Material Design
Exploring a Place-Based Approach to Materials Design: Harakeke Nonwovens in Aotearoa New Zealand
This research paper, presented at the Textiles Intersections Conference at Loughborough University in London, presents a pilot study into the development of harakeke, a flax plant indigenous to New Zealand. The researchers centred a place-based approach to material design to move beyond “one world frameworks,” that is moving beyond a universal way of approaching challenges and considering instead multiple viewpoints and cultural practices/value systems (13). The pilot study resulted in a prototype of a nonwoven sample and insights into a place-based approach that engaged discussion with Māori knowledge and wisdom, reciprocity, and “carefully considered collaboration” (4). The authors propose that nonwoven production offers a sustainable strategy as it eliminates “several processing steps in comparison with traditional textile production” and is beneficial for “short life products,” i.e. paper cloth, and biodegradability (4). Referencing Tim Cresswell, the project engaged with place as a lens to recognize “connections between a region and its ecosystem” (2), as defined in bioregionalism, and approached design through ideas of localism and the transition movement. Forefronting Māori knowledge and wisdom and working with Māori leaders was key to this project whose objective was to renew the harakeke industry.
Kane, F., T. Ruka, A. Kilford, M. J. Le-Guen, P. Brorrens, and K. Komene. 2020. “Exploring a Place-Based Approach to Developing New Materials for Sustainable Futures: Natural Fibre Composites in New Zealand.” In Textile Intersections. Loughborough University. https://doi.org/10.17028/rd.lboro.9724661.v1.
Explore Hashtags:
#place-based knowledge
#bioregionalism