Exhibition archive
9 November > 23 February 2003From Bakelite to Composite
Or how composite materials have influenced the design of radios, skis, bikes, boats, windmills, furniture and Ferraris
From Bakelite to Composite is an exhibition about the history and development
of the use of fibre reinforced materials in consumer products and the influence
of composites on the evolution of design in the second half of the twentieth
century. The first fibre reinforced objects like sarcophagus and bows were already
crafted in the farao era. Since the development of fibre reinforced Bakelite
(used in radio and speaker cases) at the beginning of the last century, composite
materials have experienced rapid development.
The stiffness, lightness and freedom of shape composite materials afford in design made them one of engineers and designers most loved materials. Their energy efficient and environmentally friendly properties give them a future full of applications.
The exhibition will focus on the development of composite applications since the early 1950s in furniture, lighting, construction, domestic, bikes, cars, sportswear, health (medical) and protection. The new possibilities that composites offer designers and how designers react to these developments will be part of the exhibition as well.
Royal sofas of the sixties, sportswear of the seventies, technical developments of the eighties and innovations of the last decades will be included next to a soaring plane, a Ferrari, bullet proof jackets and furniture.
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