With our environmental impact rightfully under increasing scrutiny, designers are using creativity and ingenuity to find new solutions. These established names and upstart innovators give us optimism for the future, with projects that include everything from using microalgae in generating power to turning paper pulp into a marble alternative. It’s conscious design that doesn’t compromise on aesthetics
Stefan Diez
The designer’s customisable ‘Boa’ table for Hay is made with a recycled aluminium frame
Inspired by Japanese bamboo furniture, the German designer Stefan Diez turned to aluminium, a fully recyclable material, when creating the ‘Boa’ table for Danish lifestyle brand Hay. He collaborated with the Norwegian aluminium manufacturer Hydro to produce the table base from 75 per cent recycled, post-consumer scrap, and incorporated a unique folding technique that mimics traditional bamboo artistry. Thanks to its lightweight quality, flat-packed structure and the added benefit of the production facility being fuelled by hydropower, the table has been designed to minimise its carbon footprint throughout the entire manufacturing and delivery process. The tabletop is available in avariety of sizes, finishes and materials or can be sourced locally, giving buyers the chance to create a customised design that suits their personal style and environment. hay.dk; diezoffice.com
Patricia Urquiola
Created for Cassina, the ‘Moncloud’ sofa champions circularity and recycled materials
Renowned designer and Cassina art director Patricia Urquiola’s ‘Moncloud’ sofa is centred on sustainable values, and we’re not just talking about its use of recycled materials. The construction of this sofa is just as thoughtful. Its cloud-like curvaceous form is made using a metal frame wrapped in and sculpted using recycled PET wadding, while the use of polyurethane in the padding has been reduced thanks to the inclusion of Circularrefoam, a polyurethane foam made with a percentage of recycled polyols. ‘The sofa is a result of extensive research,’ states Urquiola, ‘and it addresses important issues with a vision that never looks back.’ Plus, with no glued components, the sofa can be completely disassembled at the end of its life, making it easier to recycle and recover all of the materials individually. cassina.com; patriciaurquiola.com
Federico Peri
The designer’s marble-like furniture for Bentley is actually made from paper pulp
As the extraction of non-renewable resources like marble requires energyintensive manufacturing processes, an alternative is imperative, especially one to match the stone’s luxury aesthetic. Bentley’s recent collaboration with Italian designer Federico Peri is proof that asolution exists.
