Aguahoja I
by Mediated Matter group
Winner: Design project of the year + Sustainable design of the year
Aguahoja I is a digitally designed and robotically fabricated structure made using the molecular components found in tree branches, insect exoskeletons, and human bones.
The design master jury, which consisted of Philippe Starck, Nelly Ben Hayoun, Yinka Ilori, Aric Chen, Lonny van Ryswyck and Sofia Lagerkvist, selected Aguahoja I by MIT Media Lab's Mediated Matter group as the design project of the year.
Standing five meters tall, the structure's flexible bio-composite skin is composed of cellulose, chitosan and pectin, examining how even the materials that we consider waste can inform design.
The project by Neri Oxman's research and design group, which also the won the award for sustainable design, demonstrates the application of water-based robotic fabrication at a scale close to those of natural ecologies.