building with non building materials

Format

one week workshop

Target audience

150 architecture students and 7 professors of South East University Nanjing

Location

Nanjing (CN), South East University Nanjing

Material Sense travelled to the Chinese city of Nanjing this summer. Company execs Simone de Waart and Patrick Vissers gave a workshop to build with Non building materials. "We got great response, the students went to work with great enthusiasm with the unconventional building materials," says De Waart. The methods used to create the works from sensorial properties and material characteristics, is developed by Material Sense. Students at Southeast University created installations with ordinary materials, like bamboo clothes pegs, plastic straws or paper cups. A very ethereal installation was made by threaded together beads of wax, a material you would normally use for candles. The items were not only visually interesting, they also had playful, and sustainable components and showed creative thinking as well as high level craftsmanship. "What we noticed was the ease with which students cooperated, adopted the workstyle quickly" the designers recall. It was a great experience and exchange with both the professors and students. Material Sense is looking forward to future cooperation with this university.