Xylinum “Manufactured by Microorganism”

Xylinum is a research project that poses the question: what could future materials and production processes be like? The title Xylinum is the name of a bacterium which produces an artificial cellulose material. This bacterium counsumes sugar and builds a cellulose fibre structure around any given form. Since the process takes place in a nutrition liquid, the wet material can be dryed later on, resulting in a durable and 100 % biodegradable material. The properties of this material can be adjusted by changing the genetic code of the organisms. In collaboration with the company Jenpolymers, a technique was developed to create a “skin” around a wooden stool frame, forming the coating and seating surface.

Jannis Huelsen studied product design at the University of Art in Braunschweig (Germany) and the free University of Bolzano (Italy) and gained work experience in the Netherlands, before he moved to Berlin. He currently works in the fields of material research, conception and interaction-based design and interior projects.



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