Seaweed

Terroir

Terroir is a description often used to determine the cultural and geological relation between products and where they are produced, emphasising the heritage and knowledge linked to the use of the raw material.

The project contains a new material developed from seaweed and paper, which was developed from research into local materials. By combining seaweed and recycled paper waste designers Jonas Edvard and Nikolaj Steenfatt 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, utilising the viscous and adhesive effect of the alginate – the natural polymer of brown algae.

Making process

The brown algae is handpicked, dried and cooked into a glue, which is mixed with paper fibres. The material is lightweight, sturdy, flexible, naturally flame resistant and naturally conserving. The colour of the material depends on the season.

Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.