A weekly digital and biannual print publication telling interconnected stories from the worlds of arts, design, technology, health, food and the environment. 

 

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Pierre + Charlotte  × Matters Journal

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Featured
Garments For The Grave
Environment, Design
Garments For The Grave
Environment, Design
Environment, Design
Venice Biennale: Sustainability In The Sinking City
Design, Environment
Venice Biennale: Sustainability In The Sinking City
Design, Environment
Design, Environment
Dr. Gopi Krishna Vijaya: Morals & Technology
Technology, Health
Dr. Gopi Krishna Vijaya: Morals & Technology
Technology, Health
Technology, Health
Don't Sell Me Gender
Design, Business
Don't Sell Me Gender
Design, Business
Design, Business
Reground: Turning Waste Into A Resource
Environment, Business
Reground: Turning Waste Into A Resource
Environment, Business
Environment, Business
Money Talks: The Collective Power of Personal Impact
Design, Impact
Money Talks: The Collective Power of Personal Impact
Design, Impact
Design, Impact
What Is A Social Entrepreneur?
Impact, Business
What Is A Social Entrepreneur?
Impact, Business
Impact, Business
Indigenous Foods: Swallowing Our History
Food, Environment
Indigenous Foods: Swallowing Our History
Food, Environment
Food, Environment
Anna Glansén: The Future of Biodegradable Food Packaging
Food, Design
Anna Glansén: The Future of Biodegradable Food Packaging
Food, Design
Food, Design
Someone Please: Hearing The Men On Manus
Arts, Design
Someone Please: Hearing The Men On Manus
Arts, Design
Arts, Design
Artificial Intelligence Helping Us Work Smarter
Technology, Environment
Artificial Intelligence Helping Us Work Smarter
Technology, Environment
Technology, Environment
How Virtual Reality Can Help Children Fighting Cancer
Health, Technology
How Virtual Reality Can Help Children Fighting Cancer
Health, Technology
Health, Technology
 
 
 
 
 

Matters Journal × Monash University

Materials Engineering Tomorrow

 
 
