Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Japan develop a plant-based plastic that dissolves in water in just a few hours without leaving any residue. The current study builds on the team’s previous research, where they made a recyclable plastic that could melt in the salt water within hours. This time, the new version moves closer to manufacturing. The researchers present the plant-based plastic that dissolves based on cellulose, which is typically found in greenery and is produced in large quantities every year.

For the current model, the team adopts carboxymethyl cellulose, a polymer that comes from wood pulp and is already approved for food and medical use. The challenge is to find a second component that can connect with it in a controlled way, and after testing different options, the researchers use a compound based on guanidinium ions, which carry a positive charge. When the cellulose and guanidinium compound are mixed in water at room temperature, their opposite charges pull them together, and the same connections that hold the material together can also come apart in salt water, allowing the plant-based plastic to dissolve over time when it enters the ocean.

all images courtesy of RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science

Stretchable, biodegradable container melts in water over time

Early samples of the plant-based plastic that can dissolve show an issue. The cellulose that the research team added made the plastic too rigid, so the material behaved more like glass than packaging. To change this, the team looked for a plasticizer, which is a small molecule mixed to adjust movement inside a material. After many tests, they used choline chloride, a compound already approved as a food additive, and by changing its amount, the team was able to control how the plastic behaves. With one ratio, the plastic holds shape. With another, it stretches to more than its original length. The same system can also form a thin film, which means that the plant-based plastic that dissolves can also match different product sizes and needs using the same base recipe.

The researchers are able to keep the material’s transparency, just like the current plastic offered these days, and it can be processed using standard methods and supports recycling, so it can be reused a few more times. Because the ingredients are common and approved, the path to real-world use is shorter than for many experimental plastics. While the earlier work focused on proof of concept, this new stage is about use, showcasing that the cellulose material from plants and wood pulp can help create a modern container that doesn’t leave pollution in the sea. The research doesn’t promise to replace all plastics, but it shows one path forward: that is, by redesigning material structure at the molecular level, it becomes possible to reduce long-term pollution.

the test video shows that the plant-based plastic dissolves in a couple of hours

the container is made of cellulose, which is found in plants

previously, the researchers developed a recyclable plastic that melted in seawater

there’s a process named ‘desalting’ that helps the recyclable plastic melt

project info:

name: Supramolecular Ionic Polymerization: Cellulose-Based Supramolecular Plastics with Broadly Tunable Mechanical Properties

institution: RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) 

researchers: Zhenghong Chen, Yang Hong, Hiroyuki Inuzuka, Kiichi Mizukami, Takuzo Aida

study: here

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Studio Aditya Mandlik (SAM)’s Factory 5.0 is a timber structure that positions biological intelligence as a genuine collaborator, co-authored by 10,000 king worms metabolizing Styrofoam in real time. ‘When we design built environments, we’re reshaping the planet’s outermost skin, one that has always supported complex, multi-species life,’ the architect tells designboom. ‘My instinct is to design in dialogue with that broader ecological knowledge system.’

Founder of the studio, Aditya Mandlik, frames the work as a call to rethink architectural authorship in the context of the Fifth Industrial Revolution, a moment defined by the convergence of human and non-human intelligence. ‘Making is no longer a linear, directive process; it becomes a co-evolution shaped by multiple intelligences operating simultaneously across material, biological, and spatial scales,’ the architect notes.

At the core of the project is plastic, the defining material of the First Industrial Era, reframed through decomposition ‘Plastic became a lens to understand how drastically our intentions and consequences can diverge,’ Mandlik tells us. ‘Working with worms revealed that nature already holds pathways for metabolising what we consider irreversible problems.’ Speaking to designboom, Mandlik positions Factory 5.0 as a framework for rethinking material futures, using decomposition to expand architectural imagination.

all images courtesy of Studio Aditya Mandlik

how worms reshape the geometry of the structure in real time

Factory 5.0 is a composite system of 546 digitally fabricated timber components interlaced with 200 Styrofoam plates housed in transparent acrylic chambers. These interiors become operational terrains where worms, approached as collaborators of the project, actively reshape the geometry of the pavilion. ‘Their behavior resembled that of micro-sensors, always recalibrating in response to temperature, light, and moisture,’ Mandlik explains. ‘These feedback loops began to dictate the pavilion’s evolving porosity.’ This procedure results in a continually transforming architectural section, revealed in various ways as visitors move around and through it.

Unexpected behavioral patterns soon become part of the design language. Worms clustered for warmth below 20°C, migrate toward darkness, and even metamorphose when isolated, behaviors that influence spatial rhythm and material decay rates. ‘Designing with decomposition demanded accepting that anything we create should ultimately be able to return to natural systems,’ the Mumbai-based architect tells designboom. This approach shapes decisions from assembly logic to the portability of the pavilion. Factory 5.0 was already in its second life at DDW, having been flat-packed, transported, and reconfigured from its Mumbai debut.

This adaptability extends into its afterlife. ‘Disassembly is not the end of a project, but the beginning of its next metabolic phase,’ Mandlik notes. After the exhibition, timber components are repurposed, while worm-transformed Styrofoam plates, sensitive to light, sound, and human presence, are preserved as memory objects and later used as molds for casting metal lights. The project becomes a living model for regenerative architecture in a world where biological and technological intelligence co-author space. Dive into the full Q&A below.

a timber structure that positions biological intelligence as a genuine collaborator

Interview with Aditya Mandlik

designboom (DB): Factory 5.0 introduces worms as active co-creators. What first prompted you to explore biological intelligence as a design partner?

