"Scientists now refer to this moment as the "Anthropocene," a geological period marked by human activity drastically altering the planet's systems. The materials we create--plastics, metals, pigments, construction debris-- have become so widespread that they now exist as a permanent layer within the environment itself."
"Nature, however, is not passive. Over time it absorbs, transforms, and recomposes these materials, producing strange new conglomerations where the boundaries between human invention and natural process begin to blur. Researchers have begun referring to these remnants of our technological age as "techno relics"-- fragments of the built world that persist within geological and ecological cycles."
"Singh's work reflects a growing movement among architects and designers who are reconsidering how fabrication, computation, and material experimentation can respond to the environmental realities of the Anthropocene. The project builds upon a centuries-old technique: Scagliola, developed in Renaissance Italy, which combined plaster of Paris, glue, and pigments to produce stone-like surfaces without quarrying marble."
The Anthropocene marks a geological period where human activity fundamentally alters Earth's systems, creating permanent material layers of plastics, metals, and debris. Nature gradually absorbs and transforms these materials into new formations called "techno relics," blurring boundaries between human invention and natural processes. Sumer Singh's Plote + Prov project responds to this environmental reality by combining historical craft traditions with contemporary material research. The work draws inspiration from Scagliola, a Renaissance Italian technique using plaster, glue, and pigments to imitate marble inlay without quarrying. Singh reinterprets this centuries-old method as Neo-Scagliola, exploring how discarded materials can be reabsorbed into innovative design forms that address Anthropocene challenges.
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