See more objects with the tag vessels, seaweed, reuse, 3D printing, sustainabilty.

Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

2018

  • Work on this object began.

2019

2025

  • You found it!

Algae Lab

It was designed by Studio Klarenbeek & Dros and Atelier Luma. It is dated 2018. Its medium is algae vessels. It is a part of the department.

Embracing the native environment of the salt flats in Arles, France, the interdisciplinary team behind Algae Lab has successfully cultivated microorganisms, such as those found in some algae, to create a biopolymer that can be used instead of plastic. Easy to produce at both small and large scales, the material is a local, renewable resource that also lends itself to 3D printing.

It is credited Courtesy of Atelier Luma/Luma Arles.

  • Box
  • tortoiseshell.
  • Bequest of Katherine Strong Welman.
  • 1908-23-24-a,b

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-6.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318798857/ |title=Algae Lab |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 March 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>