This talk will present and critique a new body of evolving collaborative work at the intersection of art, computer science, material science, and design research. I will present an argument for hybrid materials, methods, and artifacts as strategic tools for insight and innovation within computing culture. The narrative will interrogate a series of early research moving toward two primary themes – Unmaking and Decomposable Interactive Electronics.

The access and growing ubiquity of digital fabrication has ushered in a celebration of creativity and “making.” However, the focus is often on the resulting static artifact or the creative process and tools to design it. In this talk, I describe a post-making process that extends past these final static objects — not just in their making but in their “unmaking.” By drawing from artistic movements such as Auto-Destructive Art, intentionally inverting well-established engineering principles of structurally sound designs, and safely misusing unstable materials, this talk will demonstrate an important extension to making — unmaking. Unmaking allows designs to change over time, is an ally to sustainability and re-usability, and captures themes of “aura,” emotionality, and personalization. I will also describe an exploration into the design of novel interactive electronic systems that leverage sustainable materials that are both dynamic and entirely decomposable.