Materials made us human. Interest in the properties and structures of things reaches back to the first flint hand axes and bone needles.
Now materials science uses deep interdisciplinary knowledge to explore the properties of matter, yielding explosive growth in new materials. Beyond the glamour of letting concrete shine and fabric glow these strange new stuffs challenge our understanding of the world around us. When solids can be almost all air, concrete can be draped like cloth, and sugar can become stone, opportunities for reimagining and remaking the objects we use and live with are radically opened up.
How will novel and sustainable manufacturing process affect infrastructure and our relationship to our things and our world? We are already growing packaging, but can we really regrow our crumbling cities? Will we learn to partner more closely with living and near-living things?
New materials and ways of making allow us to reimagine our infrastructure. When waste plastic can become filament for cheap, open-source 3D printers copying pirated designs, what happens to factories and logistics networks? Can new materials build new solutions? What will the future be made of?
The event was one of a series leading up to Nesta's FutureFest, a weekend of events challenging us to imagine and shape what is to come.
In the lead up to the event, we asked everyone coming along: What new object would you like to see in your home? What would it be made of? Where would it come from and what would it become?