Edited with text by Paola Antonelli. Text by Anna Burckhardt, Hadas A. Steiner.
The first survey on the interdisciplinary biodesign genius of Neri Oxman, pioneer of "material ecology
Throughout her 20-year career, Neri Oxman has invented not only new ideas for materials, buildings and construction processes, but also new frameworks for interdisciplinary—and interspecies—collaborations. She coined the term “material ecology” to describe her process of producing techniques and objects informed by the structural, systemic and aesthetic wisdom of nature, from the shells of crustaceans to the flow of human breathing.
Groundbreaking for its solid technological and scientific basis, its rigorous and daring experimentation, its visionary philosophy and its unquestionable attention to formal elegance, Oxman’s work operates at the intersection of biology, engineering, architecture and artistic design, material science and computer science.
This book—designed by Irma Boom and published to accompany a midcareer retrospective of Oxman’s work—highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the designer’s practice. It demonstrates how Oxman’s contributions allow us to question and redefine the idea of modernism—a concept in constant evolution—and of organic design. Some of the projects featured in the book and exhibition include the Silk Pavilion, which harnesses silkworms' ability to generate a 3-D cocoon out of a single thread silk in order to create architectural constructions; Aguahoja, a water-based fabrication platform that prints structures made out of different biopolymers; and Glass, an additive manufacturing technology for 3-D printing optically transparent glass structures at architectural dimensions.
Israeli American architect, designer and inventor Neri Oxman (born 1976) is professor of media arts and sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, among others.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Neri Oxman: Material Ecology.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Architect Magazine
Wanda Lau
In her work, creativity and imagination seem to know no bounds, and disciplines have no divisions.
WWD
Kristin Tauer
Oxman [...] works at the intersection of technology, biology and culture. At MoMA, the art perspective is at the forefront, but through projected process videos and displays of completed works and experiments Oxman showcases how the discipline of material ecology can be practically applied in different contexts.
Architectural Digest
Nicole Anderson
a futuristic cabinet of curiosities
Design Boom
Kat Barandy
through the ‘material ecology’ methodology, oxman investigates natural processes, which constitute a new philosophy of designing and making — and even unmaking — the world around us
Core 77
Alexandra Alexa
Oxman's work is often heady but seeing the evolution of her philosophy brings her interdisciplinary, interspecies approach into greater focus.
Architect's Newspaper
Kate Mazade
A pioneer in materials, objects, and construction...Neri Oxman's work on display explores the intersection of the science of materials, digital fabrication, and organic design in pieces both extruded from and infused with the wisdom of nature.
Financial Times
Carolina Roux
The architect of tomorrow
Dezeen
Bridget Cogley
marks the first time Oxman's work is shown as a collection.
Architectural Record
Editors
Neri Oxman at MoMA illuminates and inspires.
Interview
Maria Veitch
The exhibition showcases the materials (chitin from the shells of crustaceans, melanin from horse hair) and processes (3D printing, silkworm weaving) that could one day be incorporated in the practices of architects and designers. In keeping with her devotion to natural processes, no object in the exhibition is constructed from parts—each is grown as a single object.
Art and Object
Paul Laster
A technological mashup of design, manufacturing, and biology.
Architectural Record
Alex Klimoski
Explores the nexus of design and biology...
Flaunt
Jake Carver
Material Ecology itself is her brainchild, a new design approach devoted to reaching “a ‘material singularity’ where there will be little to no distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘artificial.’”
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FORMAT: Pbk, 9.5 x 12 in. / 192 pgs / 220 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $50.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $69.95 ISBN: 9781633451056 PUBLISHER: The Museum of Modern Art, New York AVAILABLE: 4/21/2020 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Edited with text by Paola Antonelli. Text by Anna Burckhardt, Hadas A. Steiner.
The first survey on the interdisciplinary biodesign genius of Neri Oxman, pioneer of "material ecology
Throughout her 20-year career, Neri Oxman has invented not only new ideas for materials, buildings and construction processes, but also new frameworks for interdisciplinary—and interspecies—collaborations. She coined the term “material ecology” to describe her process of producing techniques and objects informed by the structural, systemic and aesthetic wisdom of nature, from the shells of crustaceans to the flow of human breathing.
Groundbreaking for its solid technological and scientific basis, its rigorous and daring experimentation, its visionary philosophy and its unquestionable attention to formal elegance, Oxman’s work operates at the intersection of biology, engineering, architecture and artistic design, material science and computer science.
This book—designed by Irma Boom and published to accompany a midcareer retrospective of Oxman’s work—highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the designer’s practice. It demonstrates how Oxman’s contributions allow us to question and redefine the idea of modernism—a concept in constant evolution—and of organic design. Some of the projects featured in the book and exhibition include the Silk Pavilion, which harnesses silkworms' ability to generate a 3-D cocoon out of a single thread silk in order to create architectural constructions; Aguahoja, a water-based fabrication platform that prints structures made out of different biopolymers; and Glass, an additive manufacturing technology for 3-D printing optically transparent glass structures at architectural dimensions.
Israeli American architect, designer and inventor Neri Oxman (born 1976) is professor of media arts and sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, among others.