 
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Giveaway! . . Pierre and Charlotte Julien have been making hand crafted sustainable furniture and lighting for over 20 years. Using locally sourced Tasmanian timber, like the endemic Huon Pine and Celery Top Pine, @pierreandcharlotte create timeless pieces for your home. . We've partnered with Pierre + Charlotte and are giving away a stunning Huon Pine table lamp, pictured above and valued at $550, to one lucky person. For more information and to enter the draw simply head over to the link in our bio (mattersjournal.com/giveaway) and complete the short reader survey. By entering you will automatically be subscribed to our newsletter, which delivers new content to your inbox weekly. The giveaway will be running for one month so spread the word! . The winner will be announced on the 16th August via email. The giveaway is limited to one entry per person and everyone is able to enter, not just Australian residents. Terms and conditions of entry can be found on the giveaway page on our website. . Good luck!
Sustainable living has become a modern mantra, but what about sustainable dying? . . Death is a sensitive topic that's often buried far underground in a metal coffin that takes around 1000 years to break down. It's one of the great taboos. Pia Interlandi, a Melbourne-based fashion designer and natural burial advocate, creates biodegradable burial garments and dresses dead bodies in an attempt to give us back our death literacy. "We are looking at death but not using the 'D' word," says Interlandi, who stresses the need to not shy away from death but to embrace the process and the transition. Not only is Interlandi pioneering natural burial processes that are environmentally sustainable, she is attempting to breath new life into how we grieve the loss of our loved ones. . Garments For The Grave An Article This Thursday (19/07) . Photo | The Body Dissolves by Pia Interlandi and shot by Devika Bilimoria
Could open source architecture and digital fabrication (3D printing) help tackle the global crisis in affordable housing, rising inequality and rapid population growth? Two Danish architecture students, Johanne Holm-Jensen and Mia Behrens, recently did a 6 month stint at Space10 and developed this tiny home using only one material, an abundant and sustainable FSC-certified plywood, and one machine, a CNC milling machine. The tiny home is modular, so it can be made larger, and the total cost ended up being around $250 AUD per square metre. Not impressed? What if we told you that they are providing the design files to the public so you can try it yourself and develop the concept. This is a fabulous mixture of design ingenuity, modern thinking and transparency. . . Head over to @space10_journal for more info on this project and many more. We've also published a story on Space10, which you can find over on our website.
Venice is sinking. . . The fact that Venice, one of the most visually overwhelming and heavily-touristed cities, is sinking at an alarming rate is news you've heard before. The Venice Beinnale (@labiennale), however, and the powerful exhibits that it presents to the public, turns this lament into a positive call to action. This week Monique Webber takes a look at a few of this years exhibitions, namely the Australian Pavilion's indigenous grassland showcase entitled 'Repair' (pictured above). Whilst many may see bi- and triennials as a static and unrealistic vacuums, this year's Biennale urges us to actively engage with how we, through design, effect our natural environment and provides a multi-disciplinary platform for change. The walls of our ancient cities are crumbling into the sea of modernity. We have a responsibility (and the capability) to restore and repair our fracturing landscapes. . Head over to our website to read the full article (link in bio) . Photos courtesy of @arorygardiner
“Sustainability is about keeping things in a sort of status quo…we need to do more than that. Repair is active.” - Louise Wright, co-director @baraccowrightarchitects . . Many of you would have heard about the epic indigenous grassland that was exhibited in the Australian Pavilion at this year's Venice Beinnale (@labiennale). Led by Mauro Baracco and Louise Wright, 'Repair' showcased over ten thousand indigenous grassland seedlings accompanied by visuals from Linda Tegg. The exhibit, which draws our attention to the fact that two hundred years of European settlement has destroyed over 99% of Australia's native grasslands, is a powerful call to action and prompts us to be more proactive about sustainability. Situated within the broader context of the Venice Beinnale, 'Repair' provokes us to think deeply about the intersection between the environment and design. . Later this week, Monique Webber takes us through the latest in urban innovations in one of the world's most endangered urban environments. The Venice Biennale is a melting pot of world-class design thinking and provides an intensely refined and observed space for discussion and, hopefully, positive action. Sign up to our newsletter to get it delivered straight into your inbox. . Venice Biennale: Sustainability In The Sinking City An Article 12/07 . Photos courtesy of @arorygardiner
Alvaro Siza Viera's proposed off-grid 'Capela do Monte' chapel by João Morgado (@joaodmorgado). Using passive design principles the chapel will be completely self sufficient and sits within a larger complex, in Portugal's Algarve region, that is also fully off-grid.
"Usually when you see a reflection you realise what you're looking at. When we look at ourselves in a reflection, and when we move, we can see that we’re looking at ourselves. Technology’s role is something like that." - Dr. Gopi Krishna Vijaya . . This week we hear from Dr. Gopi Krishna Vijaya, a physicist that has devoted most of his life to technology, morals and what it means to be human. Flying over to Melbourne in April from the U.S., Dr. Vijaya led a four day conference called the Moral Technologies Forum (which is run by Seed Australia), all about how to be good in our modern, digital world. We spoke to him before he flew back home about the crucial intrapersonal relationship between humans and technology. Drawing upon wisdom from the great theosophist, Rudolf Steiner, Dr. Vijaya's thoughts on technology and morals are compelling and unconventional. It made for a deep and intriguing discussion. The full interview is online now, and can be read via the link in our bio. . Illustrations by Clint Weaver (@pocketbeagles)
What does it mean to be a good person in a world saturated with technology that heightens reactivity, often eroding compassion? . Dr. Gopi Krishna Vijaya flew over to Australia from the U.S. to run the Moral Technologies Forum in April this year. He holds a PhD in Physics and has dedicated most of his adult life to the relationship between humans and the development of technology. We spoke to Dr. Vijaya when he visited Australia about the intersection between being morally good and living in the digital era. Considering technology as a mirror, Dr. Vijaya suggests that we re-imagine how we relate to technology and ultimately how we come to think of ourselves. This conversation is incredibly important at the moment and we can't wait to share Dr. Vijaya's wisdom with you all. . Dr. Gopi Krishna Vijaya: Morals & Technology A Conversation Thursday 5/07 . Illustrations by Clint Weaver (@pocketbeagles
 
 
 
 
 

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