▣ TYPE: Exhibition
▨ CLIENT: Wellcome Collection

▤ KEY MATERIALS: Reed / Straw / Rush / Sedge / Hemp / Reclaimed Timber

▦ METHODOLOGY: Material Research / 1:1 Prototyping / Circular Economy

▥ COLLABORATORS: Wolfe Hall / Mollie McMillen / Mark Harrington / MER / Zelfo / Loam Project

 'Thirst: In Search of Freshwater' was a major exhibition design in partnership with Wellcome Collection and developed in collaboration with Wolfe Hall, exploring humanity’s vital connection with freshwater. The design explicitly centres innovative plant-based materials grown in wetlands, that depend on water and also foster wetland ecosystems in return. These plant-based materials absorb and store natural carbon, and are an excellent substitute to the petro-chemical based materials that dominate the construction industry.

The cultural sector produces high levels of waste as a result of its temporary, ever-changing installations. These exhibitions are produced using metal studs, plasterboard, MDF, plywood and plastics: materials that are carbon intensive to produce, include lots of glues, offgas different chemical compounds and that are difficult to reuse or recycle. Huge volumes of these short-lived materials are then sent immediately to landfill. A fundamental focus of the design proposal was the substitution of carbon intensive technical materials with regenerative resources and materials from the biosphere, as well as the reuse of materials and furniture from past exhibitions.

The thatched display to the entrance is a showcase of the many wetland plants used to produce innovative sheet materials used through the exhibition. The thatched wall includes UK-sourced plants such as reeds, rushes and grasses  bound together by master thatcher Mark Harrington and expert weaver Mollie McMillen. The temporary walls inside the gallery are lined with boards made from wetland fibres, hemp, wheat and straw. The signage in the entrance and in the gallery is stoneware made with London clay pigment collected from SW2.

Straw Mineral Board

This biobased strawboard from German manufacturer Strohplattenwerk Müritz uses mineral binders instead of toxic, synthetic adhesive used in conventional industry, enabling different plant fibres to be employed in insulation and furnishing.

Wetland and Wheat Fibreboard

Brandenburg-based Zelfo uses an innovative technology to break down plant fibres at a microscopic level, so they bind together tightly. These boards, contained of wetland plants and wheat straw respectively, are solely bound together by physical compression, free of any chemical binding agents, making it fully bioregenerative.

Hemp Bio-resin Board

Industrial hemp matures in 100 days, requires minimal water and needs no pesticides. Its high cellulose content also makes it an excellent wood alternative. UK-based Loam Project crafts hemp boards with agricultural waste sugar resin, which lighten over time like timber.

Photography by Thomas Adank, Benjamin Gilbert and Brett Fransham