10 Questions With… Crafting Plastics’s Vlasta Kubušová

Installation view of Liminal Cycles at the ICA Miami. Photography by Steve Benisty.

Slovakian design duo Crafting Plastics—the combined force of life and creative partners Vlasta Kubušová and Miroslav Král—has written its own playbook in the evolving yet somewhat saturated sustainable material generation game. Bypassing the all-too-common pitfalls of overly speculative or schoolish explorations with little room for further development; its research-based endeavors have always resulted in real world application. Though craft remains an important factor, it isn’t treated with historically reverent gloves but rather translated through a more widely attainable scientific and technological lens.

The studio’s chosen medium—as its name suggests—is reimagined and naturally-derived polymers; often sugars and starches. An ever-cumulative development of 3D-printed bioplastics—even derivatives that can already be recycled—have been rendered in everything from stools and bookshelves to compostable yet durable food containers and eyewear. Projects like the Collection 8 scent diffusers and the Sensbiom 1 mobile reveals the duo’s interest in pushing this material development in new directions; utilizing these nascent composites as means to other ends; physical anchors facilitating fully immersive sensorial experiences with a solutions-forward mindset: atmospheric and even health benefits.

Installation view of Liminal Cycles at the ICA Miami. Photography by Steve Benisty.

As evidenced in the interactive Liminal Cycles installation developed for Lexus, debuted during Miami Art and Design Week, Crafting Plastics works with little superfluous decoration while cultivating a fresh and conducive aesthetic. According to the Japanese luxury car manufacturer—a now long-established sponsor of numerous future-forward cultural activations—the installation commissions different notable talents to imagine each year, and reflects its commitment to material innovation, responsive technology, and personalization. Mirroring the contour of zero-carbon, EV concept model LF-ZC, Liminal Cycles comprises various outer-shell fragments formed in a bio-mimicked open structure using a UV-reactive biopolymer Crafting Plastics has refined over time. Format-defying and sinuously-shaped steering wheels mounted nearby are sensitive to the touch and control the almost breath-like movement of each car exterior component. The collaboration also resulted in several other sculptures and furnishings evoking much of the same thinking.

The installation coincided with the launch of Lexus’s limited-edition capsule offering incorporating 26 collectible design objects by an illustrious roster of contemporary industry-shaping talents including Germane Barnes, Michael Bennett (Studio Kër), Suchi Reddy, and Tara Sakhi (T SAKHI), as well as Crafting Plastics. Kubušová speaks to Interior Design about how the project came to fruition and what it signifies for the evolution of her and Král’s practice.

Vlasta Kubušová of Crafting Plastics Explores Sustainable Materiality

Portrait of Crafting Plastics. Photography by Steven Benisty.

Interior Design: How was your collaboration with Lexus initiated?

Vlasta Kubušová: We got approached by Lexus during NYCxDesign in May 2024 and made the decision to develop the project in June. The timeframe was quite tight and even more so because of what we wanted to incorporate, not just the material but all of the custom-implemented software that facilitates the interactive elements. It was challenging. There was much more engineering involved in this project than anything else we’ve developed before.

ID: How did you align in terms of sustainability?

VK: This initiative presented us with the rare opportunity to explore an ambitious creative project that demonstrates the extensive capabilities of biomaterials with minimal compromise. To this extent, Lexus shares the same values of sustainability and innovation within the realm of design.

ID: How did you decide to focus on the Lexus LF-ZC and the Software Defined Vehicle typology?

VK: Working off a brief, we were asked to come up with our own representation of this specific model. And since it incorporates a lot of the values we also believe in—responsiveness and responsibility—it was a great match. We decided to showcase how the materials we’ve been working with for a while have the potential to be scaled up and not just in terms of art production, but also in science and product development. So it was, I think, a great opportunity to produce something on this level of application. It was also a chance to create something other than a static sculpture, but something dynamic and conducive to its surroundings.

