kombucha ARP

After the success of the reGrow project, we have started with thr34d5 a research program that features workshops and artistic & industrial partnerships so to valorise kombucha as a raw material for its social value by fostering the democratization its engineering.

The projects in this program are centered on design theory and praxis, philosophy, arts, crafts, and engineering. The outcomes are typically scientific articles, open knowledge and design and artistic exhibitions, but the project will be monitored as of its impact in knowledge transfer and job creation on the territories we are working on.

One of the most relevant concepts to us at thr34d5 with this novel material that is kombucha pellicles, is the art of kintsugi, an ancient japanese craft of repairing broken ceramics with gold so as to highlight its ephemeral qualities. Our previous experimentations and researches with kombucha and its craft had us think that it is a material – and a microbial community – that has such a tremendous potential for practicing and reflection on the care of objects, but also in the influence it can have on our ways to become socially, as the kombucha cultivation culture heavily relies on open source and peer support. Two iterations of the Kombucha Tsugi concept have been developed, with a vest and a bag series.

kARP: kombucha Applied Research Program.

Link to the thr34d5 project.

Team

A. Rigobello: Program Director, Creative Director, Design Researcher.
V. Roussel: Technical Director, Artist, Design Researcher.
T. Leeson: Design Researcher.
N. Gaudillière-Jami: Design Researcher.
D. Laurent: Design Researcher.
N. Barateig: Design Researcher.

Kombucha Tsugi vest model: Masa Burgic.
Kombucha Tsugi bag designs: Waèl el Allouche & Karen Huang.
Kombucha Tsugi bag pictures: Pim Rinkes.
Edited Kombucha Tsugi bag pictures: thr34d5.
Other pictures credits: A. Rigobello.

Period: 2019 - on-going.