The first edition followed nettle into objects. The second follows it into material itself.
The stem of the nettle is rich in cellulose - the same molecule we extract from cotton and wood for the textile and paper industries. Edition II tested whether nettle cellulose could partner with bioplastic to make a composite that performs like a synthetic, but is built from a plant we treat as a weed.
In partnership with TNO, the composites were also tested for reversal: using Torwash technology, the materials can be chemically undone, returning cellulose, lactic acid, and metals to themselves.
A whole intelligence let go in less than a generation, brought back not as nostalgia but as future infrastructure.
Studio laVina
TNO, Yksi Expo, Stichting Stokroos
