New York exhibition "reimagines the home" using furniture made of biomaterials
Eames chairs reupholstered with a denim-mycelium hybrid textile and mycelium fibre encased in an acrylic coffee table have been showcased in a biomaterials exhibition in New York City.
The Living Room exhibition is located at downtown studio Fugue Gallery and was curated by local designer Helena Elston, who brought together furniture and objects made by a variety of designers across the US who work with bio- and reclaimed materials such as discarded coffee cups, bioresin and woven salmon fish skin.
According to the team, the exhibition reimagines a domestic space using furniture and objects made from these biomaterials.
"More than a collection of objects, the exhibition unfolds as a living ecosystem: a space for conversation and connection, and a space that is, quite literally, alive," said the team.
A transparent, acrylic coffee table by New York designer Kamilla Csegzi sits in one corner. It is made of two block-like hollow volumes that hold actively growing mycelium, which is interspersed with patches of soil.
A series of holes is carved out of the surface to provide ventilation for the growth process, as it generates a thin layer of moisture within the table's form. The beginnings of a rubber plant also burst forth from one of the openings, supported by the soil underneath.
Above the table hangs a blue lampshade made by London studio Blast Studio. Its rippled surface was informed by corals and jellyfish, and was made from Cupsan, a material fabricated from London's discarded coffee cups.
Blast Studio recently started producing the material at scale after working on the process for years, repurposing the castaway coffee cups into a paper pulp mixed with a plastic-free binder.
Curator Helena Elston, who got her start in fashion design, also produced pieces for the show, including two Eames chairs she reupholstered with discarded waste materials, such as denim and polyester, that are spliced with mycelium.
"By layering new life onto a mid-century icon, it envisions how sustainable materials can renew and inhabit our everyday spaces," said the team.
Other pieces in the show include an aluminium wall panel outfitted with live Reishi mushrooms made by San Francisco-based 10th Floor Studio, which often integrates the fungus into everyday objects.
Another set of wall hangings showcases several materials studies by designer Stella Harry Lee, including a panel made from woven algae and a light pink panel made with hand-tanned fish skin, fabricated by Sasha Fishman.
A mycelium stool by French studio Léo & Vinc that "reinterprets 1960s plastic furniture" was also moved around the gallery.
Helena Elston also created a series of decomposable garments from mycelium and recycled materials.
Dezeen recently spoke to designer Iris van Herpen about how working with living organisms might impact the fashion industry.
The photography is by Savannah Purcell.
The Living Room is on at Fugue Gallery in New York City until 7 December. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
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