Building With Food

This work streamed from the work of students at 7325 "Inquiry into Biomaterial Architectures" seminar and was presented at BioDesignChallenge in June of 2023. It contributes to valorization and characterization of fruit-waste derived functional materials and products. These solids and surfaces from fruit fibers and peels have mechanical performance similar to aerated concrete and commercial bioplastics while deriving healthier systems for humans and the planet. Moreover, they enable a hyper-local economy, raise food waste awareness via participatory collection, close-to-site fabrication, place-making during reuse, and useful degradation and regeneration in zero-waste practices. In particular, closing the open cycle of hospitality-scale food consumption with unavoidable waste-based products and solutions across scales, promising local to global impact.

The research soon to be published addresses; Post Consumer Food Waste, Fruit Waste Materials, Healthy Materials, Banana Fiber Cement, Citrus Peel Bioplastic, Zero-Waste Economy, Regenerative Economy, Circular Economy

Credits: DumoLab Research, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

Principal Investigators: Dr.Laia Mogas-Soldevila
Project Team: MSD-AAD student researchers Bhavana Priya B, Yifan Lyu, Yue Wang, Jiachun Wang

Acknowledgments: This research was supported by the University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation Grant (URF) to Dr. Laia Mogas-Soldevila.