Enhanced Material-Driven Design Methodology: Luffa Cylindrica’s Case

As society and regulations demand more ecological materials, we must focus on finding new properties in potential candidates that make them really feasible and open up new possibilities. A new methodology is established to reach that goal, based on already existing ones, but with a broader vision; more focused on the use, and not solely on the product. To put it into practice, it’s been applied on Luffa Cylindrica, a plant with interesting properties. A volumetric, mechanical and perceptual characterization of it has been carried out, so that we can create new concepts specially linked to that. One of these paths has been fully developed to the point of getting a physical prototype, while more complex ones have been suggested. The stated methodology may be used as a flexible guide to find new materials not only more environmentally-friendly, but better than what’s stablished.