Arthur Mamou-Mani at COS, London, U.K.
Active for several years in the support of contemporary art and design, Cos— founded in London in 2007—has been present at the Salone del Mobile since 2012. For its eighth participation last April, it invited the architect Arthur MamouMani (London-based specialist in digital design and manufacturing) to carry out a carte blanche creation using recyclable plastic. The installation will travel, notably to the Cos boutique in Coal Drop Yards, London. Meeting between Arthur Mamou-Mani and Karin Gustafsson, Artistic Director of Cos.
L’OFFICIEL ART: How did your project of an architectural structure made of entirely recyclable plastic (composed of corn starch, vinegar and glycerin) emerge? How would you describe it?
ARTHUR MAMOU-MANI: This plastic has the same properties as conventional plastic, but is much less toxic and above all generates 68% less carbon footprint. While we were in the desert of Black Rock, Nevada, during the Burning Man festival, we received a call from Cos. At the time we were thinking deeply about the “temple”, a structure with a strong emotional charge, one of whose characteristics is to leave no trace, in respect of the environment. In this context, and with the images of the Palace Isimbardi of Milan sent by Cos, our interest started to be piqued. Especially since Cos told us about the values of the company, mentioning in particularly the notion of timelessness. My goal is for the work to teach other concepts, or to raise issues that seem to me to be paramount, namely the future of the planet, how to implement sustainable development, or how architects can use more responsible materials.
What interactions were generated with the teams from Wasp, a group of Italian scientists who were the creators of the 3D printer used in the fabrication of bio-bricks?
Wasp is the key that allowed the implementation of this project. When I started in architecture, 3D printers were small and only allowed one to make small objects. I was convinced that the technology would evolve to be useful in the field of architecture, but it was not a clear link at the time. With one of my friends, we thus created software that links our digital model to the 3D printer, without going through an intermediary. When it became open source, Wasp downloaded it, experimented and contacted us to share the results. Our exchanges continued, they sent me the material, we started to experiment, and we created the network that allowed us to create what is today the largest 3D printed structure in the world, fully designed in bio plastic. The structure is composed of 700 bio-bricks, the fabrication of a brick requires four and a half hours.
How does this material evolve, both aesthetically and in terms of solidity?
The advantage of this material is that it does not biodegrade spontaneously: to degrade, it must be put into compost conditions, namely with bacteria, 100% humidity, and a temperature of 60 °C. In addition, unlike wood, plastic does not rot. Aging will rather have an effect on its color, that yellows with ultraviolet rays. But it is possible to add natural additives to prevent this.
In the long term, is such a project—with the applications that it suggests in a society more attentive to notions of ecology— possible in fields such as the creation of low-cost housing for displaced communities? Like Yona Friedman’s projects?
Absolutely. By the way, our Westminster students are working on the subject of displaced communities using this technology. How can we achieve a structure that can be assembled and disassembled fairly quickly, and that uses materials inscribed in a global cycle, that is to say a material culture (corn). We are studying these ecosystems in the context of a local use, in order to avoid the moving of materials that must be procured. The logical continuity of this process would be to create communities.
The installation is presented in the Cos boutique in Coal Drop Yards, in London. How does this place (in terms of dimensions and layout) situate the piece in space?
KARIN GUSTAFSSON: The shop is very large, and responds to a new concept where we offer works of art and design for sale. We kept the structural principle of what was achieved for the Salone, but also the whole of the thinking that underlies this work, the use that Arthur Mamou-Mani makes of technology and eco-responsible materials. What is interesting with this type of installation is that it is possible to have eco-bricks in the shop so as to situate them in dialogue with their environment. This architecture is flexible, it allows one to think of new solutions for the future, which for us is an enormously attractive idea. This ability to construct, deconstruct and reconstruct in a different way is very interesting.
Through your collaborations and projects with the Serpentine Galleries, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Frieze Art Fairs in London and New York and the Design Miami fair, you continue to support the art world. In retrospect, what has this commitment over the years brought to Cos in terms of your image and sources of inspiration…
This inclination has grown on us within the company, and we appreciate the mixture of disciplines. We firmly believe in the good intelligence generated by collaborations, each one of which has contributed its part to the whole endeavor. Our support is based on the idea of a creator (artist, designer, architect) who seems relevant and visionary. Our ambition is then to share it with the public and, in a certain way, to make them feel implicated by the subject.
“Conifera: COS X Arthur Mamou-Mani”: Cos, Coal Drop Yards, London.