Aditya Mandlik (AM): For me, collaborating with non-human intelligence has always felt like a natural extension of architectural thinking. When we design built environments, we’re effectively reshaping the planet’s outermost skin, a layer that has long supported complex, multi-species life. So my instinct is to design in dialogue with that broader ecological knowledge system. With Factory 5.0, this became particularly critical. Since the installation was conceived as a prototype for architecture in the Fifth Industrial Revolution, we chose to work with natural decomposers to break down single-use plastic, the defining material of the First Industrial Era. That act of decomposition became both method and message, positioning architecture as a metabolic, co-authored process rather than a purely human-driven one.

co-authored by 10,000 king worms

DB: As you mentioned, the project sits within the theme of the Fifth Industrial Revolution. How do you define ‘non-human intelligence’ in an architectural workflow, and what does it contribute to the act of making?

AM: Architecture becomes truly contextual, geographically, socially, culturally, and ecologically, only when every actor present on a site is allowed to perform. I’ve always believed that the planet operates through a dense web of behaviors, where each entity, human or non-human, contributes its own role to a constantly unfolding system. These behaviors are not passive; they are forms of intelligence that shape, negotiate, and adapt the environments we share. So when I speak of ‘non-human intelligence’ in architecture, I’m not thinking of it as an add-on to the design workflow. Instead, I see it as an existing field of entangled, cooperative interactions that we must learn to work with rather than override. In that sense, making is no longer a linear, directive process; it becomes a coevolutionary act, shaped by multiple intelligences operating simultaneously across material, biological, and spatial scales.

the worms metabolize Styrofoam in real time

DB: Why did you choose plastic as the primary site of decomposition, and what did the worms reveal to you about its future?

AM: Plastic is, in many ways, the great material triumph of the First Industrial Revolution. It reshaped human behaviour, accelerated production, and became inseparable from modern life. What interested me was this contradiction: a material originally engineered with ecological intent has, within a single generation, shifted into the category of ‘waste.’ Plastic became a lens through which to examine how drastically our intentions and their consequences can diverge over time. Working with worms made this contradiction even more compelling. Their ability, together with the bacteria in their microbiome, allows to break down complex molecular structures like single-use plastics, revealed something deeply optimistic. It suggested that nature already holds pathways for metabolising what we perceive as irreversible problems. This collaboration points toward a future where small-scale worm farms could become decentralized systems for decomposing not only single-use plastic but other organic waste as well. It reframes the issue from one of disposal to one of co-evolution, where natural intelligence and human design actively negotiate the lifecycle of materials.

rethinking architectural authorship in the context of the Fifth Industrial Revolution

DB: How did you approach designing a structure whose form and meaning emerge through processes of decomposition?

AM: The pavilion was conceived as an active dialogue between space and matter, its form articulated as a vector, a directional force urging us to rethink the foundations of how we build. If we are to imagine alternative futures, we must first intervene in the material realities we currently inhabit. In this sense, the afterlife of single-use plastic became a crucial point of departure, not merely as a problem to be managed, but as an ecological agent capable of reframing architectural imagination. Designing with decomposition demanded an acceptance that anything we create should ultimately be capable of returning to natural systems. This principle shaped every aspect of the project—from embracing material deterioration to defining the pavilion’s assembly logic. Factory 5.0 was therefore conceived as a fully disassemblable structure, enabling its components to be repurposed or reintegrated long after it’s exhibition in Mumbai. The pavilion itself was already in its second life at Dutch Design Week 2025, having been transported, reconfigured, and re-adapted specifically for the climate and conditions of Eindhoven. In this way, the pavilion’s form, meaning, and visitor experience were never intended to be fixed. Instead, they were designed to evolve through cycles of breakdown, transformation, and return, mirroring the metabolic processes that animated the project from within. Factory 5.0 ultimately positions decomposition not as an endpoint, but as a generative force shaping both architectural expression and ecological imagination.

at the core of the project is plastic

DB: What were some of the most unexpected behaviors or feedback loops you observed during the worms’ metabolic process?

AM: One of the most unexpected insights came from observing how socially and environmentally responsive the worms were. Across experiments with multiple species, we studied how they reacted to variations in temperature, light, moisture, and even sound. Their behavior resembled that of micro-sensors, constantly adjusting and recalibrating in response to subtle environmental shifts. When temperatures dropped below 20°C, the worms instinctively clustered together to exchange body heat. In contrast, a worm left alone for two to three days often initiated metamorphosis, cocooning and transforming into a darkling beetle within a week. Their strong preference for darkness was equally revealing; exposure to light compelled them to migrate toward shaded areas, often resulting in higher aperture densities in those regions of the styrofoam panels. These feedback loops became foundational to understanding how the pavilion would behave, transform, and ultimately decompose over time. They also directly informed our preparations for installing the pavilion in the city centre. To help the worms acclimate to the Eindhoven’s weather, each acrylic container was equipped with insulation film, containers holding moisture-absorbing gels, and external UV-A/UV-B thermal lamps. Adjusting these parameters allowed us not only to support their metabolic processes but also to intentionally mediate aperture densities in specific zones of the panels, shaping the pavilion’s evolving porosity as an active design tool.

plastic is reframed through decomposition

DB: Factory 5.0 can be flat-packed, reconfigured, and repurposed, extending its material life after exhibitions. How does this design-for-disassembly strategy align with your vision of metabolic architecture?

