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V&A Project

17 — 18, 20 — 25 Sept 2022

Architecture / Landscape, Materials

V&A

Cromwell Road

Medieval and Renaissance, Room 64b, The Simon Sainsbury Gallery

London

SW7 2RL

#LDF22

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Plasticity, a monumental 3.6-metre-high sculpture created by Italian architect Niccolo Casas, explores the possibility of turning a harmful waste material into something new.

3D printed by cutting-edge design brand Nagami and made from Parley Ocean Plastic®, a catalyst material created from upcycled marine plastic waste intercepted from remote islands, beaches and coastal communities, the installation speaks to a radical new eco-innovative architecture, and Casas, Nagami, and Parley’s commitment to showing a vision of how design and architecture can become instigators of a circular economy that works in harmony with the ecosystem. Initially shown at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, Plasticity is a symbol of change and a call for more industries to join in a global Material Revolution. Plasticity is a symbol of change demonstrating how harmful, indestructible plastics can be transformed through digital technologies and be reborn as light and complex architectural constructs, capable of generating new spatial articulations and ecologically meaningful actions. Plasticity embodies the expression of a radical vision for a new eco-innovative architecture. The sculpture, Plasticity, is a symbol of change that underlines the importance of a radical shift in the way we design and fabricate products and structures, now, for the future of our planet. The installation represents Parley’s commitment to pushing the boundaries and calling in more industries to join in a global Material Revolution. The term ‘Plasticity’ comes from the syncretism of ‘plastic’ and ‘sustainability’. It refers to projects and initiatives related to the re-use and conversion of ready-made plastics. The piece aims to highlight the notions of transformation and conversion. The term Plasticity also refers to the scientific property of a material to deform by undergoing permanent changes and acquiring new forms and properties. In architecture, as in art, it is the quality of a work to freely articulate in space. Therefore, Plasticity could be interpreted as the capability of a material to transform itself by acquiring new spatial characteristics and dimensions through a process of identity redefinition.