Edible Materials Lab

Edible Materials Lab |  thinkEAST at Fusebox

Curated by Igor Siddiqui and Jen Wong

Featuring work from Advanced Design and selections from the Materials Lab

Edible Materials Lab brings public attention to the nature of materials that define our built environment by exploring resonant relationships between food and design. Plant, animal, and mineral matter have always been incorporated into man-made constructions, yet rarely do we realize these direct connections - rarer still do we consider architecture to be edible.



Through a series of interactive presentations, workshops, and exhibitions, the program demonstrates how material innovation intersects with food production. Mushroom masonry, 3D-printed edible structures, gelatin-based plastics, and textiles that grow capture our collective imagination as we envision a more sustainable built environment.

Program Schedule

SATURDAY APRIL 11

12:00 PM

Research: Starch Plastics

Stephanie Betesh and Piper Cain

(Advanced Design, UTSOA)



12:30 PM

Research: Salt Masonry

Laurel Morrow and Benjamin Vela

(Advanced Design, UTSOA)



1:00 PM

Workshop: Vegetable Papyrus

Michelle Bedrosian and Joyce Rosner

(Designer Collective, Olive & Otis, Austin, TX)



2:30 PM

Research: Algae Plastics

Gisella Allen and Zach Walters

(Advanced Design, UTSOA)



4:00 PM 

Research: Fermented Textiles

Amy McDonnold and Amy Witte

(Advanced Design, UTSOA)

Tasting: Kombucha

Bill Nadalini (Owner, Wunder-Pilz)



5:00 PM

Talk: 3D Printing and Edibles

Virginia San Fratello (Architect and Co-founder, Emerging Objects, Oakland, CA)

 

SUNDAY APRIL 12

12:00 PM 

Research: BioComposites

Diane Collins and David Thompson

(Advanced Design, UTSOA)



12:30 PM 

Research: Gelatin Bioplastic

Heather Sutherland and Yingqian Zhuang

(Advanced Design, UTSOA)



1:00 PM

Talk: Bioplasticity

Igor Siddiqui (Architect and Assistant Professor, UTSOA)



2:00 PM

Research: Gum-Modified Concrete 

Toheed Khawaja and Stephanie Vidal

(Advanced Design, UTSOA)



2:30 PM 

Research: Mushroom Materials

Mary Kate Feldman and David Mora

(Advanced Design, UTSOA)



3:00 PM 

Talk: Mushroom Farming

Ryan Sansbury (Founder, Logro Farms, Austin, TX)



4:00 PM 

Talk: Materials Lab Meets Food Lab

Jen Wong (Director, UT Materials Lab)

and Robyn Metcalfe (Founder, Executive Director, The Food Lab)



5:00 PM 

Talk: Food and Photography

Ajay Malghan (Artist, Austin, TX and Baltimore, MD)