AM: Design for Disassembly, for me, emerges directly from the intelligence embedded within the informal urban fabric of Mumbai, a landscape that is continually dismantled, reconfigured, and reinhabited across generations. It is not only an ecologically sensitive strategy but also a culturally attuned one, acknowledging the fluid, intergenerational patterns of occupation shared by both human and non-human actors. Within the broader framework of metabolic architecture, Design for Disassembly becomes a means of embracing uncertainty. It enables structures to adapt, mutate, and respond to conditions that neither designers nor other participants can fully anticipate. In this sense, Factory 5.0’s ability to be flat-packed, reassembled, or repurposed is therefore not just a logistical choice. It extends the material life of the pavilion while situating it within a continuous cycle of transformation, reuse, and reintegration. In that sense, disassembly is not the end of a project, but the beginning of its next metabolic phase.

Factory 5.0 is a composite system of 546 digitally fabricated timber components

DB: Looking ahead, what potential do you see for architects to collaborate with other biological systems, and how might this shift the profession toward a truly post-anthropocentric future?

AM: I believe architecture has remained deeply human-centric for most of its history, shaped first by our evolutionary instincts and later by the pressures of rapid urbanization. In constructing the modern city, we have often produced hyper-sanitized environments that separate us from the ecological systems we are inherently part of. What we tend to overlook is that humans themselves are complex biological beings; recognizing ourselves as nature is the first step toward reframing how we design. Looking ahead, I see enormous potential for architecture to collaborate not only with biological systems but with the dense fabric of behaviors, patterns, and intelligence already present on every site. These living interfaces, microbial, botanical, geological, atmospheric etc., continuously negotiate and transform the environments we inhabit. Engaging with them allows architecture to shift from being an imposed, static form to becoming an entangled and co-evolving process. Also, for this shift to meaningfully unfold, architects cannot operate in isolation. Policymakers, engineers, industries, and communities must also acknowledge these biological systems as co-residents and co-authors of the built environment. Only then can we move toward a truly post-anthropocentric future, one in which architecture is created not just for humans, but with and alongside the intelligence of the broader living world.

the structure incorporates 200 Styrofoam plates housed in transparent acrylic chambers

worms actively reshape the geometry of the pavilion

a continually transforming architectural section

unexpected behavioral patterns soon become part of the design language

worms clustered for warmth below 20°C migrate toward darkness

Aditya Mandlik observing the worm behavior

project info:

name: Factory 5.0

architect: Studio Aditya Mandlik (SAM) | @studioadityamandlik

biological agents: 10,000 king worms

The post aditya mandlik on turning decomposition into design in a pavilion built with 10,000 worms appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Researchers at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, have developed a way to use recycled plastic shopping bags as nanomaterials and sensors that can glow and detect toxic metals in drinking water. The process starts with polyethylene, which is the main plastic used in shopping bags. The researchers convert it into very small particles called carbon quantum dots, or CQDs. These particles are smaller than a virus, and to produce them, the team uses a combination of two methods: pyrolysis and hydrothermal treatment. Pyrolysis involves heating the plastic without oxygen, while hydrothermal treatment involves heating the material in water under pressure.

The researchers then add less than seven percent hydrogen peroxide to help break down the polyethylene, and the full process takes about ten hours. The result is a solution containing the carbon quantum dots (CQDs), which light up under UV light and become fluorescent. The light emission happens because of the structure of the carbon atoms and the chemical groups attached to the surface of the CQDs, so when the UV light hits the particles, electrons in the carbon atoms move to a higher energy level. As the electrons return to their normal level, they release energy in the form of visible light, making the recycled plastic bags illuminate in the dark as sensors.

image by Teslariu Mihai via Unsplash | @photosbymihai

intensity of light detects how much iron is in water

The glow from the recycled plastic bags can help find toxic metals in drinking water as sensors. Weaker light means more toxic metals in the water, and if the glow is strong, it means that there are fewer or no metals in the water. The scientists from Universitas Gadjah Mada and Hokkaido University explain that the carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have oxygen groups on their surface that can attach to certain metals. They have tested the CQDs with different metals and saw that they reacted only with ferric ions, or the iron particles with a charge of three. When the CQDs attach to this iron, the glow becomes weaker, meaning there’s a lot of it in the water.

So far, it can detect as little as 9.50 micromolar, which is enough to check if drinking water is polluted. The results, the research team finds in their study, are accurate and repeated the same way each time. The scientists have also checked how well the CQDs glow using a measure called quantum yield, which shows how much light comes out compared to how much light goes in. The CQDs made from plastic bags reached 10.04 percent, which means they glow strongly enough to be used as a sensor. At the present time, the researchers believe that their discovery can be used in portable water testing kits at a low cost, given the use of recycled plastic bags as sensors. 

image by Daniele Levis Pelusi via Unsplash | @yogidan2012

image by Naja Bertolt Jensen | @officialnaja

image by Naja Bertolt Jensen

project info:

name: Recycling of plastic bag waste into carbon quantum dots using optimized pyrolysis-hydrothermal methods for selective Fe (III) sensing

researchers: Ratih Lestari, Yuichi Kamiya, Tutik Dwi Wahyuningsih, Indriana Kartini

institutions: Universitas Gadjah Mada, Hokkaido University | @ugm.yogyakarta, @hokkaidounivpr

study: here

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Sabine Marcelis brings her recent translucent installation of pink inflatables named Jelly Floats to the Lake Como EDITION. Shown during the Lake Como Design Festival, which runs from September 14th to 21st, 2025, the installation is set to remain in place for the hotel guests through the end of the summer season. Jelly Floats is a group of large inflatable sculptures set on the surface of the hotels’ floating pool and overlooking the area’s western shore. A series of donut-shaped floaties by Sabine Marcelis swim around the pool, a few steps away from the dockside restaurant, lounge bar, cabanas, and daybeds, completing the Lake Como EDITION’s galore.

