Dutch Design Week 2020 takes place from 17 to 25 October. Due to Covid-19, the event will be held entirely virtually, but that does not mean there isn’t plenty of material inspiration. We selected some of the most interesting biomaterial projects.

Materialized
Isola Design District, a network of exhibitions and installations in the Milanese neighbourhood Isola during Milan Design Week, has curated a path through research projects on biomaterials and innovative sustainable furnishings.

Japanese Knotweed Project
Japanese Knotweed is an invasive plant species in the UK and other countries. It is considered a controlled waste, and after its removal, it is taken to a licensed landfill for its disposal. The estimated cost is £166 million per year.

This project aims to transform this waste material into a local source of raw material for a range of industries.

Compostboard
Compostboard by Rik Makes offers an alternative sheet material that will naturally decompose at the end of life, made from agricultural by-products.

Bioteca
Bioteca is a library consisting of biomaterials, which are all biodegradable, compostable and produced from animal or vegetable renewable resources. Each sample is labelled with specific information, like composition and properties.

DDW also presents projects which we wrote about before, like the Living Coffin, a coffin made of mycelium, Pomastic, a material made of olive waste, Ocragela, and ochre-based material, two projects by Paula Nerlich (Aqua Faba Foam and Cocoa), PineSkins, a leather-like material made of pine skin, and flax-reinforced composite materials.

Images via DDW