Material Exploratory

Università Iuav di Venezia
The project addresses the dynamics governing the perception and management of waste and the materials derived from it, through established and experimental reuse and recycling processes. Its objective is to present the North-Eastern Italian territory from a circular perspective, exploring the material flows occurring within it and highlighting collaborative practices among companies working on the recovery and reuse of material resources.
Bioeconomy
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Ecodesign
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Low-impact Textiles
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Artificial Intelligence
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Digital Product Passport
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Traceability
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Circular Business Models
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Life-Cycle Thinking
Material Exploratory is a research project that combines a digital platform with an exploratory mixed-reality experience to make circular materials more accessible, understandable and usable in design processes. Through a narrative and multimodal approach, the project reconstructs the biography of materials, describing their origins, transformations, applications and future potential. The platform connects materials, companies, territories and production chains, supporting more informed design choices and strengthening circular economy networks. By promoting materials obtained from industrial by-products, agricultural residues and biomass, Material Exploratory contributes to waste prevention and resource recovery, promoting strategies consistent with the European waste hierarchy and encouraging knowledge transfer between research, businesses and designers. Unlike traditional material libraries, Material Exploratory does not simply catalogue samples and technical properties. Instead, it offers an exploratory experience that integrates physical samples, mixed reality, geolocation and digital storytelling. The project introduces the concept of the “biography of materials”, connecting environmental, productive, territorial and sensory dimensions. In this way, material selection becomes a process of learning and awareness that can be easily replicated in other territorial contexts and applied to different networks of circular materials.
The design choice is supported by measurement through simplified or partial indicators. The project developed a methodology for exploring and valorising circular materials through the convergence of research, design and digital technologies. The research led to the mapping of more than 100 innovative materials from North-Eastern Italy, the detailed documentation of 30 materials and the creation of 4 mixed-reality experiences, directly involving local companies through interviews and company visits. These results guided the development of the digital platform and the mixed-reality material library, conceived as replicable tools to support knowledge transfer, the dissemination of circular materials and the development of territorial innovation networks.

TEAM 
Anna Bego, Pietro Costa, Michele De Chirico, Raffaella Fagnoni, Martin Romeo, Annapaola Vacanti, Gianfranco Vasselli