Foil&Soil Mishmash
Magdalena Skowyra
Foil&Soil Mishmash is a post-plastic lab, founded by Magdalena Gorecka and Magdalena Skowyra. We examine and transform waste from areas with extensive agriculture from under polyethylene greenhouses. By challenging the perception of synthetic waste and re-imagining its applications, the lab offers a glimpse into a post-anthropocentric future. Our lab establishes a bridge between material science and spatial practices. Foil&Soil Mishmash's recent recognition was during Milan Design Week 2023, where we exhibited our first prototype.
Magdalena Gorecka, an architect and material designer, operates from Warsaw, Vienna, and Tamale, focusing on research, collaboration and teaching. With a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, she explores spatial solutions using unconventional materials in marginalized European and Sub-Saharan settings. Her projects bridge urban and material realms, adopting a holistic approach on extreme scales. She gained recognition through Archdaily Building of the Year Award and Masterprize Award for The New Guabuliga Market, Ghana. Teaching at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, she is a leading teacher on an interdisciplinary team exploring Sub-Saharan spatial, cultural, material, and ecological phenomena. She received a grant, collaborating with UNIDO, to design the "Interspecies Nursery" pavilion in Liberia.
Magdalena Skowyra, based in Copenhagen, is an accomplished chemical and medical physics engineer with a vast academic journey. Having successfully completed her PhD at the Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, she has now embarked on a PostDoc position at the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Danish Polymer Center Group. Magdalena's expertise lies in the fields of material science and polymer chemistry, with a strong focus on new materials design, with applications ranging from dosimetry, through the petroleum industry, up to artificial muscles.