Terroir

/ 2013

The project contains a new material developed from seaweed and paper and is created as a research into local materials. By combining seaweed and paper Jonas Edvard and I have created a tough and durable material. It is best described as a warm and tactile surface with the softness of cork and the lightness of paper, which can be used for products and furniture. The colour of the material is determined by the different species of seaweed – ranging from dark brown to light green.

The seaweed is harvested along the beach of Denmark, which stretches over 8000 km and is one of the world’s longest coastlines compared to the land mass area. After being dried the seaweed is ground into powder and cooked into glue, utilizing the viscous and adhesive effect of the Alginate – the natural polymer of the brown algae.

Terroir is a description often used to determine the cultural and geological relation between products and where they are produced, emphasizing the heritage and knowledge linked to the use of the raw material. The aim of the project is to design objects with character derived from the cultural surface of the landscape. By using locally harvested materials the two designers hope to contribute to a local and sustainable economy. The materials are created from renewable resources and the production acts as a recycling of natural materials in a green loop of energy.

The Terroir Project is created in collaboration with Jonas Edvard.

Photos by Emil Thomsen Schmidt, Jonas Edvard and Nikolaj Steenfatt.