Masters of Sustainability
As the effects of climate change become more pronounced, sustainability has become more than just a buzzword for designers to pay lip service to. It is therefore heartening to see so many design graduates from the Design Academy Eindhoven place sustainability at the heart of their design thinking. Here are some of the their projects which caught our eye.
Emma Batsheva - Bal Tash'rit
Bal Tash’rit, Hebrew for "do not waste", is a principle taken to heart by French designer and art director Emma Batsheva. Her Bal Tash’rit lounge chair and footstool use vegetable tanned leather, laser cut into star shaped pieces which are then attached to each other with a clever stitch-less fastening. The resulting woven structure is not only strong and attractive but also reduces waste significantly, in tune with the designer's focus on durability and sustainability.
The Coral Suspension Light from David Trubridge is also based on a single component, with multiple units clipped together to create a 3D shape. This clever design enables the light be shipped flat-packed, cutting down on its carbon footprint substantially.
See more: Emma Batsheva
Remi Reniers - Unfixed
The ugly flipside to the search for perfection is the proliferation of production waste. The offcuts from marble and stone producers, for example, are routinely pulverised and discarded. In an attempt to reduce this wasteful and environmentally damaging practice, Remi Reniers designed a set of stainless steel brackets. These are used to connect slabs of stone offcut together to create the Unfixed collection of bench, side table and shelf, which showcases the raw beauty of stone and the graphic effect of unexpected juxtapositions.
The Playing Games Side Table from Dooq is a beautifully sculptural example of balancing contrasting materials.
See more: Remi Reniers
Myeonga Seo & Marie Kolářová - Ornamental Folds
Creating 3D objects by folding and shaping sheets of stainless steel is a complicated process requiring industrial sized machines and expensive moulds, as those who have been following the production saga of the Tesla Cybertruck would attest. Myeonga Seo, working in collaboration with Marie Kolářová, turned instead to the technique of creating folds with perforations. Instead of dotted line folds, familiar the world over in paper packaging, the designers developed perforations in a range of decorative patterns which are then laser cut into the steel sheets. These sheets are folded to create a series of small tables, stools and shelves. The perforations form distinctive edges which are not only decorative in their own right but also frame the pieces beautifully.
For a similarly clever use of folded metal sheets check out the De-dimension collection of furniture from Jongha Choi.
See more: Myeonga Seo | Marie Kolářová
Marguerite Perianu - bamboo.stl
Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world and is is widely seen as a highly sustainable building material, albeit underused. This may be about to change with bamboo.stl, designed by Marguerite Perianu. This is a series of connectors, 3D printed using 100% biosourced PLA, which is designed to fit specific measurements of each piece of bamboo precisely. This allows different pieces of bamboo to be joined together to create a collection lights, benches and stools. This symbiosis of natural materials and cutting-edge technology is not only practical but also showcases the raw beauty of bamboo.
We love the sleek and sculptural form of the Lightbone Floor Light from Oblure, its distinctive segmented design inspired by bamboo forests in Japan.
See more: Marguerite Perianu
Amina Zemouli - The Mathematical Designer
Amina Zemouli is The Mathematical Designer, someone who sees poetry and beauty in cold hard maths. She created designs for a series of vases and objects by feeding mathematical equations featuring functions such as Cosine and Square Root into a modelling software, which are then 3D printed. These have shapes and patterns which look mechanically repetitive as well as voluptuously organic.
Organic shapes can come from the most unexpected materials, including corrugated cardboard in the case of the Scraplight Denny Suspension Light from Graypants.
See more: Amina Zemouli
Basia Pruszynska - A Touch of Romance
Basia Pruszynska's designs are rooted in traditional craftsmanship and memories of her childhood in Poland. Her products are typically made of cast aluminium or solid wood with pieces of decorative embroidery attached. The former represents the designer's great grandfather, who worked with metal and wood, whilst the latter is inspired by the embroidery of her great grandmother. The contrast between the soft embroidered fabric and the solid metal or wood serves to showcase the designer's cultural heritage in a deeply personal way.
The Antibodi Armchair from Moroso is a great example of fabrics applied in highly original and decorative manner.
See more: Basia Pruszynska
Floor Leermakers - Flat Twin 602
Designer Floor Leermakers' dad is a mechanic who specialises in repairing vintage cars, which explains her passion for mechanical parts. Her designs re-interpret heavy industrial objects into furniture, lighting and accessories which showcase a delightful contrast between form and material. Flat Twin 602, for example, is an armchair inspired by the cylinder of the Citroen 2CV, its fin shaped ledges perfect for displaying books and other small objects.
The Mek Suspension Light from Karman is also inspired by mechanical parts.
See more: Floor Leermakers
Dana Elmi Sarabi - NO SHOES ON THE CARPET
Traditional Persian rugs are highly prized but perhaps do not command the respect that they deserve, judging by how people walk all over them with shoes on. In what may be the greatest act of revenge on behalf of downtrodden Persian rugs and a commentary on cultural respect, Dana Elmi Sarabi created NO SHOES ON THE CARPET, a rug made entirely of shoes and materials that are used to make them, such as mesh and shoelaces. That will show them who's on top!
The Carpet Reloaded - Decolorized Rug from Golran is created by bleaching and re-dyeing vintage rugs, giving them a beautiful new lease of life.
See more: Dana Elmi Sarabi