The future of sustainable design is here | Part I

Image Source: https://www.springwise.com/sustainability-innovation/health-wellbeing/bioplastic-face-shield-food-waste/

Bio-design is one of the most important branches of design today. The development of the means of production and the continuous research both by studios and individual creators is ever increasing. The need to find solutions to ecological issues is both a challenge and an inspiration for emerging designers.

In this article, we present some of the designers that are active today in the field of creative bio-design and who choose sustainable and bio-degradable materials to create unique objects, while inventing alternatives to widespread materials that harm the environment such as plastic. 

Alice Potts is engaged in the research and discovery of new materials. During the last six years, she has been promoting sustainable development in design through the use of bio-constructions in her work, examining the relationship between biology and materiality. Her products are called “bioplastics” and consist of discarded food that has been processed into a solid form, somewhat similar to silicone, which allows her to create objects with the infinite possibilities provided by the new material, spanning from weaving to sculpture.

“Decomposition of Materiality and Identities” by Scarlett Yang seeks sustainable design alternatives through the combination of bio-design and digital manufacturing with 3D-generative simulation and “traditional” design. She was recently honored with the LVMH Maison/0 Green Trial award. Yang has extensively experimented with the above combinations and has come up with a glass-like fabric made from seaweed extract and silk protein. Her work begins to biodegrade after 24 hours as it is fully organic. She is interesting in opening a conversation about rejecting the “permanent” and proposing the “ephemeral” as a constructional solution. 

Image source: https://www.youfab.info/2020/winners/decomposition-of-materiality

Blast is a team of researchers/lab founded in 2018 with the aim of investigating the possible relationships between new technologies and living organisms so that new procedures of artistic and architectural creation can be developed. Digital design and manufacturing tools are the focal points of their experiments. Blast Studio develops research to explore new ways to create a dialogue between nature and technology. This is achieved by creating an urban ecosystem, which recycles waste into sustainable objects such as furniture.

Image Source: https://www.stirpad.com/news/stir-news/seaweed-textiles-to-shoe-sole-doorstops-eco-friendly-products-redefining-innovation/

Marie Melcore is yet another creator who turns to the many possible uses of the “waste product”. Using fruit and vegetable scraps, she has come up with a sustainable and ethical substitute for leather. The different colors and many textures come from the different fruits she uses, while outer parts of the works are reminiscent of animal leather, thus aiming to abolish the use of real leather, a tradition that constitutes one of the worst industries in the world.

Image Source: https://www.fashioncrossover-london.com/marie-melcore-design-process-i4161

Peel Saver is the “child” of the Italian design collective of Simone Caronni, Paolo Stefano Gentile and Pietro Gaeli. The designers have developed an eco-friendly packaging made from potato skins. Using the natural starch and fiber of the potato, they create a mixture that is left to dry naturally, resulting in a completely biodegradable material. After its use, the leather-paper can be reused as a plant fertilizer.

Image Source: https://paolostefanogentile.it/project/peel-saver/

MIYUCA stands for handmade product design using natural materials. Since 2015 the studio creates objects made of autumn leaves. These products are called LAAB, which literally means leaves in the South Tyrolean language. Jasmin Castagnaro founded MIYUCA after working as an industrial designer for several studios. Inspired by the light that shines through the leaves in autumn, MIYUCA has developed a unique series of lamps, aiming to use raw materials that we usually think of as waste. The LAAB lampshades are handmade and unique in composition, while they are transparent. The types of leaves ultimately determine the structure and color of each item. Many of the individual components, which are usually made of plastic, have been replaced by hand-crafted metal.

Image Source: https://interiorpark.com/en/miyuca