The CHEMARTS Cookbook

The CHEMARTS Cookbook 

Inspiration for Material Enthusiasts 

How can we make flexible, transparent wood-based materials? What kinds of materials can we derive from trees, while still respecting the preciousness of nature? Could the innovative use of renewable cellulosic materials change our material world? 

The CHEMARTS Cookbook offers both simple and more advanced ideas and recipes for hands-on experiments with wood-based materials. The book showcases interesting results, focusing on raw materials that are processed either chemically or mechanically from trees or other plants: cellulose fibres, micro- or nano-structured fibrils, cellulose derivatives, lignin, bark, and wood extractives. 

Find inspiration, test our recipes at home, in workshops or chemistry labs, and develop your own experiments! Have fun!

The ChemArts Cookbook available from shop.aalto.fi

Pirjo Kääriäinen editor
is a designer and CHEMARTS facilitator, with roots in the Finnish forest and work experience in textile industry and in higher education. Pirjo runs the CHEMARTS study program with Tapani Vuorinen at Aalto University.

Nina Riutta editor
is a designer specialised in human-centric design, communication and material development and is currently working as a CHEMARTS teaching assistant.

Liisa Tervinen editor
is a design generalist, a strategic designer, who has worked in a variety of fields from social media, branding, design to biomaterials. Liisa has worked in the past as CHEMARTS teacher tutor and communication advisor.

Tapani Vuorinen editor
is a scientist and teacher who studies the structure and chemistry of plants and their conversion into materials and products. Tapani runs the CHEMARTS study program with Pirjo Kääriäinen at Aalto University.

Eeva Suorlahti photographer
is a designer and photographer who is working among visual research, textiles and communication through pictures and materials.

The CHEMARTS Cookbook team

Clockwise: Professor Tapani Vuorinen (CHEM), Designer Nina Riutta, Photographer Eeva Suorlahti, Professor Pirjo Kääriäinen (ARTS) and Design manager Liisa Tervinen.

The CHEMARTS Cookbook Content

Foreword

1 INTRODUCTION

How to use this book
Basics of wood-based materials
Processing of wood biomass
Scientific material research – principles and practices
Designerly approach to material research
Tips for collaboration

2 WORKING WITH MATERIALS

Spaces & tools
Materials
Ingredients
Methods
Cooking rules and safety

3 RECIPES

Hard
Soft
Flexible
Transparent
Printed materials
Colouring and dyeing
Long fibres from nature
Papermaking
Growing materials

4 INSPIRATION

Working with natural materials: Experiences of CHEMARTS students
Insights of material professionals: Three views of the material world

Suggested reading

Glossary

Index

Resources

3 photos on the left: Saara Kantele’s The Alder project, CHEMARTS 2019 summer school.

Photos: Eeva Suorlahti

Press materials

Recipe 2: Pine Bark Reinvented, Aarni Tujula. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

Materials from nature. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

Recipe 9: Pulp Foams. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

Willow fibres, Tapani Vuorinen. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

Recipe 20: Patterning Cellulose, Iines Jakolev. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

Pulp. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

CHEMARTS Cookbook Team (clockwise) Tapani Vuorinen, Nina Riutta, Eeva Suorlahti, Pirjo Kääriäinen & Liisa Tervinen. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

CHEMARTS Cookbook Foam experiments, Aalto University. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

Recipe 14: Bio Slime, Chiao-wen Hsu & Yu Chen. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

Recipe 17: Wooden Transparency. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

The CHEMARTS Cookbook

CHEMARTS Cookbook

Recipe 4: Common Reed Panels, Paivi Lehtinen. Photo by Eeva Suorlahti.

The CHEMARTS Cookbook video 60 sec (71MB).