Future Materials

The Future Materials course is a cross-faculty initiative led by an interdisciplinary team from Architecture, Industrial Design, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Aerospace Engineering. The course takes a hands-on approach in which designers, engineers and materials scientists collaborate in the conception, design and application of novel materials that support a radical transformation to a more sustainable and resource-efficient built environment. The teaching and mentoring team includes external international design and engineering offices including Arup, Octatube, NPSP, ABT, Foster & Partners, MVRDV and Eckersley O'Callaghan.

In the first phase, students from a conceptual design background will develop an understanding of the basics of material science and structural design, whilst students from a technical background will be exposed to conceptual design studios. Building on this, students will work in interdisciplinary teams and apply systems-thinking to define a design brief which is informed by key performance and sustainability criteria. Through the use of systematic design methods, digital tools and physical prototypes, students will design and develop the next generation of material-(cycle)s through a process of: conception – elaboration – making – testing, to address a performance-based design brief. The environmental, financial and social sustainability of the proposed design solution will be evaluated throughout the design process.