Responsive Fibers: Digitally Re-Formed

Description

“Responsive Fibers: Digitally Re-Formed” examines how form can emerge from the interdependence of two different fiber-based materials. The first material is a pressed fiber web made of water-resistant raw fibers; the second is a paste made of reinforced, recycled paper fibers. Using robotic extrusion, the recycled fiber paste is applied to the still wet fiber webs in predetermined patterns. As both materials dry simultaneously, tensions arise between them due to differences in water absorption and shrinkage. The extruded material stores more water and contracts more strongly, thereby pulling on and deforming the more stable pressed fiber layer. Form thus emerges from a dynamic interplay of shrinkage, resistance, and material interaction, making the internal forces acting within the fibers visible.