At the heart of Liminal Cycles, is this kinetic Lexus concept car that responds to fluctuations in ultraviolet radiation. Next to it is a structure inspired by the vehicle’s steering wheel, which has been transformed into a tactile, flower-shaped sculpture. Photography by Steve Benisty.

ID: In what ways were you able to apply the research you’ve been developing for years now? 

VK: We’ve been engineering the UV Interactive Biomaterials over the past few years. They react instantly to varying ultra-violet light intensities, change color in real time, and can be used for both aesthetic and functional applications. We were able to apply this technology to the main car installation as well as the other sculptural pieces.

ID: Would you talk more about the added element of interaction and why that was so important?

VK:  This consideration really made the vehicle installation something like a mediator between the user and the environment. For us, it’s an entry point for people to physically witness how this sustainable material can be applied in a very logical and real way. With its breathing movement, the car is like a living being that brings you in to engage with it in a relatable way.

ID: How do the steering wheel sculptures come into play in this respect?

VK: The flowery-like forms evoke the various tactile and structural qualities of bioplastic. These elements basically invite you to touch them. The gentler one does, the more sound and light comes out. One is able to influence the “breathing” of the car and then if more people touch it at the same time, it creates an entirely different experience.

Seating sculptures inspired by the LF-ZC’s headrest add another sensory dimension, releasing a Lexus-inspired aromatic mist, and offering guests a serene sanctuary within the sculpture garden. Photography by Steve Benisty.

Part of Liminal Cycles, this undulating lattice-like sculpture at the edge of the garden reveals the Lexus logo in a UV-sensitive bioplastic. Photography by Steve Benisty.

ID: How would you describe the two other sculptures? 

VK: The two other pieces we created are important to Lexus and us because they not only incorporate sustainable materials but are also responsive. Again, it’s about showing how these two considerations can be applicable but might need to be treated differently than many of us are used to. The three stool elements derive from the shape of the LF-ZC car seat headrest and, like other designs we’ve developed, emit scent—in this case when sat upon. In this context, the function is slightly changed but the idea is the same: providing a sense of sanctuary. The final piece is made of lattice modules—it’s more delicate and is activated by wind. If you stick around long enough, it will reveal the Lexus logo using the same UV-reactive technology we’ve developed. The more I talk about this piece, I realize how well it does its job: viewers need to actually slow down. They can’t be in a hurry.

ID: In what ways can this type of material and application have a wider implementation and change people’s perception about the lifecycle of such an object: a car?

VK: The idea is to change perception and make people realize that certain, if not most, components of their cars could eventually be compostable; especially given that we’re mostly working with starch and sugar-based bioplastics. The other elements could, ultimately, be recycled. Sustainability needs to be a negotiation between the objects created using quality materials that can be restored and passed down and those produced using those materials that become obsolete after a while. It’s hard to change the second mindset and we need to offer good solutions within that framework. Bioplastics and the idea of compostability, for us, is the answer.

ID: How will the Liminal Cycles installation inform the next steps in your practice?

VK: This collaboration has been very important for us because it shows how our materials can be applied on different scales. The projects we’ve been developing ever since getting this one off the ground have been about finding ways to make that happen. There needs to be more commercial partners like Lexus, ready to implement bioplastics within manufacturing. This starts with understanding that you can introduce quite durable material but also that they will degrade naturally within 30, 40, or 50 years. Using materials within the scope of an actual product lifecycle, say 10 years rather than 500, is essential.

Closeup of the bioplastics used for the Liminal Cycles installation. Photography courtesy of Crafting Plastics.

ID: In what ways will you continue to collaborate with Lexus?

VK: That remains to be seen, but what I can say is that working within the car manufacturing industry is particularly interesting because most of the the integrated element are alway tactile, being physically implemented time and time again.

Liminal Cycles coincided with the launch of Lexus’s limited-edition capsule incorporating 26 collectible design objects by industry-shaping talents.