The swelling of MDF

Description

The project investigates MDF as a material whose hygroscopic swelling behavior is deliberately used as a design tool. While the increase in volume when exposed to moisture is industrially considered a deficit, a controlled change in dimensional stability opens up new formal potential. Based on systematic experiments, a process was developed that controls deformation via precise parameters such as water temperature, exposure time, and local moisture absorption. “Semi-tools” such as aluminum profiles and cable ties function as a restrictive guide that directs the swelling material into shape. The design objects – bench, stool, and chair – make the interaction of material, time, and water visible. Their reduced formal language enters into a dialogue with the organic deformations. Design here does not arise through complete mastery of the material, but by setting conditions under which MDF itself takes shape.