Eco-designs at 2008 Milan Salone
This year at the Milan Furniture Fair, apparently there was so much to feast one’s eyes upon!
At the main Salone buildings you could see how mainstream design is reacting to the growing demand for sustainable design and, although not everything is rooted in green, there were definitely some eco-gems.
David Trubridge, Tej Chauhan and Andreu World are just a few of the designers at Milan this year who are moving the notion of luxury one step forward with an eye on energy-efficiency and sustainable materials.
Eco-designer David Trubridge, who works with simple, low-impact natural materials and processes, never disappoints and this year at Milan we are taken by his’ Spiral Islands’ lights and seating. Inspired by the Maori koru force spiral his designs were extremely popular with a long line of people just waiting to catch a glimpse!
The Spiral Island collection fixtures and the seating are as environmentally responsible as possible. The fasteners are aluminum, maintaining the fixture’s physical lightness, while the PETG plastic strips are fully recyclable. All the wood used by David Trubridge for his Spiral Seating is milled from government controlled wood sources in Australia and is held together with non-toxic glues or solvents and aluminum fasteners. The upholstery is made of 100% pure wool colored by nontoxic dyes and stuffed with wool felt made from wool scraps. The interior structure of the seat is maintained with recycled cardboard honeycomb and the entire seat can be deconstructed for ease of recycling at the end of its lifespan.
The eco-friendly nature of David Trubridge’s designs are reflective not only in his products but is integrated through the entire manufacturing process. 70% of the electricity consumed comes from renewable hydro-electric sources, everything is manufactured in New Zealand, and all waste is sorted and sent to separate recycling facilities.
Promoting the origin of raw materials as their ethos, the ‘Urchin’ hand knitted woolen poufs are art of the ‘Flocks’ collection and show at Tuttobenne.
Lotte van Laatum’s ‘Dutch Wood’ Cutting Boards - the cute and clever design offers several different regional cutting board - each in a different wood, and shaped in the Netherlands region from which the wood is sustainably harvested.
Tej Chauhan of Chauhan Studio - developed the’ Sandy DECT ‘eco-phone made out of 100% recycled plastic. Longtime favorites (and prolific furniture-fair exhibitors) Molo have new ‘Soft’ products in the Zona Tortona press area and apparently are all over Milan this year! Stephan Siepermann’s Leaft’ Wall Lamp made from cast plastic leaves using reused materials, at Tuttobenne.
Eco-tech designer Tashiyuki Kita’s ‘Sunplant Solar Generator/Sculpture’, Whirlpool’s Eco-System kitchen, a fantastic concept design which shares heat between components to achieve a 70% reduction in energy consumption. Seekret Pot has an interactive component which tells you the age of the plant without disturbing it, TRØKK16’s Eco-friendly’ Frøy Chair’ is a stunning work of bent-wood design, Anouk Omlo’s ‘Helica Ceramic ‘work is one of the stunners at Milan 2008 this year.
‘Free-range’ furniture designer Ryan Frank ‘S modular bamboo creation, dubbed ‘Zig’, is just one of many designs . If the Zig storage/display system is any indication of what eco-friendly design treats are in store, things are looking very promising.
Zig is made from solid bamboo and will be available in a variety of naturally stained colors to highlight the fun form and intriguing negative spaces. Commissioned by Alberto Bianchi Albrici of the renowned Milanese gallery Post Design, Zig is an exciting development as it represents a keen sense of style and a mean green philosophy. Known for his use of sustainable and salvaged materials, Frank says his designs start with sustainability, “All my furniture I design has some form of eco-sensitivity in the materials and processes I use.”
Frank’s Inkuku (Zulu for “chicken”) chair that put a modern spin on a traditional African craft technique by choosing to use plastic shopping bags and recycled aluminum as the materials. And we were entranced by the Strata line that turned de-constructed old office furniture and FSC-certified wood into new, sleek chairs and tables. Via Inhabitat
Italian Design house Cappellini presented its new ‘eco-sustainable’ range named ‘cappellini love’. The collection boasts a number of designs by Stephen Burks that are produced in africa.
Canfora
