jonas edvard and nikolaj steenfatt create products using seaweed

jonas edvard and nikolaj steenfatt create products using seaweed
images © of LYNfabrikken & emil thomsen schmidt

terroir is used to describe the cultural and geological relationship between products and their origin, emphasizing the heritage and knowledge linked to a raw material. danish designers jonas edvard and nikolaj steenfatt took the idea, and transformed it into the ‘terroir project’. a work which combines seaweed and recycled paper into a tough, durable, and sustainable material. with the seaweed, edvard and steenfatt created seventeen lamps and a chair–using archetypal designs–to show visitors the possibility of the practicality of alternative elements. 

seaweed on denmark’s coastline

the duo harvested seaweed directly from the beaches of denmark, which stretches over 8000 kilometers along the countries coastline. after seaweed was gathered it was dried, ground into powder, and cooked into a glue-like substance that utilizes the viscous and adhesive effect of alginate–the natural polymer of brown algae. colors of the material are determined by different species of seaweed and range from dark brown to light green. combined with recycled paper, the seaweed is a functional, natural, and renewable resource that boasts a green loop of production and disposal. the ‘terroir project’ is exhibited at BOX, curated by lasse schuleit of LYNfabrikken. 

boiling the element to make adhesive 

building layers to compose the chair 

detail of lamp and chair

raw material

seaweed species used

gathering the material by boat

drying in the sun 

detail of materials 

different colors are based on source and species

lamps 

‘terroir project’ box installation street view

designboom has received this project through its ‘DIY submissions’ feature, which welcomes readers to submit their own work for publication. see more designboom readers submissions here.