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This video is a really good conversation about collaborative design. Cameron Sinclair talks about projects he has worked on in Africa where creative thinking has made a big difference in people lives. His idea of ‘Open Source’ design uses the internet to create a free flowing creative environment where ideas can flourish without the restriction of geography.
While Londoners were fleeing the city during the long Easter weekend, this was actually a good time for a foreigner like me to check out what’s hot in the capital’s museums. Victoria and Albert was, of course, in the top of my list. This was where I happened to see two pieces of furniture that belonged to a period which I think is very much worth looking furhter into—a period that witnessed a movement called the Utility Furniture Scheme.
Starting in the UK, during the harsh conditions of mid-WWII and lasting for a decade, this scheme was basically a reaction to the material shortages (specifically timber) experienced in furniture production. The main objective was to bring about a more responsible approach to furniture design, so that scarce available resources were used in a sensible way. The reach of its precautions went as far as restricting furniture purchase only to newly-weds and people who had been bombed out.
There is a lot of buzz around ‘green’ and ’sustainable’ products. The big issue with this kind of marketing is that there is a big difference between saying green and being green. Read a previous post on greenwashing. The onus now lies on the consumer to check up on the manufacturer to make sure all their claims are accurate and no naughty indiscretions have been conveniently left out. The American Society of Interior Designers have developed a green products checklist which gives you things to look for when purchasing a green or sustainable product.
Bamboo is the un-official poster material of sustainable design. The article Bamboo, Part II: What’s so good about the stuff? from Core77 gives a quick rundown of the benefits of this versatile grass. However the most interesting part of the article is in the comments section.
It’s worth mentioning some of the negatives:
Bamboo varies hugely in quality. Younger bamboo is much softer, but much cheaper to produce (faster harvest cycle = more bamboo).
Bamboo is glued together with adhesives that are very often toxic. It’s a Chinese product and not seriously regulated. Some Bamboo (i.e. Woven Strand process which has more glue in it) was banned in Europe because of excessive VOC (volatile organic compounds) released into homes - including formaldehyde.
Also, in some places, bamboo has become so over harvested, the indigenous population which relied on bamboo for their homes, their food, their tools and so on are being starved.
It ain’t as pretty as it looks!
Recently I have found the joys of riding to work, it saves me about 1 hour a day in commuting and I get a free workout (so thats probably another 30 minutes as well). Not only that I am doing my little bit for the planet (and my wallet) at the same time.
I got my bike through the ‘Ride to work’ scheme at Evans Cycles. (Check it out, you can save up to 50% on the cost of a bike) Once I got my beautiful new matte-black ‘Scott’ I immediately reverted back to my 10 year-old days of skids and wheelies. Now I go everywhere on it, walking now seems pointless, and driving or catching the bus is just too time consuming and expensive.
So if you can handle a bead of sweat on your forehead when you get to work, and want to save time, money and keep trim, get a bike. If your not yet convinced read this article from Treehugger, and then try and get your car to do 600mpg.
Here is a cool use of old paper-backs by UK Designer Lucy Norman…
Lucy Norman’s usage of recycled materials is key to her art. She has focused on designing a range of products under the slogan “Rethink, Reuse, Rebook”, combining a concern for the environment and the reuse of waste in a way that is both stylish and commercial. Another variation on green and re-cycled chandeliers, this one is made of recycled books which cannot be sold as no-one will buy them. Ordinarily they would have to be land filled which is costly and detrimental to the environment. Instead she created “Light Reading”, a quirky (and flame retardant) chandelier made by folding pages of books and hanging them around a ceiling light. The Paperback Partition is also made from unwanted books, and is an aesthetically pleasing room divider, providing good heat and acoustic insulation.
Here is the Link via Treehugger
A recent piece of writing I had read in a Turkish newspaper reveals it all about a personal greenwash. The Stockholm correspondent of this newspaper had sent an article about the poshness of being green in the Swedish capital, in which she told how “in” it was to go down on the street, to the recycling bin, and finally to recycle your waste, and let everyone see you during the process.
While that seems to be the case in Western Europe, one would find it really difficult to hold onto a green lifestyle in Turkey, since there is a huge lack of awareness of the issue. However, as careless are the businesses and people in Turkey about sustainability, a newcomer to the UK might get just as tired of seeing so many words like green, eco, sustainable, etc. It’s big business here.
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Anyone who has worked with MDF as a building material knows it probably isn’t that good for you. Memories of coughing up a wood-paste after doing all night workshop sessions at design school are all too vivid for me. Then it was off to a furniture factory where my old friend MDF literally made my skin crawl. It is a very functional material, you can make almost anything from it, but at what cost? It isn’t just the poor people who have to build your cabinets and shelves from MDF on a day to day basis. Once those products become part of your home the chemicals slowly leach out into your atmosphere and find their way into your lungs.
In 1987, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified formaldehyde as a probable human carcinogen under conditions of unusually high or prolonged exposure (1). Since that time, some studies of industrial workers have suggested that formaldehyde exposure is associated with nasal cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer, and possibly with leukemia. In 1995, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that formaldehyde is a probable human carcinogen. However, in a reevaluation of existing data in June 2004, the IARC reclassified formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen (2).
Choosing furniture is not just simply a matter of aesthetics and function. The time has come when we all have to think about the impact your lovely new dining table may be having on the environment. Below is an except from Treehuggers-How to Green Your Furniture which gives you the top ten tips on being more responsible when purchasing furniture. My personal favourite is number three, but hey I am biased. :) (see our Grass and Hoop series).
I only ever thought it was a dusty/damp home that could be bad for my lungs, but now I realise that the sweet smell of “home” could be having a real big effect on my health.(see this article in Treehugger ) Everything from furniture to cleaning products or even not opening the window regularly can lead to a scarily high level of pollutants floating around in the air I breath.
Pollution from power plants, cars, and other transportation is a well-known contributor to outdoor air pollution, but indoor air pollution is often worse; it can be up to 10 times worse for you than the air outside. Microbial pollutants like mold, pet dander and plant pollen can combine with chemicals like radon and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to create a pretty toxic environment in your home; since we spend an average of 90% of our time indoors and 65% of our time inside our homes, according to the National Safety Council that can add up to allergies, asthma and worse.
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