BIOFOLD
Based on the BiOrigami research, this unique series of acoustic elements is composed of textile waste from jute coffee bags. Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world. Global coffee giants such as Starbucks go through millions of jute coffee sacks annually. There is a huge potential to transform these streams of industrial textile waste into new high-quality products.
Type
Product
Team
Samira Boon, Irene Petrillo, Wolf Lopes Cardozo, Antton Mathieu, Anna Sitnikova, David Prior Hope, Phi Ngo, Dennis van Rijsbergen, Floor Beckeringh
Supported by
MIT programme (MkB-innovatiestimulering regio en topsectoren)
Kiem grant by Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
Completion
2020 - ongoing
Awards
Architizer A+Awards 2020
Exhibited at
Dutch Design Week 2021
Floriade 2022
FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE
BioFold uses these non-reusable textiles that are otherwise hard to recycle, alongside biobased plastics in a new biocomposite material. By employing Japanese origami and digital production techniques, the biocomposite material transforms into a functional, sensory and flexible architectural product.
ACOUSTICS
Due to its folded shape and structure, BioFold also has excellent acoustic properties. It gives interiors (from office spaces to restaurants) a distinct, sustainable identity and can be installed as a wall panel or an acoustic element.
BioFold received a grant in the national MIT programme (MkB-innovatiestimulering regio en topsectoren) and together with our partners NPSP, DoFactory and Wolck we are implementing this innovative material on a commercial scale.
Curious about the possibilities for your project or interior? Please visit biofold.nl for more information.
A CLOSED CIRCLE
Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world. Global coffee giants such as Starbucks go through millions of jute coffee sacks annually. There is a huge potential to transform these streams of industrial textile waste into new high-quality products. The textile waste from jute coffee bags is non-reusable textiles that are otherwise hard to recycle.
3D QUALITIES
With a circular process and digital production techniques, we transform the biocomposite into high-quality, functional, sensory and flexible architectural products. Origami adds important qualities of 3-dimensionality to the flat biocomposite facilitating structural capacity, flexibility and acoustic properties, playing with light, shadow and perception.
AN INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE
At Dutch Design Week 2021, Biobased Creations Studio curated a detached 1:1 exhibition in the shape of a house, bringing together 100 different plant-based and natural materials. This large-scale biobased construction is an interactive experience that serves the primary gateway to a healthy and sustainable world. For the bedroom we contributed our BioFold which made up the walls for the complete room. BioFold was part of ‘The Exploded View’: the research and storytelling installation of the Embassy of Circularity and Biobased Building at the Dutch Design Week 2020. The installation makes circular stories and ambitions visible and tangible.
AWARDS
In the summer of 2020, BiOrigami, the research prior to the development of BioFold, won the Architizer A+Awards in the acoustics category. According to the Architizer A+Awards jury, BioFold/BiOrigami stood out in the judging criteria aesthetic appeal, acoustic performance and social impact.
