Presented at Dutch Design Week 2025 and on view until Spring 2026 within Basic Instinct: Beauty and Symbiosis as a Necessity at Kazerne, Eindhoven.
Materia Futura is born out of an urgent need to challenge the status quo of sustainable material aesthetics. While the field of biodesign continues to innovate in material alternatives, it often overlooks the emotional and visual dimensions that foster a natural human connection.
What if sustainability didn’t have to look raw, neutral, or earthy - but could shimmer, glow, and captivate the senses?
To push the boundaries of how biomaterials can look, feel, and be experienced, we adopt a bold experimental approach, exploring an expanded palette of forms, finishes, and textures. From iridescent surfaces to moiré effects and digital material translations in augmented reality, Materia Futura redefines the visual and sensory language of sustainable design.
By merging biobased chemistry, traditional craftsmanship, and immersive storytelling, the project envisions a new material ecosystem - one that bridges the biological and the digital, the tangible and the virtual, and invites viewers into a multisensory dialogue between nature and technology.
Led by designers Alessia Pasquini and Beatriz Sandini, Materia Futura is grounded in a shared background in fashion, material innovation, and textile research. Their collaborative practice intertwines hands-on material development, digital experimentation, and sensory storytelling, forming the foundation for a bold, ever-evolving design inquiry.
At the heart of Materia Futura is a hands-on, experimental approach to materials, driven by curiosity, aesthetics, and a desire to rethink what sustainable design can look like.
Using circular and regenerative principles, we work with natural biopolymers like agar, alginate, and gelatin, chosen for their compostability, non-toxicity, and abundant availability.
Colors come from food dyes made with natural colorants, and metallic shimmers are achieved with non-toxic mineral pigments.
Our work celebrates color and light, creating materials that shimmer, glow, and engage the senses. Each experiment is a study in visual pleasure, designed to spark curiosity.
Through repeated testing, we develop holographic finishes, where optical diffraction produces dynamic effects without synthetic additives.
We laser-cut biobased sequins in various colors and transparencies, and engrave moiré patterns by layering precise lines and curves to create shifting, illusion-like effects.
During our initial experimentation research phase, the exploration of sustainable materials extends beyond the physical realm into the world of extended reality. By translating biomaterial samples into digital formats, the project investigates how tactility, color, and surface qualities can be preserved and reimagined within virtual environments.
In collaboration with Paulina Martina, from Hearth Design Lab, we developed immersive, non-linear experiences that allow users to engage with the materials in new ways.
These experiments challenge the notion that biomaterials are confined to craft-based applications. Instead, they position them within a broader context of digital innovation, speculative design, and sensory storytelling. In this way, the digital layer functions not only as a tool for documentation and visualization, but also as a creative medium, expanding how sustainable materials can be designed, experienced, and shared.
A look back at our first public showcase at Dutch Design Week 2025, hosted by Kazerne in Eindhoven.
The installation remains on display until Spring 2026 as part of the exhibition Basic Instinct: Beauty and Symbiosis as a Necessity - an invitation to witness how sustainable materials can shimmer, breathe, and inspire.
Materia Futura is a living, evolving project - a continuous dialogue between people, materials, and technologies.
As our research unfolds, we continue to experiment, refine, and expand the conversation on how sustainable materials can look, feel, and be experienced.
In the coming months, we’ll be developing new material iterations, prototypes, and immersive experiences that further bridge the biological and the digital.
Follow our journey, stay updated on future exhibitions and research, or reach out if you’d like to collaborate, contribute, or exchange knowledge.
Let’s imagine the future of materials — together
