AWARD YEAR
2021
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure, Sustainable Cities & Communities, Responsible Consumption & Production
KEYWORDS
Biology, technology, sustainability, biomaterials
COUNTRY
United States of America
DESIGNED BY
The Mediated Matter Group & MIT
WEBSITE
https://mediatedmattergroup.com/silk-pavilion-2
Silk Pavillion II
Sustainable silk harvesting
How can humankind and members of other species such as silkworms collaborate in the construction of objects, products, and buildings?
As the traditional process of harvesting silk from the cocoon kills the larva, sericulture has been criticized by animal welfare and rights activists. In the textile and silk industry today, silkworms are exterminated while in their cocoon, dissolving the adhesive that glues one strand of silk to the layers below. This process allows a single silk strand to be unrolled from the cocoon, but disrupts the life cycle and development of the organism. As the Silk Pavilion demonstrates, structures can influence silkworms to spin in sheets instead of cocoons. This project illustrates how this small yet unique insect can act not only as construction worker but also as designer, in collaboration with a man-made structure that guides its movement and deposition of silk to create an enhanced form.