Materials Matter30.01.26
From eco-responsible to nature-mirroring materials
TODAY’S MOST INNOVATIVE MATERIALS DON’T JUST COME FROM NATURE: THEY AIM TO IMITATE IT
They sold out from the very first day of their début, last December 21, and it was practically impossible for anyone, even those watching from the other side of an Instagram feed, not to stare at them in awe, a slice of Christmas cake in hand. I’m talking about the giant boulders that appeared in Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, protagonists of the installation “IWAGUMI – Dismisura”, created by the Australian studio Eness: up to 14 metres tall and reproduced in 3D using a high-tech inflatable fabric, based on ultra-high-definition images of granite surfaces.
Illuminated in colours inspired by the Dolomites and accompanied by a soundscape blending natural sounds and musical compositions, these megaliths—already exhibited in Singapore, Melbourne and Saudi Arabia—combine art, technology and light in an immersive experience whose goal is far more ambitious than triggering mere astonishment.
The installation’s invitation—buried under the mountains (quite literally) of conflicting opinions it sparked—was to encourage a different way of thinking. The same mindset that is driving all the latest breakthroughs in materials science.
THE HERCULEAN PILLARS OF BIO-BASED MATERIALS
We’ve all ridden the wave of “nature responsible” thinking: staring in the supermarket at a bottle of umeboshi vinegar, trying our first no-poo shampoo in the shower, sipping biodynamic wine during a dinner at a friend’s place—without really knowing, let’s admit it, what it actually meant. There’s no doubt, don’t get me wrong, that this was a good thing. That is not my point. As “bio” was progressively becoming part of our everyday vocabulary, however, it was already no longer the priority for Research & Development labs.
This isn’t gossip from a bored Reddit user—it’s an insight from Frontiers, one of the most authoritative international scientific publishers: today, structural engineering, robotics, medicine and materials science conceive innovation as revolving around biomimicry and bio-inspiration. What drives this is a “new” awareness: for over 460 million years, plants have evolved in unstable environments and climatic conditions, adapting and even learning to anticipate changes. In short: they possess knowledge that surpasses any technology. It may seem obvious, but as we know, the essential is invisible to the eye.
Simply being nature-based is no longer enough: today, what innovators are striving to replicate is nature’s logic itself.
NATURALLY IMPOSSIBLE INNOVATIONS
If you think your 2026 goals are ambitious, take comfort in imagining the R&D departments around the world, tasked with developing solutions that can react, adapt and perform as effectively as nature itself.
Among the most exciting areas of experimentation is sustainable architecture: researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new construction material capable of absorbing carbon dioxide from the air through a process similar to photosynthesis. A true revolution in bio-construction, it not only aims to reduce emissions but also to make buildings active participants in the fight against climate change. Two “tree” structures—each capable of capturing up to 18 kg of CO₂ per year—were already showcased at the Canadian Pavilion of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, with a third displayed at the Triennale in Milan.
Also following nature’s logic is the world of colour, where one of the most exciting innovations is “SO-COLORED”, presented at last year’s Milan Design Week. Born from a collaboration between the Japanese studio We+ and Algal Bio Co., the research initiative explores the use of powdered microalgae as an innovative pigment source. Mixed with resin derived from Indonesian dammar, this creates a smooth, glossy compound, reminiscent of ceramic or glass, offering new sustainable colour possibilities for the furniture and interior design sectors.
FASHION AS A FERTILE GROUND FOR EXPERIMENTATION
And fashion, you ask? As always, it represents fertile ground—now literally—for testing new material concepts. If leather made from wine industry byproducts already made us look at our Valpolicella Ripasso differently, one of the most intriguing novelties today comes from Oxman, a design company blending engineering and biological programming. They are called OZERO: shoes that grow and decompose just like ecosystems. Cultivated in the lab, they are entirely made—or perhaps better said, self-generate—from a thermoplastic polymer produced by bacteria.
No cutting, no assembly: just let them grow. Could this be the future of manufacturing?
The question, posed by this third article from Trendroom—the Jersey Lomellina fitting room, open to inspiration and reflection—remains unanswered. But one certainty stands, and it’s the true message of the IWAGUMI installation we mentioned at the beginning: humans are infinitesimally small in the face of nature.