Winners of the Acción Cultural Española x Boisbuchet Residency 2023
Over the past weekend, the jury of Boisbuchet’s Residency Award made up its mind and selected two different projects as this year’s competition’s winners. Congratulations to them! and thank you all for your submissions. Now is the time to develop your projects at Boisbuchet.
“Sustainability In Construction Techniques With Soil” by Laia Amigó
As we know, the ceramic processes of today can be unsustainable due to their energy consumption during firing and the emissions they produce. Taking a look at the Spanish ceramic industry, we can see that this issue requires urgent solutions. The invasion of Ukraine has caused gas prices to skyrocket, resulting in devastating effects on factories that depend on it for production and leading to the closure of furnaces or even entire companies. To address these concerns, Laia Amigó wants to take a step back and research traditional earth-based construction processes, adapting them for new contexts, like furniture design.
The purpose of this research project proposal is to investigate and implement sustainable soil-centred construction techniques. The primary objective is to reduce the environmental impact of her creative process while integrating new techniques. Additionally, the knowledge gained during the residency could facilitate discussions with Spanish ceramic industries that are grappling with an energy crisis, by providing them with ideas for ecological transformation.
“Exploring The Possibilities of Biochar” by Carla Alcalà Badias
Biochar is a charcoal-like ancient material that is receiving increasing attention due to its beneficial uses for climate change mitigation. It is made by heating biomass in a very low oxygen environment (pyrolysis), which results in a very porous product able to soak up water, and nutrients, and invite microbial colonization. It was first found in terra pretta, a highly fertile anthropogenic soil used over 2000 years ago in the Amazon basin. Today, amongst its most popular uses are the improvement of soil fertility, long-term carbon sequestration, the elimination of viruses and bacteria in water and even in the generation of bioelectricity.
Carla’s work will consist of designing and building a series of functional objects which explore the possibilities of biochar as a design material, and at the same time, raise conversations on its use as a carbon-negative technology. The main aim here will be the production of 3 functional pieces, relating to key elements (Air, Soil, Water and Electricity) with a focus on exploring and experimenting with the material properties of biochar.
With the support of:
