What can the material beneath Amsterdam’s canals become? In this hands-on material research workshop, you will collect sand, water and debris from the Oosterdok and test different mixtures by making a series of small tiles. These experiments will help develop the material recipe for a full-size dining table.
Working in pairs, participants lower buckets on ropes from the canal bank and collect sediment from the floor. Material is transferred into sorting trays, participants observe, photograph, and briefly describe what they find: colour, smell, texture, visible organisms, debris. A simple field-note sheet is provided.
Participants mix different combinations and proportions of the dredged sand with hydraulic lime. Each mixture is pressed into a wooden tile mould so that the different recipes can be compared. Some tiles incorporate found algae pressed into the surface, others include visible debris or are cast from material taken at different depths.
These tiles will function as material tests, helping Federico Rizzo refine the final recipe for the second workshop, Casting the Canal.
While tiles cure, participants lay out their field notes and observations, following a collective mapping exercise: where did the most life come from? Where is most of the pollution? What does the canal floor look like as a habitat, and what does it mean to bring it to the table?
Salicornia Studio, founded by designer Federico Rizzo in 2023, is a design hub focused on product innovation and material research. Combining craft and digital tools, the studio creates objects that merge cultural heritage with contemporary design. Conceived for design research and experimentation, the studio explores the intersections between product design, material culture, and ecological imagination.
