smarin studio
smarin studio
Super Nature: Hemp - Clay - Lime
Installation, 2021
Public realm curation and commissioning for King’s Cross, ‘Hemp - Clay - Lime: Urban Seating’ by smarin studio is a presentation of prototypes for a future large-scale public realm seating scheme with carbon-negative potential.
Hexagon-shaped, the modular seating design mimics the efficiencies found everywhere in nature - honeycomb, fruit skins, dragonfly eyes - to make strong, solid structures that provide infinite options for placement. Materially, the core is made from hemp shiv, a waste product from the hemp fibre industry, and hydrated lime. The outer layer is a fibrous lime plaster, coloured with clay. These are not new techniques, the Ancient Romans used hydraulic lime and added natural components to ensure the hardening of plaster in wet or cold conditions, many examples of which still exist today.
Hemp core, lime render and clay finish
Both hemp and lime are incredibly hard-wearing, resilient, and naturally derived materials; they are also considered to be carbon-negative, as they capture more carbon than it takes to produce and transport them. These prototypes were presented as part of the estate's London Design Festival offering, installed in high-traffic areas and making use of temporary enlivenment budgets to test the viability of future larger scale, low carbon, public realm seating projects for Related Argent.
The project was co-curated with Rebecca Heald.
Company
smarin studio and Rebecca Heald
Place
King’s Cross Design District for King’s Cross Central Partnership Ltd & Related Argent.
Photography
John Sturrock
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