Nature is our oldest and most creative designer. Those in the business take structures, materiality, even morality from the organic rhythms of the earth, weaving their way through the mire and magic of creation. True sustainability requires that we understand and work within these parameters, using recycled and recyclable materials in tandem. In Tierra, Mar, y Aire, a new lighting collection from Héctor Serrano and presented by Faro Barcelona, the barriers between interior and exterior melt, a metabolization of materiality.
The project starts and ends with materiality at it’s core, mirroring the cycles of our natural world. The properties of each element relate to the composition that is used. For Tierra, a bioplastic formed from PLA and cellulose was utilized, which is both biodegradeable and compostable. Mar is composed of polypropylene derived from recycled fishing nets, and Aire from 100% recycled PETG, the most commonly recycled plastic in the world.
Serrano explains, “Circularity must be embedded throughout our entire consumption system; it is no use using sustainable materials if we then continue to live in a throwaway culture. We must rethink the way we produce, transport, consume and recycle our products, and this is where 3D printing offers an alternative, with on-demand, compact and automated production.” Indeed, true circularity involves not just a change of system, but a change of heart. If we are to participate in sustainability that lasts, our relationships with convenience must adapt.
This concept of “digital craftsmanship” comes into view: wherein the power of manufacturing is returning to the individual. Not directly into their hands, surely, but under their control. The traditional, top-down approach to design is being upended through additive manufacturing, allowing technical infrastructure to be created with surprising speed, in compact spaces. Here, the traditional ‘factory settings’ we know are now reset for modern ideals. In a broader effort to democratize large-scale 3D printing, more demand creates more widespread use, which is precisely what the technology needs to succeed. In this way, 3D printing gets, cheaper, easier, and more accessible, empowering anyone with a printer to join the conversation.
Not to be restrained by process, Tierra, Mar, y Aire reflects the structures we recognize in nature – hive structures, bubble-like volumes, and marine references dot the collection. These forms are familiar, emotional bonds ignited among our synapses. Millions of years have been spent perfecting the designs we see around us. As we look to our natural world, there is no waste, a perfect balance of flora and fauna. How can we embody these characteristics and make them real, within the parameters of our mortal minds? Serrano paints a new vision of the future, one where we ensure harmony in process and practice.
To learn more about Tierra, Mar, y Aire by Héctor Serrano for Faro Barcelona, visit hectorserrano.com.
Photography by Javier Márquez.
