Which materials are truly sustainable? A question that needs to be addressed when one needs to create ecologically sustainable solutions to support or protect natural ecosystems. The one day workshop, became a short journey into the eco-thinking approach, critically introduced by Marie Griesmar, with the contribution of Franziska Müller-Reissmann, from the Material-Archiv.

Five groups of students, from different departments of the ZHdK, were asked to shift their perspective to design new solutions for endangered ecosystems. With the methodological tools Marie Griesmar presented, the students had an afternoon to come up with ecosystem-centred concepts.

A practice that isn’t often asked in Design institutions, as formal products aren’t the focus of this purpose. The students apprehend greatly the notions of material adaptation relatively to ecosystem’s parameters and even attempted to integrate design and manufacturing process into their eco-thinking projects