Materials can become a much bigger part of our everyday lives and the way we see the world if people are willing to give up mass production, Natural Material Studio founder Bonnie Hvillum tells Dezeen in this interview. More
The first materials designed by AI could be less than 18 months away, according to Orbital Materials CEO Jonathan Godwin, who aims to harness the technology to create materials to help with carbon capture. More
North Carolina firm DR Horton has begun construction on a residential home using building materials from local technology studio Plantd, including panels made from compressed perennial grasses. More
The growth of AI will put an increased environmental burden on the planet, say experts who argue it's time to think about the invisible physical infrastructures of our technology. More
Dutch design studio Loop Loop has pioneered a process of adding colour to aluminium using pigments made from plants rather than petroleum. More
Scientists from Texas A&M University and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico have observed metal cracking and fusing back together, in a discovery that could pave the way for self-healing machines, vehicles and bridges. More
A research team at the University of Michigan has created biodegradable formwork out of sawdust in an attempt to mitigate wood waste in the process of laying concrete. More
Architecture practice Studio Bark has collaborated with artist Michael Pinsky to create the wooden Making A Stand installation, which aims to explore material life cycles and "stand in solidarity with climate protestors". More
Passive cooling techniques in architecture, reflective paint and water-filled windows are featured among the methods that designers and architects are using to mitigate heat in energy-efficient ways. More
An exhibition has opened at Copenhagen Contemporary that suggests what a city made out of experimental biomaterials might look like. More
London studio ConForm has added a marble side extension to a Victorian terraced house in Hampstead, London. More
Designer Alice Potts has created a collection of baseball caps covered in crystals grown from the sweat of the people who have worn them. More
Fashion brand Ganni and materials company Polybion have debuted a jacket grown by bacteria during the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, marking a milestone for bacterial cellulose as a leather alternative. More
Scientists at the University of Manchester have developed a concrete-like material that could be made with extraterrestrial dust and used to build colonies on the moon and on Mars. More
Street furniture brand Vestre and designer Emma Olbers have produced a piece of furniture using fossil-free steel that was made without creating carbon emissions. More
The conversation of sustainability is at the forefront of design but there is "still a long way to go" said designer Caroline Till at the Materials of Tomorrow symposium during 3 Days of Design. More
The process of recycling can actually make plastics more hazardous to human health, according to a recent Greenpeace report that calls on the United Nations to rule it out as a scalable fix for plastic pollution. More
Promotion: an office with plaster walls that looks like rammed earth and a hotel bar with ombre walls feature in this roundup of interiors finished in custom plaster walls by British brand Clayworks. More
A material that alerts people to "an invisible threat" by changing colour in response to UV radiation has been displayed in an installation by Crafting Plastics Studio and DumoLab Research. More
Dezeen has teamed up with Material Bank for a live panel talk next week in London exploring how its easy-access platform is changing the way that architects and designers specify materials. More