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Material Cultures

England

Material Cultures is a design and research organisation led by Summer Islam (1989), Paloma Gormley (1987) and George Massoud (1989), working at the intersection of natural materials and low embodied carbon construction technology. It argues for the reintegration of architecture and agriculture, understanding buildings as irrevocably linked to landscapes of extraction. It challenges the systems, technologies, processes, supply chains, regulations and materials that make up the construction industry with the aim of transforming the way we build.

Material Cultures works across different scales, from materials, interiors and buildings to the landscapes from which they emerge. It designs buildings by working to integrate bio-based materials and minimally processed minerals into efficient construction systems. Alongside this it carries out strategic research into how these ideas can be applied at scale and how they relate to a broader move towards regenerative land management practices. The founders teach across a number of institutions and run construction skills programmes through the newly launched learning platform, MAKE.

Flat House, Cambridgeshire (England, UK), 2017-2019, photo by Oskar Proctor

Block House, Somerset (England, UK), 2018-2021, photo by Felix Koch

Wolves Lane Centre, London (England, UK), 2019-2024, photo by Henry Woide

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