Flora, Perma and Glaes

By injecting a special set of bacteria able to survive without oxygen and at very high temperatures, the flowers infused in the resin were to be consumed from within, decomposing and disappearing over time, leaving voids gradually filled with natural light. Due to the challenges in executing this conceptual project, a more stable version of the material was developed. An incident with tinting the resin with pigment altered the visual traits of the material, offering a new interpretation of the botanic matter. Thus, Flora Temporaria, with flowers submerged beneath the surface of the resin, was created, while Flora Perma emerged as a result of another series of experiments with cutting the material lengthwise.

A balancing act between creativity and destruction, preservation and decay, the natural and the artificial.

Following the path of natural ornamentation, a new visual landscape was revealed. Floral cross-sections offered a new architectural quality to the material, with the freshly revealed floral anatomy often mistaken for natural stone, its veins, cavities and fossils. Finally, Glaes, the most demanding of the three, made its way through violent chemical reactions between the organic and the synthetic, through cracks and explosion.

The studio’s most recent investigations with the materials embrace a more three-dimensional approach, through implementation in architectural environments to responding to local ecosystems, e.g. through the use of vernacular flora. Consequently, each piece made with Flora, Perma and Glaes acts as a laboratory in itself – a unique environment guided by the principles of poetry and beauty on the one hand, and risk and experimentation on the other.

As the material landscape surrounding us evolves to embrace new technical advancements and respond to environmental challenges and aesthetic avenues, so do our custom-developed flower-infused materials. Fueled by our incessant quest for material significance and sensory exploration, their story continues to unfold.