Early Manifesto

The conclusions and insights evolving out of the research project Materialism of Things result in a Manifesto which aims to encourage and inspire others to research, create and apply its principles and methodologies on any other material. lt invites to rethink, reconnect and reimagine responsive objects and environments in a sustainable, efficient and dynamic way by taking advantage of innate material behaviour.

(New) Materialism

Material senses and reacts – observe

Any material has agency and the potential to sense, react and transform in shape, function or appearance, because  it is in a constant exchange of information intra-acting with its environment.  Materials respond to external stimuli such as humidity, motion, pressure, light and temperature. Thus, any simple and renewable material, even those considered waste or leftover, can respond dynamically to its environment. It is a matter of observing, valuing and deepening the relationship with the materials that surround. 

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material agency,  new materialism, environmental stimuli, material behaviour, reconnect

Designing through Materialism

Material has logic – understand & design 

Through understanding the logic of a material and its agency it is possible to design and program functional transformation properties into materials. By changing the structure and shape of a material and mapping available inputs (stimuli) to related outputs (responses) material functionalities and properties can be modified. There is always a relationship between the stimuli and the material transformation. The approach of designing materials taking into account external stimuli and the intrinsic properties of a material allows one to introduce more quality into one material and therefore to rely less on other resources.

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active matter, informed materials, structure-function relationship, more is less, transformation potential 

Materialism of Things

Material is a responsive interface – reimagine

Material always carries information employing all physical senses and has the ability to represent and signal the effects other invisible phenomena such as time, energy, gravity or emotions. Materials can dynamically change their properties, appearance or form in a reversible manner or feature additional properties such as motion, adhesion or conductivity, classifying it as a responsive interface for communication. It is a matter of decoding the material language to reimagine future responsive environments, devices and products that communicate, function and interact in a subtle and unobtrusive way.

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material interface, interaction, non-verbal communication, post electronics

Observe, understand & design to reimagine. 

The use, design and modification of materials is an interdisciplinary field of research and development – they have to be considered by all.

Observation   

  • Observing means embracing that material has agency. 
  • Observing means reconnecting to the materials that surround. 
  • Observing means considering all environmental stimuli that affect a material.

Logic

  • Logic is in all materials.  
  • Logic means understanding and imitating natural phenomena.
  • Logic means understanding all the intrinsic properties of a material.
  • Logic means understanding the relationship and dependencies of in- and outputs.    
  • Logic means understanding that more is less.

Reimagination

  • Reimagining means considering.
  • Reimagining means rethinking.
  • Reimagining means proposing.
  • Reimagining means creating.
  • Reimagining means changing.