides.
Others: Biodegradable, excellent strength to weight ratio, material organization.
Soft / hard: Hard
Shiny / matte: Shiny in the middle, matt on the sides
Smells: Toasted corn.
Texture: Semi porous in the middle and smooth on the sides.
Others: Biodegradable, excellent strength to weight ratio, material organization.
Material Recipe
Water 180 ml.
Gelatine 36 g.
Glycerine 7.2 g.
Toasted corncob 1 /2 u.
Biodegradable cardboard 200 cm2.
- Toast the corncob until it is completely dry.
- Cut the corncob into equal sections* and place them without spaces between them to create a structure similar to that of the honeycomb.
- Prepare bioplastic. Add gelatin, water and glycerin in a pot.
- Cook over medium heat and stir until the solution begins to boil and becomes viscous.
- Pour the bioplastic on the corncob structure until it is covered over the entire surface.
- Let it dry at room temperature until a sticky texture remains.
- Place the cardboard sheets like a sandwich.
- Let stand until completely dry.
Gelatine 36 g.
Glycerine 7.2 g.
Toasted corncob 1 /2 u.
Biodegradable cardboard 200 cm2.
- Toast the corncob until it is completely dry.
- Cut the corncob into equal sections* and place them without spaces between them to create a structure similar to that of the honeycomb.
- Prepare bioplastic. Add gelatin, water and glycerin in a pot.
- Cook over medium heat and stir until the solution begins to boil and becomes viscous.
- Pour the bioplastic on the corncob structure until it is covered over the entire surface.
- Let it dry at room temperature until a sticky texture remains.
- Place the cardboard sheets like a sandwich.
- Let stand until completely dry.
Material Application
- Packaging.
- Furniture.
- Walls for architecture.
- Product exhibitions, pop up stores for retail design.
- Ephemeral art.
- Furniture.
- Walls for architecture.
- Product exhibitions, pop up stores for retail design.
- Ephemeral art.
Material Narrative
I worked with corncob which is the central core of the corn plant on where the kernels grow. lt was interesting to work with this material in terms of its macrostructure, beca use of its three different layers. The first one is kind of soft, the second one is similar to solid softwood and the last one is very irregular and it has the configuration of the expanded polyuretane.
So then I dried the corncob, then I cut it in slices. I created some patterns with distinct shapes and then I realized that it was very similar of the real Honeycomb because of the number of si des, low weight and stress strain resistance.
After several tests, I came to the conclusion that it can work as a structural material which consists of cuts of the corncob plus two surface covering materia Is that sandwich them with bioplastic. The result is a composite material which is biodegradable, insulating and with an excellent resistance-weight ratio.
So then I dried the corncob, then I cut it in slices. I created some patterns with distinct shapes and then I realized that it was very similar of the real Honeycomb because of the number of si des, low weight and stress strain resistance.
After several tests, I came to the conclusion that it can work as a structural material which consists of cuts of the corncob plus two surface covering materia Is that sandwich them with bioplastic. The result is a composite material which is biodegradable, insulating and with an excellent resistance-weight ratio.
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