Aurora

Aurora is an interactive experimentation of how we can achieve a more sustainable approach to life in the future: a world in which design, science and industry converge to ensure that everything we create and manufacture involves sustainability.

The installation signals the end of the take-make-waste era and the dawn of built environments conceived for regeneration.

With Aurora, visitors will be able to see modules being crushed, melted and reformed, demonstrating the continuous process of regeneration.

'It's crucial that designers start thinking beyond the timeframe of their projects, where the material came from, where it is going, how it can be reconfigured... the entire lifecycle needs to be taken into consideration. Aurora demonstrates that this is possible today, if only we adjust our thinking.' – Arthur Mamou-Mani

Upstream Thinking means making the regeneration of materials and the planet a requirement of every design project. This was the starting point for Aurora’s creation, developed based on three principles:

• Material for Life: The process considered the materials first, using PLA, a non-toxic and 100% recyclable thermoplastic derived from potato, wheat and corn starches. With bio-sourced PLA, components can be composted or crushed, re-melted and reprinted.

• Design for Life: The team leveraged data on the Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE® platform to create virtual twin experiences, which are scientifically accurate simulations of objects in their contexts. This enabled the team to iteratively experiment, learn and refine their concepts virtually and evaluate the sustainability impact of each choice.

• Fabrication for Life: Using local materials and on-site production to minimise transport requirements. 3D printing helped eliminated waste by creating engineered-to-fit parts.

Designers, artists, architects and makers from around the globe collaborate on the cloud using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform which facilitates Upstream Thinking with conceptual 3D spaces where teams can create, experiment, design, optimise, test, visualise and refine their ideas virtually before committing any materials, in a fraction of the time required for physical prototypes.

With integrated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) capabilities, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform calculates sustainability scores for every decision-making so better choices can be made.

'Design, science and industry must converge and collaborate to conceptualise a new, unified practice in support of a limited planet. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform catalyses and guides that practice, empowering all to contribute to advancing society’s collective progress towards a fully regenerative future.' – Anne Asensio, Design Innovation Vice President and Head of Dassault Systèmes Design Studio.

Background image: AURORA installation. 377 modules made of polylactic acid in 3 different models, 2 aesthetics (321 transparent & 56 wood). Images by Mathieu Leborgne.