PROJECT NAME: #SeaweedSelfie

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Client: UIA World Congress 2023

Team Mates: Kathryn Larsen, Alexa Kaczor

Cabinetmakers: Kathrina Martinsen from Møbelsnedkeriet Erik Jacobsen, Kristoffer Munk Agger from ChipChop.dk

YEAR: 2023

Social Media Marketing and Architecture

The Seaweed Selfie Wall is made from birch wood, and our biodegradable seaweed bioplastic. The blue paint is actually a seaweed microalgae paint that is based on the tradition of Danish glue paints. The vivid coloring comes from phycocyanin, a blue pigment found naturally in blue-green algae.

The UIA World Congress 2023 approached us about using our seaweed bioplastic in a selfie installation for the conference, to highlight the Next Generation of Danish Design and Architecture. We at Studio Kathryn Larsen realized that this wasn’t just about creating a temporary art installation for our client from seaweed biomaterials - this was also about creating user engagement, buzz and marketing for the conference.

Lighting was an important consideration. We chose soft built-in LED lighting, to illuminate the transparency of the bioplastic, without blowing out the contrast of selfie photos. To allow for greater mobility of the installation, we used battery powered LEDs, so the piece was not reliant on power access.

Under the hashtag #SeaweedSelfie we shared the process of creating the selfie wall, highlighting the cross-disciplinary work it takes to create a physical project. The back of the selfie wall was designed to function as a sensory mobile material library of our diverse projects and experiments, to communicate our knowledge and R&D with natural materials to the conference attendees.