Jeongdae Kim
MLKL
University of the Arts Bremen
MLKL
MLKL
The area dilapidated due to logging and fire is weak to landslides temporarily. In these areas the MLKL made of eco-friendly materials in the form of a surface keep the soil like a net. Then, after a certain period of time, the raw materials naturally degenerate. And the seeds originally installed grow and the roots of the plant will eventually keep the soil.
2. The Brief: Summarize the problem you set out to solve. What was the context for the project, and what was the challenge posed to you?Last few years due to rapid climate change extreme weather phenomena frequently appeared. As a result, various natural disasters occurred, the bad prepared area have been affected. In particular, among the preparations for landslide the best way is to plant trees, but it is carried out intermittently, or cumbersome and can not be sustained. In addition, the area dilapidated due to logging and fire is concerned of secondary damage but it takes a long time for trees to grow naturally and to have large roots.
3. The Intent: What point of view did you bring to the project, and were there additional criteria that you added to the brief?On eroded slopes and embankments plant containers are placed, where the seeds of plants with quick spreading roots such as bamboo, oak or paulownia are planted in. After a short time the roots take over the stabilization of soil and the planting container dissolve. The planting container itself are pressed from local waste materials such as straw, manure, hair and foliage with biological binders in molds and dried like bricks. The noticeable point of MLKL is the form: it allows for a slight slope and low erosion the formation of loose network structures and on steep climbs through the denser laying of positive and negative form a correspondingly greater networking. The form of a flat sheet with modular connections including simple caps is immediately understandable and universally applicable. At the end the object dissolves in its use.
4. The Process: Describe the rigor that informed your project. (Research, ethnography, subject matter experts, materials exploration, technology, iteration, testing, etc., as applicable.) What stakeholder interests did you consider? (Audience, business, organization, labor, manufacturing, distribution, etc., as applicable)Through numerous sketches various types of structures were made. The Prototypes were made from many materials such as felt, rice, concrete, leaves and so on. And it was tried that MLKL structure has a stiffness and flexibility at the same time when it is made using eco friendly materials. With a goal of 100% eco friendly creating I visited the landslide experts and the producer and got the expertise. In addition, in order to select appropriate plants I looked at many professional publications.
5. The Value: How does your project earn its keep in the world? What is its value? What is its impact? (Social, educational, economic, paradigm-shifting, sustainable, environmental, cultural, gladdening, etc.)According weather experts, due to rapid climate change extreme weather phenomena will appear more often and we will need plans and measures for preventing disasters in the near future. Among the various disasters landslide after heavy rain through hurricane, tornado or typhoon is one of many problems. The structure of MLKL made repeatedly connected from one part improves the productivity and stiffness. The two plane structures are weaved each other and raise the organic between the soil and MLKL also make space for roots easy to stretch.?The scenario, making simple form and using regionally different materials reduces the amount of waste in the region, as well as it facilitates the quick supply because the local people could make it easily.
6. Did the context of your project change throughout its development? If so, how did your understanding of the project change?While the general story had always been the same, some parts, for example, the material, physical form and how to build and so on, had to change in order to be more adaptable and acceptable to the various situations.
Sadly, we seem to now be in a new era where natural calamities are more frequent, more severe, and more diverse. One smart design response is to be resilient—design to anticipate and prevent or lessen the severity of calamities. This team from The University of the Arts Bremen did precisely this by creating a new system that will help protect the land from catastrophic erosion following logging and/or fires.
They used eco-friendly materials in the form of a surface that can keep the soil in place like a net. By designing the entire system to naturally degenerate after a certain period of time, they create a solution to a gnarly problem that is both beautiful and practical. They even designed the materials with integral seeds that will grow, so the roots of the plant will eventually keep the soil instead of the structure installed temporarily.
We liked nearly everything about this solution save for its mystifying name. It can fix land much the same way that humans have benefited for many years from self-dissolving sutures used in some medical procedures. And beyond being merely utilitarian, this work is beautiful enough to transcend its functional purpose. We expect this theme—design for resilience—to be crucial on our overheated planet.