Map of Roby's toy, Metabolic Toy

"Private Nature"

When Roby became a teenager he decided to turn "Playing Naturally" into another object: "Private Nature".
It is the toy of his childhood turned into a little garden where he and his friens can sow different kind of plants and flowers. It is also useful for Roby to watch closer bugs and his flowers through the glass lent.
The holes on the top of the little garden allowe his friends and himself to sign their personal flowers.
Roby gave to his friends some pieces of the old toy, so they can sow their plants at home too.

Our project: "Playing Naturally"

We prejected a toy for Roby: "Playing Naturally". It consists in a structure to feed birds. Roby likes animal and he is curious, so we put a glass lent to let him to see birds closer and better.
The sistem includes spoons where Roby put food and water for birds.
The material we choose is Ecol.
Ecol: Injection modable resin that is made from corn and milk resin. Sugar from corn or refined sugar beets is fermented to yield lactic acid. These polylactide polymers are made up of long chains of lactic acid, which are produced by water removal and condensation reactions in a solvent-free polymerization. A biocomposite, it requires 20%-50% less fossil fuel than comparable petroleum-based plastics. It contains no volatile organic compounds and his abrasion resistant and biodegradable. It can be used for injection molded parts where a variety of colors and textures is possible. Applications include tableware, home electronics and toys.

Material Connexion

Yesterday we visited a Museum of materials, Material Connexion. It rapresents the most important resort of innovative materials.

From 1997 it collected 400o materials, which are divided into seats of New York, Milano, Colonia and Bangkok. Every month 30-40 new materials added to the Library.

These materials come from all the world and they are divided into 8 categories (for example: polimers, glasses, metals, natural metals, ...).

We seen a lot of materials and we can touch them.

It was an interesting experience!

Our Persona: Roby

Roby lives in Milan. He lives in a common family. His mother, Carla, is an interior designer, while his father, Joe, is a manager. His parents live in serenity, but they don't love each other anymore. However they loves so much their son Roby.

Roby is a curious and intelligent child, but he is also silent, riflective and introvert.

He uses to imagine and daydream.
Roby usually plays with friends in his courtyard. He likes animals and staying outdoor.

When he become a teenager Roby doesn't change too much. He is not compromised by the situation of his family.

He spends the most part of his time with his friends: he knows them from childhood. Some of them moved, but they go out all togheter on the afternoon, evening, night. These friends rapresents for Roby a firm point, a second family.

He frequented an Art Highschool.

Roby loves reading and listening to music. He often goes to musical and artistic events.

He likes skateboarding around the city. Sometimes he looks for quiet places where he can relax reading and listening to music.

Cradle to Cradle

Cradle to Cradle Design (C2C) is a biomimetic approach to the design of system.

It models human industry on nature's processes in which materials are viewed as nutrients circulating in healty, safe metabolism.

It's economic, industrial and social framework that seeks to create systems that are not just efficent but essentially waste free.

The model is not limited to industrial design and manifacturing; it can be applied to many different aspects of human civilization such as urban environment, buildings, economics and social system.

The phrase "Cradle to Cradle" itself was coined by Walter Sathel in the 1970's, and the current model is based on a system of "lifecycle development".

In the Cradle to Cradle model, all material used in industrial or commercial processes -such as metals, fibres, dyes- are seen to fall into one of two categories: "technical" or "biological" nutrients. 

Technical nutrients are strictly limited to non-yoxic, non-harmful synthetic materials that have no negative effects on the natural environment; they can be used in continuous cycles as the same product without losing their integrity or quality.

Biological nutrients are organic materials that, once used, can be desposed of in any natural environment and decompose into the soil, providing food for small life forms without affecting the natural environment.

map description

We started with the individuation of the materials of our toy. it is composed by plastic (eyes,nose,..), cotton and poliestere.

Plastic is composed by petrol by Arabia Saudita, and made in China (Yuyao). Poliestere come from China (Hubei), while Cotton frome the region of Xinjiang (China).

The design of our toy is italian.

Toys are manifactured and packaged in Guangdong (China).

Then they are trasported from China to Europe and USA by plane, trucks, ship for 9000 km.

Toys are distribuited in shopping mall, like Harrod's, La Rinascente, La Fayette, and in smaller Trudi's shop.

Our toy was bought in a Trudi's shop in Milan. Lucia finded it in a present under a christmas tree.

In a future she will give it to her sons or doughters.

We find these informations on internet.

www.trudi.it