Algaefold

Our project focuses on algae from the surrounding lake and highlights their potential as a regional, renewable raw material. Through further processing, a new material is created that adds a sustainable and natural dimension to existing products. The resulting structures give the material flexibility, spatiality, and a wide range of applications. At the same time, the project represents a shift in perspective: it invites us to rethink our relationship with nature and to question what our environment might look like if we were more closely aligned with natural cycles. Instead of merely extracting resources, existing algae are put to good use and integrated into everyday life. 

For the material development, the collected algae were layered on top of one another and pressed under heat into a cohesive material. This step alone was surprising: without any additional backing materials, the algae bonded together to form a single surface. Immediately after pressing, the material was flexible. In this state, it could be easily folded into various shapes. One challenge was that the damp material did not hold the folds very well. It tended to unfold again, which meant that the crease lines had to be reworked repeatedly during the folding process. As soon as the material dried slightly in its folded form, the folded structures stabilized. Once the material was dry, it became stiff yet brittle and prone to cracking. To maintain its flexibility longer, we treated the folded structures with a glycerin mixture. This kept the material more pliable.