Materials Innovation finalist in 2015, Sarat Babu and his team at Betatype have developed a new titanium mesh fabric material with London based company called Uniform Wares who explore how Metal Additive Manufacturing can re-invent their products. Betatype collaborated with the luxury watchmakers to develop and manufacture a new titanium mesh for their straps and bracelets as part of their new 2019 watch collection. The material, which is to be used for a forthcoming watch line, is completely built on Betaype’s site and is already shipping globally.
Sarat’s works focus on the microscopic, looking at how shape and form at a miniscule level can affect the macroscopic for altering the properties a material has to dynamically produce a disassociated tactile experience. Much of his current work uses pioneering research into sintered metals and microarchitecture to produce materials which are ultra light and yet capable of incredible strength.
The Materials Evolution Award has been supported by The Clothworkers’ Company for the past 4 years. It focuses on entrepreneurial Materials Innovation which incorporates a broad set of practices permeating design thinking and problem-solving in society.