Each piece in the installation has a circular opening in the center, and the floaties’ sizes vary from about 1,000 millimeters to 3,000 millimeters in diameter. All pieces are made in a single solid color, a strong pink tone. The design adapts a form that the Dutch designer has explored in her other works, including rugs, lamps, and bowls. The surprising catch is that this is the first time she has applied it to inflatable objects.

all images courtesy of The Lake Como EDITION

Jelly Floats forms part of The Lake Como Design Festival

The floats are meant to function both as sculpture and as usable pool equipment. They rest directly on the water surface, where guests can sit, lie, or move them, and the arrangement of several different diameters allows single use or shared use. Sabine Marcelis designed Jelly Floats in her studio in Rotterdam. Here, the objects come to life from a translucent PVC-based material. Each float has a welded seam along its circular edge to keep the air chamber sealed, and the circular shape is produced by heat-sealing two flat rings of the material together, leaving an open center. The clear structure of the material lets light pass through, making the pieces visible from different points around the pool. The uniform pink color is added during production rather than by a surface coating, so the tone remains consistent if the surface is scratched.

Sabine Marcelis’ Jelly Floats is presented in cooperation with The Lake Como EDITION as part of its preview program before the hotel’s official launch in March 2026. The hotel is located in a restored 19th-century palazzo in Cadenabbia, and it contains 148 rooms, including 24 suites and two penthouses. The property also offers several dining spaces under the direction of chef Mauro Colagreco. The floating pool, where the installation is placed, extends from the lakefront and is accessible from the hotel’s terrace. Jelly Floats form part of The Lake Como Design Festival, an event that brings together works from international designers, artists, and architects. By placing Jelly Floats within the hotel pool, the event links contemporary design practice with hospitality and landscape. These pink floaties by Sabine Marcelis are set to remain at the Lake Como EDITION until the end of the summer of 2025.

Sabine Marcelis brings her translucent installation of pink inflatables Jelly Floats to the Lake Como EDITION

the installation is shown during the Lake Como Design Festival, which runs from September 14th to 21st, 2025

the installation is set to remain in place for the hotel guests through the end of the summer season

Jelly Floats is a group of large inflatable sculptures set on the surface of the hotels’ floating pool

detailed view of the installation

each piece in the installation has a circular opening in the center

all pieces are made in a single solid color, a strong pink tone

portrait of Sabine Marcelis sitting on her installation, Jelly Floats

Sabine Marcelis’ Jelly Floats is presented in cooperation with The Lake Como EDITION

project info:

name: Jelly Floats

designer: Sabine Marcelis | @sabine_marcelis

hospitality: Lake Como EDITION | @editioncomo, @editionhotels

event: Lake Como Design Festival | @lakecomodesignfestival

dates: September 14th to 21st, 2025

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Hans-Walter Müller, a German-born architect, artist, and engineer has lived in an inflatable house for over 50 years, where a constantly humming motor keeps the air-formed structure upright. Since the 1960s, Müller has explored the spatial and sensory possibilities of air-supported architecture, building transparent plastic igloos and experimenting with forms that shift and float. His unusual approach is revisited at the Luftmuseum in Amberg through the exhibition Monsieur Luftarchitektur, on view until September 14, 2025. As the first solo exhibition and retrospective of the visionary air architect in Germany, it offers a unique insight into his work shaped by impermanence and imagination.

Pneumatic architecture — a field that trades mass for volume and weight for lightness — offers a provocative alternative to conventional building practices. Adaptable, mobile, and expressive, it continues to challenge assumptions about materiality and permanence. Tracing Müller’s journey and placing his work within a broader history of inflatable design, from its beginnings to its contemporary resurgence, we explore how air-filled visions shape the past, present, and possible futures.

Hans-Walter Müller in his transparent balloon during a ride through the city centre of Paris on World Environment Day, 2001 | image © Marie-France Vesperini

INFLATABLE DESIGN AS A PERSONAL MANIFESTO

Born in 1935 in Worms, Germany, Hans-Walter Müller studied architecture and engineering in Darmstadt before continuing at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. From early on, he challenged the conventions of static architecture, imagining structures defined not by weight and rigidity but by air, movement, and impermanence. Over the decades, his single-walled air-supported structures have taken shape as theaters, exhibition spaces, mobile studios, temporary shopping venues, and shelters in humanitarian contexts.

