“Our work is material-led, meaning the design journey is centered around the properties and qualities of the explored matter. I always let the material and its narrative drive the design process,” explains Hvillum. Her long-running research into alternative resources has culminated in a series of studies and impressive displays of sustainable artifacts. Photographed in the stunning space of The Lab Cph, and exhibited at Architect @ Work in Copenhagen, the studio’s latest undertaking is a speculative material installation that addresses the need for a radical material transition. Though presenting itself as a simple and minimalistic composition, the work is a complex combination of five layers created with biodegradable materials designed by the studio and made from algae, fungi, grass and seaweed extracts. Encapsulating particles based on five local resources from the rural landscape of Denmark—the coast, the field, the meadow, the sea, and the forest—the different layers depict the unique structures and characteristics of each material, while collectively serving as a tactile record of Danish nature. “At Natural Material Studio we aim at expanding the human perception of materials. With this work, we wanted to facilitate a renewed conversation and reflection around what materials are and can be,” Hvillum explains.
