Sustainability is not anymore an option, but a requirement for good design. Luxury industry should not make an exception.
It happens that we often discuss about sustainability in the new construction industry, even during our daily lives, and governments all around the world are emitting always new and stricter regulations in this regard.
Although, this is usually concerning mostly the massive constructions and the housing projects.
But why isn't this deep discussion involving the interiors, and in particular the retail sector, which has a big impact on the design industry?
Just try to consider that on average, retail stores from big multinational brands are renovated every 5 to 10 years, with minor or major renovations on a monthly basis, and of couse, new outlets are opened every single day.
Let's give a brief look on how architects and designers can contribute on making this process less impactful on the environment, listing 5 innovative materials based on up-cycled waste, not reducing aesthetics and performances.
"Solid Textile Board is a high-density material made from end-of-life textiles and cut offs from Kvadrat. Considering current textile waste streams, the board is made up of cotton and wool as these textiles are typically downgraded in existing recycling processes.
Solid Textile Board can be an alternative to a variety of existing materials depending on the application. In designing the board material, focus has been on making a composite that, through its properties, can replace or even bring additions to existing material offerings and thereby be an honest alternative."
"As a materials design and manufacturing house, Smile Plastics transforms waste materials into unique decorative panels for the architecture and design industry. Our striking products continue to inspire designers around the world.
All our panels are made using 100% recycled materials. These are arranged by hand before pressing, making each panel a unique piece."
source: https://smile-plastics.com/
"Silicastone is a unique recycled surface material, created from unwanted manufacturing leftover materials, available in both tiles and solid surfaces, for use in both interior and exterior design schemes. Silicastones’s appeal lies not only in its sustainability but also in its versatility and looks.
By its very nature, every piece of Silicastone is unique and no two surfaces are ever quite the same.
Available in continuous terrazzo or tiles."
4. Lino Leather by Don Yaw Kwaning
" A material research into linoleum in which the production process has been altered in order to develop linoleum into a more sensual material with a wider range of application possibilities.
Linoleum is mainly applied as flooring material but by variating in amounts of components like linseed oil & lime stone, the material becomes more soft and flexible. Due to these characteristics the material can be applied as tiles functioning as acoustic wall covering with a texture similar to rumen leather. Next to that, Lino leather can be applied as a vegetal leather like material in furniture. By mixing linseed oil with jute fibres and by pressing a fibre net in between two layers of Lino leather the material becomes more flexible, self-supporting and gains the advantage of two useable sides instead of one."
"Structural Skin is a self-produced material made out of leftovers and offcuts from the leather industry.
This project does not start from an interest in the advantages of a material but from its disadvantages. Leather is a beautiful material but very inefficient in terms of its manufacturing process due to its natural origins. No matter which tanning process a hide went through, the quality of a piece of leather depends directly on the part of the animal that comes from. The higher the movement the lower the quality; some experts indicate that just the 13% of a hide is top quality and up to the 43% is considered good quality. This fact means that companies involved in the production of leather goods produce a large amount of discarded materials, leftovers and offcuts.
After extensive material investigations, Jorge Penadés devised a new production method that transforms the apparently worthless waste from leather factories into an innovative material that is made 100% from an animal source. Any resin or chemical component has been used along the production, carefully considering the environmental impact of the project.
The result is Structural Skin, a self-produced material that celebrates the inherent qualities of given skins while defining a new role for leather that had never been previously considered."
source: https://oficinapenades.com/
These were our favorite picks for this month, let us know in the comments if you have valid additions to the selection or get in touch with us for deeper insights on the topic!
コメント