As part of our review of 2023, Dezeen's design and environment editor Jennifer Hahn has rounded up 10 of this year's most significant material innovations, including bricks made from toxic soil and a 3D printer for wool.
Over the last 12 months, designers found new uses for bacteria, using the microorganisms to colour textiles, grow a leather alternative and turn plastic waste into vanilla ice cream.
In architecture, researchers continued to reinvent concrete, with some using algae instead of cement as a binder while others rediscovered the secret to "self-healing" Roman concrete.
Energy efficiency was an ongoing concern in light of the recent energy crisis, with projects such as water-filled windows and colour-changing cladding aiming to passively heat and cool buildings without relying on fossil fuels. Read on for Dezeen's top 10 material innovations of 2023:

Photo courtesy of Water-Filled Glass
Water-Filled Glass by Matyas Gutai, Daniel Schinagl and Abolfazl Ganji Kheybari
One of Dezeen's best-read stories of the year looked at how researchers from Loughborough University combined two ubiquitous materials ? water and glass ? in a new and innovative way.
As the name suggests, their Water-Filled Glass windows consist of a thin layer of water wedged between two panes of glass, which can reduce a building's energy bills by around 25 per cent compared with standard glazing.
That's because the water absorbs warmth from sunlight and heat loss from the interior that c...