Friedrich Gerlach

Friedrich Gerlach’s projects often begin with a material or manufacturing process. For the “Biocement Chair”, developed with Julia Huhnholz, he works with mineral waste that is bound with the help of bacteria. The material does not require firing and is applied in the form of a chair. 

For the “Lumo Sofa”, seat shells are 3D printed from a material based on residual sawdust and a mineral binder. The construction combines these shells with a removable wool cover and natural-fibre filling. 

For “Biotic Boot”, Gerlach works with bacterial cellulose. Bacteria produce the material directly on three-dimensional forms, which are regularly moistened during the growth process. The shoe serves as an application of this manufacturing method. Gerlach studies at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle. His projects range from biofabrication and 3D printing to the reuse of glass and other residual materials.