Known in Germany as the Architekt der Lüfte — the architect of air — Müller has long described his work as architecture of movement, rejecting static form in favor of dynamism and flux. To construct his structures, Müller uses high-frequency welding machines to join cut plastic patterns into large-scale rooms and interconnected ensembles. The lightweight constructions are made from colored, opaque, or transparent materials and can be relocated with ease. Over the years, he has developed innovative fastening systems and solutions for air exchange and pressure loss at entry points. His domes, roofs, and inflatable rooms are scattered across the globe, creating spatial experiences that are as atmospheric as they are ephemeral.

sound structure with resonance sphere on the grounds of La Ferté-Alais

Müller’s collaborations span art, architecture, and performance. In 1970, he created an airborne stage featuring a set design by Andy Warhol, a year later, he developed an inflatable studio for Jean Dubuffet. He also worked with Frei Otto, known for the tensile roof of the Munich Olympic Stadium, yet his most emblematic project remains his inflatable house he built in 1971 and still inhabits outside Paris. Both manifesto and prototype, it is a shifting structure that challenges assumptions about domestic space.

inside Hans-Walter Müller’s inflatable home | image © Lukas Schaller

THE RISE AND RETURN OF PNEUMATIC ARCHITECTURE IN DESIGN HISTORY

While Hans-Walter Müller played a defining role in popularizing inflatable architecture, he wasn’t alone in reimagining how air and plastic could reshape the built environment. In the mid-20th century, architects such as Frei Otto and Cedric Price were likewise drawn to the possibilities of lightweight, flexible forms. The roots of pneumatic design can be traced back even further, to 1948, when American engineer Walter Bird developed the first inflatable dome to shield military radar systems from weather. These early innovations planted the seed for a new architectural vocabulary — one that favored adaptability over solidity.

Walter Bird standing on top of one of his first pneumatic “radome” prototypes on the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory grounds in Buffalo, New York, 1948 | image © Birdair, Inc.

This new architectural language gathered momentum in the 1960s and reached a symbolic high point at the 1970 World Expo in Osaka — a landmark event for experimental architecture. Among the most outstanding structures was the Fuji Group Pavilion by Yutaka Murata. With a circular plan and a diameter of 50 meters, it was the largest air-inflated structure in the world at the time. Sixteen identical air-filled arches composed the frame, with a geometric twist. While the central arches followed a semicircular profile, those positioned closer to the ends narrowed at the base, causing their peaks to rise higher. Made of vinyl-coated polyester and held aloft by internal air pressure calibrated at around 1000 millimeters waterhead, the dome appeared to float above the site like a living membrane.

Fuji Group Pavilion by Yutaka Murata, Osaka, 1970 | image © Yutaka Murata, courtesy of Osaka Prefectural Government

Two years later, the Austrian collective Haus-Rucker-Co pushed pneumatic design into the realm of radical art and institutional critique. Created for Documenta 5 in 1972 — the renowned contemporary art exhibition held every five years in Kassel, Germany — Oase No. 7 temporarily transformed the neoclassical facade of the Fridericianum in Kassel. The project consisted of a transparent PVC sphere, eight meters in diameter, mounted on a steel ring structure that cantilevered outward from a window of the museum. Accessed via a walkway piercing the building’s wall, the inflated orb hovered above the entrance like an artificial growth, suspended between interior and exterior. Inside, visitors encountered a surreal micro-environment complete with plastic palm trees, a hammock, and a red flag. Half a century later, the questions posed by such temporary, air-supported structures continue to resonate — especially as architects return to light, mobile, and reversible forms in response to today’s environmental and social urgencies.

‘Oase No. 7, Documenta 5’ 1972 by Haus-Rucker-Co | image © Dennis Conrad

In contemporary practice, pneumatic architecture continues to evolve as a relevant and forward-looking design strategy. For Switzerland’s contribution to Expo 2025 in Osaka, Manuel Herz Architects — in collaboration with researchers from the Kyoto Institute of Technology — have developed a pavilion composed largely of pressurized, air-inflated spheres made from recyclable ETFE. These elements form a lightweight construction of hollow double-shell membranes supported by curved steel beams. Since air pressure is generated only within the outer shell, the structure avoids the need for airlocks at the entrances, maintaining a stable interior climate with minimal technical effort. Echoing the speculative spirit of Expo 70, the design reflects on how impermanent, mobile architecture can meet contemporary demands for climate responsiveness, material efficiency, and spatial adaptability — not as a nostalgic gesture, but as a viable strategy for building more lightly on Earth.

the Swiss Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka | image courtesy of FDFA, Presence Switzerland

From countercultural interventions to contemporary pavilions, pneumatic architecture has continually offered a way to build that is light, experimental, and open to change. While many examples serve as a spectacle or statement, others delve deeper into the existential potentials of air-filled space. Few have pursued this path as consistently as Hans-Walter Müller. Though he did not invent inflatable architecture, his work stands out for its steady commitment: a lifelong investigation into what it means to inhabit air, to live within movement, and to turn the temporary into the everyday.

structure by Hans-Walter Müller at the Nice Festival in 1981

exhibition “Au bord de l’air” (On the edge of the air), Parc de La Villette, Paris, 2006 | image © Marie-France Vesperini

construction by Hans-Walter Müller at Walther Square in Bolzano, 2023 | image © Marie-France Vesperini

Hans-Walter Müller in the process of making his inflatable structures

Hans-Walter Müller’s Pianodrome in the courtyard of Poppelsdorf Schloss, 2016

exhibition view of Monsieur Luftarchitektur at the Luftmuseum | image © Marcus Rebmann

portrait of Hans-Walter Müller | image © Marcus Rebmann

project info: 

name: Pneumatic Architecture

architect: Hans-Walter Müller

publication: Hans-Walter Müller und das lebendige Haus; ISBN: 9783959055116
exhibition: “Monsieur Luftarchitektur – Hans-Walter Müller” Architekt, Ingenieur, Künstler; 1967 bis heute
location: Luftmuseum e.V., Amberg, Germany 

dates: May 25th – September 14th, 2025

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As part of the Shanghai Xintiandi Design Festival, MARS Studio, in collaboration with the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) Design School, developed Mirage, an interactive installation located in the lakeside green space of Shanghai Xintiandi. The project was led by designers Ma Ning and Yu Jiashi.

