Exhibition "Happy Materials"

As part of Designblok´05, the Happy Materials exhibition is taking place at the National Technical Museum in Prague from October 4 to November 13, 2005.
The exhibition is organized by the company Happy Materials, whose main focus is to bring new materials to the Czech market, seek applications and distribution networks for them, and build a materials database - all with an emphasis on their use in architecture, design, and other artistic fields. In addition, the HM company informs and familiarizes both professionals and the general public with materials through exhibitions, seminars, periodicals, and interesting projects.
Since the early 20th century, there has been an explosive development of polymers. Today, we can hardly imagine everyday life without polymer materials. With the enormous increase in various types and kinds of plastics, there is a need to familiarize ourselves with them and use them correctly.
For this reason, the Happy Materials exhibition is currently being prepared in collaboration with the National Technical Museum in Prague. It is intended for architects, designers, art school students, and processors, as well as laypeople interested in plastics. The exhibition maps out the basic types of plastics, categorized into groups based on their chemical composition, i.e., according to the name of the polymer (polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, etc.).
Each group is represented by one display panel measuring 3 x 2 m made from the respective material, to which additional samples in various colors, thicknesses, or surface modifications are attached, as permitted by the material. The text on the exhibition panel provides information about the history of each polymer, its advantages, and disadvantages. In addition to chemical names, one can find brand names, manufacturers, and suppliers of the boards on the Czech market. Each exhibition panel is associated with one three-dimensional object illustrating how the given polymer looks after processing.
The exhibition was created with the support of companies Axom Kladno, Eko-Kom, Ferona Thyssen Plastics, Gumotex, Le Bon, Lucite International, Polytrade CE, Reta, Quinn Plastics, Ravak, Senoplast, Spandex, Wecker Chemie, which are manufacturers or distributors of the exhibited materials on the Czech market.