Terraforms are empirical patterns that advance the design of future natural and built habitats. They are innovative material systems that blend human intention and natural self-emerging principles for a designed ecological function. The intelligence of complex forms in nature that show the most optimal material patterns led to the development of a recipe for scale-free clay mixtures. This recipe has been replicated across diverse objects, showcasing the flexibility of the scale-free topology. This topology minimises stress distribution under uniform and heterogeneous pressure, enhancing material stability and hygroscopic functions. Terraforms can be applied to diverse interfaces, transforming inert materials into responsive, living entities.
Participants
ENZA MIGLIORE, MATTEO CONVERTINO, AND AMEDEO MARTINES SHENZHEN, CHINA Enza Migliore, Polla, Italy, 1984. Lives and works in Shenzhen, China. Matteo Convertino, Padua, Italy, 1982. Lives and works in Shenzhen, China. Amedeo Martines, Biella, Italy, 1996. Lives and works in Shanghai, China, and internationally.
Team
Materialities Research Group, SUSTech School of Design: Jingze Liu and Yuliang Kang
Thanks
Materialities Research Group, SUSTech School of Design Enza Migliore Matteo Convertino Amedeo Martines
Supporters
School of Design, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen; Shenzhen Pengcheng Peacock Pengcheng Talents funding (C class, Y01656109); Shenzhen Pengcheng Peacock Pengcheng Talents funding (B class, 0020210320): “ECOgeomorphic and Hydroclimatic ImpactS on Biodiversity and Ecosystem FuNction: Mapping Critical Shifts and ConnEctions” (ECOSENSE) at Tsinghua University, Shenzhen International Graduate School