The installation references Cai Guoqiang’s pyrotechnic works, translating the visual language of fireworks into a series of staggered geometric forms. The composition captures the moment of a firework’s bloom, aligning with the festival’s theme, Boundless Playground, through a focus on interactivity and public engagement. Mirage is constructed from gradient nylon rope screens that create continuous, curved contours. The color palette, green, blue, and orange-red, was inspired by Henri Matisse’s La Gerbe and symbolises nature, sky, and flowers respectively. As visitors move around the work, the overlapping ropes produce shifting visual effects, blending colors and altering light perception.

all images by Guangyao Cao unless stated otherwise

Overlapping ropes transform Fireworks into architectural form

The design integrates a sound-responsive lighting system. Vibrations generated by movement and touch activate programmed lighting sequences, creating a link between environmental rhythms and visual output. The lighting is paired with an original composition by Yu Yibin of the XJTLU Design School, synchronising changes in color and brightness with musical patterns.

Through its combination of form, material, and sensory interaction, Mirage functions as a public space intervention that merges visual art, sound design, and participatory experience. The work, developed by the collaborative team between MARS Studio and XJTLU Design School, transforms the ephemeral qualities of fireworks into a lasting installation that responds to its surroundings and audience in real time.

Mirage at the Shanghai Xintiandi Design Festival | image by Nango

created by MARS Studio with XJTLU Design School

fireworks translated into staggered geometric forms

capturing the instant of a firework’s bloom

gradient nylon rope forms continuous curved contours

green for nature, blue for sky, orange-red for flowers

overlapping ropes create shifting visual effects

vibrations trigger programmed light sequences

changing light and color as visitors move

public art merging visual, sound, and interaction

project info:

name: Shanghai Xintiandi Design Festival Mirage
designer: MARS Studio | @mars.office, XJTLU Design School

location: Shanghai, China

design team: Ning Ma, Yu Jess, Tianqi Wang,  Shaohu Yang, Bohan Chen, Guangyao Cao, Yigao Liu

music: Yibin Yu, XJTLU SOFTA

video: Lin Ruefan, Alice Xiao

photography and filming: Guangyao Cao, Nango

drone filming: Design Shanghai

design partner: Bwee Technology

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Bangkok-based artist Taras Yoom introduces Another Kingdom, the first backgammon set in the Yoomoota gaming line. Expanding on his earlier chess series, the project continues the narrative of two opposing kingdoms, serving as a metaphorical exploration of human history.

This edition transforms backgammon into a sculptural object, where checkers and dice represent the interplay of chance and strategy. The collection consists of 21 handcrafted sets, produced through a combination of advanced and traditional processes, including 3D printing with photopolymer plastic, molding, sculpting, polymer casting, manual finishing, and acrylic detailing. Materials range from acrylic and metals to plastics and silicone. Each piece is embedded with an NFC chip that certifies authenticity and records ownership.

all images courtesy of Taras Yoom (Yoomoota)

Another Kingdom’s pattern reflects the rhythm of play

Artist Taras Yoom’s design reflects the structure of the game itself. The backgammon board serves as the focal point, with its inner pattern expressing the rhythm of play, while markings on the lid allude to the influence of randomness. The sculptural checkers are conceived as miniature artworks, following precise paths across the board yet subject to disruption with every roll of the dice.

A custom metal stand elevates the work into an independent interior object, balancing its functional role with its role as a collectible design piece. Through this synthesis of materiality, craftsmanship, and game mechanics, Another Kingdom underscores the dualities of order and chance that define both play and lived experience. The project will be available for pre-order online and is set to premiere at PAD London from October 14th to 19th, 2025.

the first backgammon set expands the Yoomoota collectible gaming line

each of the 21 handcrafted sets combines 3D printing, molding, sculpting, and hand-finishing

sculptural checkers act as miniature artworks in motion

the board’s inner pattern expresses the rhythm of play

every roll of the dice reshapes the game, rewriting the player’s destiny

acrylic detailing adds precision and depth

backgammon is reimagined as a sculptural object

production combines 3D printing, molding, and sculpting

a custom metal stand elevates the work into an independent interior object

project info:

name: Another Kingdom

designer: Taras Yoom (Yoomoota) | @yoomoota

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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Penique Productions takes over Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building with the inflatable and translucent installation, MATRIA. The monochromatic pink artwork forms part of the 2025 arts festival Now or Never, which runs between August 21st and 31st. It reimagines the 19th-century building as a living, breathing organism, transforming it into a warm, womb-like environment filled with sounds. The site-specific intervention uses gossamer, floaty balloons that crawl and cling onto the contours of the space, cloaking around it like an ephemeral blanket.

