Blue Mussel

Sea surface
by Jenny Wahlgren & Erika Wolters

Blue mussels clean the sea by filtering sea water. It is one of the few things we eat that has a positive impact on the enviroment. By creating a product that makes use of the shells we want to raise the value of blue mussels to increase mussel production in the baltic sea. 

It usually reaches 5-10cm in size but in the Baltic sea it gets much smaller, and therefore it is not perfect for consumption. In our project we have looked into some architectural components that could be created with the shells of the blue mussels. The shells and flesh is separated industrially and the shells are then crushed to the desired size. A more brown beige colour can be created by heat treating the mussels. 

The Acoustic wall and the insulation are two products that already exists in the building industry today. Three new products that we have been working on is a flooring, where crushed mussel shell is cast with concrete, flyash or plaster. A pigment where the smallest pieces of the mussel shell is mixed with a binder to create paint. We where able to create four different kinds of nuances. The third product is a worktop where the crushed mussel shell is mixed with a resin. There are research being done on bio resins but there are not yet any on the market that could work for this product. As the bio resins get more advanced they could replace the petrol based resin used as a substitute in this prototype. Then the mussel composite would be an all through green product that cleans the sea and could replace the stone worktops that leave big scars in the landscape. 

4 diffrent kinds of pigments mixed with 3 different kinds of binders.

                             

                          Mussel flooring or tile.
                                  Casted with crushed mussels and plaster

        Mussel worktop. Crushed mussels with vinyl ester

With mussel paint on the wall and a worktop created with crushed mussel and bio-resin, we can make use of our new products.

The mussel city

As today the impact on the environment will already lead to a rise of the sea level. In our vision we want humans to learn how to live in harmony with the sea. To do that we present the mussel city, a future vision. Were the mussels grows underneath the cities and when harvested they will be our insulations, on our roofs, walls and worktops and also in our bellies. By doing this we can create a sustainable cycle.

The musselcity

A sustainable cycle. Future vision