In this workshop participants were asked to research an insect, find a chemical by-product from that insect, and a function and speculative application for that chemical. They then were to find a company whose product could benefit from the biomaterial derived from chemical by-product. Furthermore, they were to rethink the function of that product by applying it to solve a particular social problem in Japan. By the end of the workshop participants derived a product and/or service idea from their research and presented it to the group.
This workshop is a four-week (six meetings) experience that Christopher Kaltenbach has developed from a fourteen-week course he teaches at NSCAD University. The workshop focuses on systems design thinking, and entrepreneurial product and service concept development.
The workshop is sponsored by 3x3 Labo, in partnership with the Ecozzeria Association (sponsored by Mitsubishi) which promotes cooperation between industry, government, academia and the community, fostering knowledge through events that present ecological know-how. This association develops initiatives for developing sustainable community development for the Otemachi, Marunouchi and Yurakucho (OMY) districts of Tokyo.
In this workshop participants were asked to research an insect, find a chemical by-product from that insect, and a function and speculative application for that chemical. They then were to find a company whose product could benefit from the biomaterial derived from chemical by-product. Furthermore, they were to rethink the function of that product by applying it to solve a particular social problem in Japan. By the end of the workshop participants derived a product and/or service idea from their research and presented it to the group.
This workshop is a four-week (six meetings) experience that Christopher Kaltenbach has developed from a fourteen-week course he teaches at NSCAD University. The workshop focuses on systems design thinking, and entrepreneurial product and service concept development.
The workshop is sponsored by 3x3 Labo, in partnership with the Ecozzeria Association (sponsored by Mitsubishi) which promotes cooperation between industry, government, academia and the community, fostering knowledge through events that present ecological know-how. This association develops initiatives for developing sustainable community development for the Otemachi, Marunouchi and Yurakucho (OMY) districts of Tokyo.
With a rising global population and increased climate instability agricultural food production is on the verge of reaching a critical tipping point, whereby production will be unable to meet demand. It is therefore that international organizations are attempting to locate alternative modes of sustainable food production. One area that has been identified is edible insects. A report published last year by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization lays out a “comprehensive assessment of the contribution of insects to food and feed security.”
Based on this rationale, students undertook a two-pronged architectural investigation: research into insect husbandry for the purpose of entomophagy (programme, function) and space filling polyhedrons (form, structure, technology).
The students were given the Japanese Rhinoceros beetle / Allomyrina dichotoma (subfamily: Dynastinae) / カブトムシ (kabutomushi) as the subject for which to design a modular habitat.
In the end they designed a hypothetical proposition for converting an existing room into a “Habitat Lab” where by “Harvest Towers” of interlocking “PuPods” (pupae + pod) comprised of the rhombic dodecahemioctahedran, provided four areas of function (color coded in this installation): Central Core Pods (yellow), HLP (Hatching/ Larve/Pupa) Pods (blue), Egg Laying Pods (pink), Extraction Pods (green).
![In-Sect[ion] Architecture FreeLab 2014 / Kaltenbach](https://kaltenbachlab.ca/sites/default/files/10494678_10152714729149101_3914985097835215187_n.jpg "workshop poster")
![In-Sect[ion] Architecture FreeLab 2014 / Kaltenbach](https://kaltenbachlab.ca/sites/default/files/10418305_10152714753714101_5954471997640552332_n.jpg "final installation")
![In-Sect[ion] Architecture FreeLab 2014 / Kaltenbach](https://kaltenbachlab.ca/sites/default/files/10534775_10152714753759101_5642410599310571890_n.jpg "diorama / final installation")
![In-Sect[ion] Architecture FreeLab 2014 / Kaltenbach](https://kaltenbachlab.ca/sites/default/files/10334296_10152714765544101_7125527875630490388_n.jpg "partial participant group / final installation")
![Sarah Bercu / In-Sect[ion] Architecture FreeLab 2014 / Kaltenbach](https://kaltenbachlab.ca/sites/default/files/manga%2001_editable-01.png "entomophagy concept illustration panel by Sarah Bercu")
![Sarah Bercu / In-Sect[ion] Architecture FreeLab 2014 / Kaltenbach](https://kaltenbachlab.ca/sites/default/files/manga%2002_editable-01.png "entomophagy concept illustration panel by Sarah Bercu")
In this workshop participants were asked to research a plant, find a chemical by-product from that plant, and a function and speculative application for that chemical. They then were to find a company whose product could benefit from the biomaterial derived from the chemical by-product. Furthermore, they were to rethink the function of that product by applying it to solve a particular social problem in Japan. By the end of the workshop participants derived a product and/or service idea from their research and presented it to the group.
This workshop is a four-week (six meetings) experience that Christopher Kaltenbach has developed from a fourteen-week course he teaches at NSCAD University. The workshop focuses on systems design thinking, and entrepreneurial product and service concept development.
The workshop is sponsored by 3x3 Labo, in partnership with the Ecozzeria Association (sponsored by Mitsubishi) which promotes cooperation between industry, government, academia and the community, fostering knowledge through events that present ecological know-how. This association develops initiatives for developing sustainable community development for the Otemachi, Marunouchi and Yurakucho (OMY) districts of Tokyo.
In this workshop participants were asked to research a plant, find a chemical by-product from that plant, and a function and speculative application for that chemical. They then were to find a company whose product could benefit from the biomaterial derived from the chemical by-product. Furthermore, they were to rethink the function of that product by applying it to solve a particular social problem in Japan. By the end of the workshop participants derived a product and/or service idea from their research and presented it to the group.
This workshop is a three-week (five meetings) experience that Christopher Kaltenbach has developed from a fourteen-week course he teaches at NSCAD University. The workshop focuses on systems design thinking, and entrepreneurial product and service concept development.
The workshop is sponsored by 3x3 Labo, in partnership with the Ecozzeria Association (sponsored by Mitsubishi) which promotes cooperation between industry, government, academia and the community, fostering knowledge through events that present ecological know-how. This association develops initiatives for developing sustainable community development for the Otemachi, Marunouchi and Yurakucho (OMY) districts of Tokyo.