For MATRIA, the Barcelona-based collective draws on the idea of refuge, memory, and care. In fact, the name itself stems from ‘mother’ and ‘motherland.’ These themes run through the artwork inside Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building, as the installation recalls the state and sensation of being inside a mother’s womb. The plastic material gently sways as the wind blows, and the visitors pad around through the intervention with the background music, humming and pulsating, following their every step. Penique Productions, which has once brought their inflatable installation inside the semi-open atrium of Llanterna de L’Auditori in Barcelona, co-created the pink and translucent MATRIA in partnership with Museums Victoria. It is set to remain on-site until August 31st, 2025.

all images courtesy of Penique Productions

Pink Installation in Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building

MATRIA uses one inflatable membrane that covers the interior of Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building. It measures approximately 150 meters long and 50 meters wide to match the architecture’s dimensions, and the public installation by the collective Penique Productions reaches 60 meters high at the dome peak. 

The inflatable system operates through continuous air pressure, all the while keeping the air circulation systems running throughout operating hours to keep the membrane inflated. The site-specific intervention also uses pink translucent plastic material, with sections connecting through heat-welded seams to create the complete structure. 

MATRIA uses one inflatable membrane that covers the interior of Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building

Performances inside Matria during now or never arts festival

The plastic material permits light transmission while providing color filtration. In this case, the pink shade distributes evenly throughout the material, retaining the membrane’s minimal weight to reduce structural load on the building. MATRIA also serves as a performance stage throughout the run of the Now or Never arts festival until August 31st, 2025. Inside the installation. rRoxymore from Berlin performs electronic music from her release Juggling Dualities, which includes synthesizer work and sound design elements.

Alex Zhang Hungtai plays the saxophone, synthesis, and percussion, with improvisation techniques that respond to the acoustic properties of the inflated space. Amber McCartney, a dancer and choreographer from Melbourne, is set to perform leech 2 inside MATRIA, which includes prosthetics, masks, and special effects. She’s presenting alongside Shapednoise, also known as Nino Pedone, a producer and sound designer from Sicily. Then, there’s Shapednoise, who creates electronic music and sound design during Amber McCartney’s performance. Penique Productions’s MATRIA inside Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building forms part of the 2025 arts festival, Now or Never.

the material measures approximately 150 meters long and 50 meters wide to match the space’s dimensions

the public installation by the collective Penique Productions reaches 60 meters high at the dome peak

the inflatable system operates through continuous air pressure

the site-specific intervention also uses pink translucent plastic material with multiple connected sections

the plastic material permits light transmission while providing color filtration

the pink shade distributes evenly throughout the material

MATRIA also serves as a performance stage throughout the run of the Now or Never arts festival

the public art remains on-site until August 31st, 2025

project info:

name: MATRIA

collective: Penique Productions | @peniqueproductions

festival: Now or Never | @nowornever.melb

location: Royal Exhibition Building

address: 9 Nicholson St, Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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British designer Max Lamb works with creative hub Potato Head along with Balinese craftspeople to create the Wasted collection entirely from recycled materials like plastic, glass, and bamboo. Conceived as part of Potato Head’s broader commitment to sustainability, the project transforms discarded matter into durable furniture and homeware, demonstrating that waste can serve as a refined starting point for design.

Launched within Potato Head’s Desa in Seminyak, Bali, Wasted extends the company’s mission to reach 97.5% zero waste to landfill. The pieces are shaped through a closed-loop process, ensuring that each object is at once functional and embedded with the story of its materials and the people who made it.

Plastic Family | images © Adrian Morris

potato head supports local craft with a global vision

Max Lamb approached the Wasted commission with the intention of sourcing entirely within a fifty-mile radius of the Potato Head village, integrating traditional techniques and regional resources into the collection. Visits to small workshops and craft studios across the island informed the designs, from bamboo lounge chairs to ceramic teapots. This immersion shaped a body of work that respects Balinese craft heritage and meets the needs of the modern hospitality space.

The Wasted collection includes eight discreet families: 

Plastic Family, composed of 100% recycled HDPE oil and juice jugs.

Compost Dye Family, composed of 100% torn and worn bed linens from the Potato Head Studio and Suites.

Rag Rug, also composed of 100% used linen sheets.

Broken Glass Family, composed of 100% recycled glass, including construction & industrial glass waste and used bottles from the Potato Head restaurant.

Cooking Oil Family, which includes beeswax candles composed of recycled glass and scents developed by Rumah Atsiri, based on Potato Head kitchen waste.

Broken Ceramic Family, composed of 100% local clay with custom glazing developed from recycled crushed glass.

Styroshell Family is composed of recycled styrofoam, shredded oyster shell from the Potato Head restaurant, recycled residue powder sourced from a local waste incinerator, shredded HDPE from guests’ single use plastic bottle caps, and acrylic coloring.

Bali Bamboo Family is composed of 100% organic treated bamboo with synthetic rattan lashing for flexibility and durability.

All materials are derived directly from Indonesian waste streams. The first iteration of the Study Chair (Plastic Family), was created with materials sourced Smile Plastic — a brand from the UK that recycles British post-industrial plastic waste from the cosmetic and food industries. In this final collection, the Study Chair is produced entirely from local waste.

Styroshell Family

max lamb leads the ‘wasted’ collection’s desgin

The Wasted collection embraces variation, with each piece adapting to the waste resources available at the moment of production. No two items are identical, as colors, textures, and forms respond to the nature of the salvaged materials. Local artisans cut, assemble, and finish each product by hand, creating work that balances precision with the inherent irregularities of manual craftsmanship.

