Biopolymer Composites in Circular Design: Malleable materials for an instable architecture

This paper examines temporality within material and architectural cascades. It takes point of departure in the perception of bio-based materials as abundant within the emerging framework of bio-based circular design, and the need for materials that can incorporate flexibility to local availability, ecological implications, and cost. In this paper we introduce a specific biopolymer composite composed of interchangeable constituent materials from agricultural waste streams, and describe the malleability of this material through the processes of material composition and robotic fabrication, and the re-activation of its thermoplastic properties. We examine the design opportunities this opens for cascading, and how processes of repair, refitting, and recycling of a malleable material create ongoing instabilities of the object that can be conceptually and practically exploited at both architectural and material levels. We identify and describe these opportunities within the context of ‘Radicant’, a 3D printed wall paneling system made from the bio-polymer composite. We also present a series of experiments that exemplify how the strategic
localized reactivation of the printed material can ideate new architectural strategies of repairing, refurbishing, and recycling.