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If it was possible to make sustainable product choices without sacrificing aesthetic desirability or affordability, it's hard to imagine anyone would contest. Luckily, this is becoming more of a reality by the day, as designers and brands invest time in material research and innovation.
Case in point? These 10 novelties, featured during Milan Design Week.
PHOTOS: ANDREA FERRARI
FLOCK
Tacchini
Formafantasma teamed up with Tacchini to design Flock, a Capsule Plaza installation that honoured production traditions while addressing modern environmental concerns. The studio reconceived four iconic Tacchini seats using surplus sheep’s wool to replace industrial foam, with a technique inspired by antique mattresses.
OLENA
Andreu World
A design that creator Philippe Starck calls an ‘eco-tech vision of the Middle Age chair’, Olena utilizes three pieces of plywood and three wood clavets in lieu of screws or glue. The Andreu World chair was born from an exploration into ways to use as little material as possible.
FLOW
Daisuke Yamamoto
Devised in acknowledgement of the fact that they’ll one day be deconstructed, the Flow seats employ disposed lightweight gauge steel, normally used for framing systems. With the series, Daisuke Yamamoto raises the question of how we can ‘deal with disposed materials in our “scrap and build” society.’
PHOTO: MARVIN MERKEL
JUNKYARD DIVING
ECAL
Commenting on our consumption habits, Junkyard Diving is a selection of objects visualized by ECAL industrial design students with the guidance of Philippe Malouin. The young creatives found new purpose for elements found in a metal recycling centre, seeking alternative functions for the materials.
BEETLE
Gubi
Fashion designer Simon Wick experimented with surplus textiles, upholstery offcuts and packaging materials like cardboard and plastic to arrive at a deconstructed Beetle chair. The reimagined Gubi chair elaborates on the complexity of production processes.
SUPERPOP
Miniforms
Recycled plastic becomes art with Miniforms’ Superpop range, comprising a coffee table, bedside table and stool. The plastic is sorted by type then melted at low temperature to reduce environmental impact – colourways include red, blue, white and black.
PROWL
Studio Peel
Touted as the first injection-moulded chair that can be composted, Studio Peel’s Prowl seat derives from a collaboration with M4 Factory. Hemp bast fibre, hurd and biopolymers are used instead of plastic for a biodegradable, compostable stacking chair, topped with a hemp-foam cushion.
AIRBAG
Jinyoung Yeon
Airbags once used in cars – and defective ones discarded in mass production – were repeatedly disassembled and reassembled by Jinyoung Yeon for the Airbag armchair, which was part of the Re;Collective exhibition shown at Dropcity during Milan Design Week. It encourages new interpretation and usage of materials.
FIESTA
Sancal
An exclusive textile produced to celebrate Sancal’s 50th anniversary, Fiesta was produced in partnership with ByBorre. The richly knitted, melange-effect fabric’s graphic geometries and its vibrant orange hue nod to the ‘smiley face’ of Sancal’s logo.
822
Ton
Claesson Koivisto Rune’s 822 chairs for Ton have been released in a new dot-perforated version that puts a spin on Josef Hoffmann’s A811 designed in 1930. The enduring look, adjusted for modern needs, speaks to the circularity of timeless design.
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