Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into colours

tiled objects in a white gallery setting — Tokyo design studio We+ presented a series of sharply-lined sculptures made using microalgae pigment and dammar resin, at Galleria Rubin

(Image credit: Takumi Ota Photography)

Yellows, greens, reds, purples, blues: a distinctly vivid palette of colours has been brought to life using an unusual ingredient: microalgae.

'SO-Colored' is a Japanese research project spearheaded by the Tokyo design studio We+, which taps into the potential of microalgae as an unexpected and sustainable new source of pigment.

Renewable, fast-growing, carbon-absorbing, and low-impact, Microalgae – microscopic single cell organisms that thrive everywhere from rocks to roadsides – have long been researched within the food and biofuel industries, but their potential as a source of pigment has largely gone unnoticed, until now.

SO-Colored presented its findings in an installation at Galleria Rubin during Milan Design Week. Centre stage was a series of sharply-lined sculptures with deeply-toned surfaces that resembled glazed ceramic tiles, in a spectrum of shades, from greens and reds to yellows.

The project was based on the discovery that laboratory-grown microalgae change colour when exposed to environmental stresses such as light, humidity and heat. A microalgae powder developed by Algal Bio Co. was mixed with dammar, a resin from Indonesia, creating a material that appears to retain its colour over time. As Hokuto Ando, co-founder of We+, explains, this process also gives the pigment a 'remarkable depth' that has a glazed, ceramic-like quality.

'We believe that micro-algae is an exceptionally promising material for humanity,' Ando tells Wallpaper*.

tiled object in a white gallery setting — As it's lab-grown, We+ believes the renewable and low-impact microalgae pigment has potential for use anywhere in the world

'While it is already being explored for applications such as carbon dioxide absorption, alternative energy to petroleum, pharmaceuticals and functional foods, our project focuses on its aesthetic potential – specifically, its natural pigmentation.'

'In the future, there is potential to use this microalgae pigment anywhere in the world. We can also use local vernacular. Everything in the process is from nature.'

metal objects in a white gallery setting — Also on show at Galleria Rubin was We+’s collaboration with Heiwa Gokin, a century-old metal casting company based in Takaoka

We+ – a studio co-founded by Ando and Toshiya Hayashi in 2013 – showcased further innovations with a second project in the same gallery: a collaboration with Heiwa Gokin, a century-old metal casting company in Takaoka, a city with 400 years of history as a traditional copper crafts hub in Toyama Prefecture.

In 'Unseen Objects', We+ explored the beauty of the 'mistakes' or 'leftovers' of the metal casting manufacturing process – a patchwork of burrs along the lines where where moulds are joined; the unremoved residual sand stuck on surfaces; the geometric imprints of reinforcement bars; iron rods used to secure rods bundled together like an offering of metallic twigs.

The end result is a collection of six sculptural objects with an otherworldly beauty, organically formed and uniquely imperfect in a spectrum of unexpected shapes and textural surfaces.

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Danielle Demetriou is a British writer and editor who moved from London to Japan in 2007. She writes about design, architecture and culture (for newspapers, magazines and books) and lives in an old machiya townhouse in Kyoto.

Instagram - @danielleinjapan