For Max Lamb, designing with waste required not only practical adjustments but also a broader responsibility to justify every object’s existence. By framing waste as a valuable and finite resource, he emphasizes longevity, durability, and the importance of products that hold emotional as well as functional value.

Potato Head’s goal for Wasted extends beyond its own operations. The brand aims to build a global network of partners who can adapt the collection’s designs to their own local waste streams. This approach ensures that the principles of circularity are not bound to a single geography but can be scaled through regional adaptation.

Bali Bamboo Family + Compost Dye Family

Broken Glass Family

Rag Rug, process

Styroshell Family, process

Styroshell Family, process

Broken Glass Family, process

Compost Dye Family, process

project info:

name: Wasted

designer: Max Lamb 

commissioner: Potato Head 

photography: © Adrian Morris | @adrian__morris

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At the heart of Antananarivo’s Cité des Cultures, the social design laboratory Ndao Hanavao, founded by Rubis Mécénat in 2018, unveils its collective exhibition Matières des Possibles (Matter(s) of Possibility) from 28 June to 9 August 2025 as part of the third edition of Tana Design Week. Curated by Benjamin Loyauté, this manifesto-like showcase highlights how waste materials, especially plastic and plant refuse, are transformed into sustainable, functional, and poetic designs. Positioned within the 2025 event theme, ‘The Genius of Plants,’ the exhibition invites audiences to reconsider the potential of discarded matter in shaping a new design ethic rooted in local context and global relevance.

Workshop on invasive algae recycling with Samuel Tomatis © Nemo Neo, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

the social design laboratory of Transformation

At the core of Matières des Possibles lies the vision of Rubis Mécénat, the cultural and social endowment fund of the French energy group Rubis, established in 2011. Based in France, the fund supports emerging artistic practices and fosters creative education in under-resourced communities through long-term cultural projects.

In 2018, Rubis Mécénat founded Ndao Hanavao – which means ‘Let’s Innovate’ in Malagasy – as a training and innovation laboratory for social design in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The initiative brings together local artisans, young trainees, and international designers to collaboratively develop sustainable design solutions that directly address Madagascar’s environmental and socio-economic challenges. With a focus on hands-on experimentation and knowledge transmission, Ndao Hanavao operates as both a creative incubator and a platform for social impact, embodying Rubis Mécénat’s mission to empower through art and design.

Workshop on invasive algae recycling with Samuel Tomatis © Henitsoa Rafalia, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

Rubis Mécénat responds to socio-environmental challenges

Central to the exhibition is the work developed inside the Ndao Hanavao laboratory, a space where design, craftsmanship, and sustainability converge. The lab empowers Malagasy youth through hands-on projects and collaborative innovation. Here, discarded plastic and invasive aquatic plants are not problems—they’re raw materials. Projects on display include those by acclaimed designers like Samuel Tomatis, Alexandre Echasseriau, Laureline Galliot, and local artist Richianny Ratovo, whose works blend technical experimentation with cultural storytelling.

Matières des Possibles functions both as exhibition and declaration. It redefines recycling as a creative act of resistance, invention, and care. Visitors will encounter not only finished design objects but also evidence of the processes behind them—material studies, transformation techniques, and narrative documentation. Loyauté’s curatorial approach blends visual storytelling with research, asking us to reflect on production, resource use, and the future of design itself.

Workshop on invasive algae recycling with Samuel Tomatis © Henitsoa Rafalia, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

Rubis Mécénat demonstrates its long-term commitment to contemporary creation and youth empowerment. With initiatives in South Africa, Jamaica, and Madagascar, the fund integrates artistic practice with social impact. The Ndao Hanavao project, in particular, has led to the emergence of ventures like R’Art Plast, a youth-led eco-enterprise producing recycled materials for commercial use.

In its third edition in 2025, Tana Design Week – under the direction of designer Domi Sanji – continues to redefine Madagascar’s creative landscape. By promoting cross-disciplinary collaboration between local and international talents, the event has become a vital platform for experimental design thinking. With Matières des Possibles, Ndao Hanavao solidifies its role as a key actor in this movement, offering a grounded yet visionary example of how design can serve as both tool and testimony.

Workshop on invasive algae recycling with Samuel Tomatis © Henitsoa Rafalia, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

Tray made of recycled plastic © Nemo Neo, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

Workshop on plastic waste recycling with Alexandre Echasseriau © Henistoa Rafalia, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

Ceramics workshop with Domi Sanji © Henitsoa Rafalia, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

Workshop on invasive algae recycling with Samuel Tomatis © Mianoka Andriamandroso, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

Thermo-compressed recycled plastic tile panel developed by Alexandre Echasseriau and Quentin Huet © Henitsoa Rafalia, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

Workshop on plastic waste recycling with Alexandre Echasseriau © Henistoa Rafalia, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

Workshop on plastic waste recycling with Alexandre Echasseriau © Henistoa Rafalia, courtesy Rubis Mécénat

project info:

exhibition name: Matières des Possibles (Matter(s) of Possibility)

organization: Ndao Hanavao | @ndaohanavaoproject

creator: Rubis Mécénat | @rubismecenat

curator: Benjamin Loyauté

project manager: Domi Sanji

dates: 28 June – 9 August, 2025

event: Tana Design Week | @tanadesignweek

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