materials Archives

Beauty in the Grain: How a Colorado Mountain Home Was Brought to Life With Redwood Cladding

A home’s materials tell a story of how we live. Nestled in the picturesque mountains of Colorado stands a remarkable testament to sustainable material sourcing. Brought to fruition by Colorado Springs-based architect-engineer Scott Harvey, this mountain home was made to connect with the natural surroundings as an expansive and open retreat. In turn, the project’s redwood cladding reflects a family’s values as they built a home of their own.

A Family Home in the Mountains

Located in the mountains north of Colorado Springs in the town of Monument, this home was made for an active family with five children. The family was hoping for a home that embraced natural light and views out onto the landscape. Working together with builder Palmer Ridge Construction, the team brought the new, 10,538 square-foot home to life with seven bedrooms and expansive glazing. Outside, the home features an unadorned stucco finish and a continuous, seamless band of wood cladding. This warm, redwood band runs non-stop from the exterior through the interior.

The Colorado Mountain Home features an extensive use of redwood from Humboldt Sawmill. Humboldt Sawmill manufactures a full line of redwood and Douglas-fir wood products. Logs are sourced from nearly 450,000 acres of company-owned timberlands, where harvest levels are consistently below the forests’ annual growth rate and harvested trees are replanted. Logs are then processed into lumber.

For this home, the builder had Humboldt Sawmill transport the raw lumber to a dealer in Colorado where it was milled locally to the desired shiplap pattern. Local availability kept the cost within budget. In addition, it was easier to install than tropical hardwoods and no stain was required; only two coats of clear sealer. Redwood, known for its durability, beauty and sustainability, adds warmth to the design and creates a seamless transition from the interior to the exterior of the home.

Sustainable Sourcing

Photo by Kelly Edmondson

What sets this mountain home apart is not just its design but also its commitment to sustainability. The redwood from Humboldt Sawmill was sourced from company-owned Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC® C013133) certified timberlands in Northern California, where it is grown and harvested to the highest environmental standards in the world. FSC certification ensures that products come from forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits. The FSC Principles and Criteria provide a foundation for all forest management standards globally, including the FSC® US National Standard (v1.0) that guides forest management certification in the U.S.

This commitment to sustainability not only reduces the home’s carbon footprint but also supports the conservation of forests for future generations.

Key Properties of Redwood

Photo by Kelly Edmondson

Redwood is renowned for its natural beauty and resilience, making it an ideal choice for this mountain home. Redwood is also native to the U.S., not imported. There are several key properties of redwood that make it a preferred building material:

Durability: Redwood heartwood from the center of the tree is naturally resistant to decay and insects, making it an excellent choice for outdoor applications such as siding, decking and fencing. As the team for the Colorado Mountain Home explain, “natural durability through tannins in the redwood heartwood render the wood resistant to termites and decay, an important factor in the home’s mountain environment.”

Aesthetic Appeal: Redwood’s rich color and grain patterns add a touch of elegance and warmth to homes and commercial projects alike. Its natural beauty only enhances over time, developing a patina that adds to the charm of a building.

Sustainability: Redwood is a renewable resource, with the ability to regrow from the stump after harvesting. When sourced from responsibly managed forests, redwood is a sustainable building material that helps reduce the environmental impact of construction.

Workability: Redwood is easy to work with, making it a favorite among architects and builders. It can be easily cut, shaped and installed, allowing for intricate designs and detailing that enhance the overall aesthetics of the home.

Built to Last: A Home for Future Generations

Photo by Kelly Edmondson

At the heart of this Colorado home is the contrast between materials: the natural white Brauer veneer stone and stark white stucco stand out against the warmth of the redwood. Expansive windows open up to views of ponderosa pines and scrub oaks, while inside, the home features white oak flooring and custom cabinets. From these rooms, multiple patios and decks flow together to bring the family outside and create connections to their surroundings.

Photo by Kelly Edmondson

The Colorado mountain home stands as a testament to the harmonious relationship between nature and design. Through the use of Humboldt Sawmill’s redwood sourced from responsibly managed forests, this home not only showcases the beauty and durability of this remarkable material but also highlights the importance of working with the right manufacturers and builders. Today, the home tells a story of family, warmth and connectedness through its details and construction.

To learn more about how you can harness the unique qualities of redwood for your next project, reach out to the experts at Humboldt Sawmill.

Reference

Graphic from IRP's GRO24 report showing global material extraction, four main material categories, 1970 – 2024, million tonnes

Sustainable News

Buildings “biggest lever” for improving global resource efficiency says UN

By Zarkon Group,27/03/2024

The built environment is the fastest-growing consumer of materials in the world – but it also offers the most potential for improvement according to Julia Okatz, advisor on the UN’s landmark Global Resource Outlook.

Making buildings and neighbourhoods more efficient could reduce the global need for raw materials by 25 per cent by 2060, the International Resource Panel (IRP) report found, while slashing energy demand and emissions by 30 per cent.

“Built environment patterns are the single most important determiner of a country’s emissions,” Okatz told Dezeen.

“[Firstly] because of its direct impacts, because of heating and all the climate impacts embodied in materials, but also because of its impact on people’s behaviour,” she continued.

“The built environment isn’t just concrete use, it has all these other implications on energy use, so it is probably the biggest lever overall.”

The need for carefully considered buildings that reduce resource use while maintaining or even improving inhabitants’ quality of life presents an exciting opportunity for architects to take more control of the planning process, Okatz argues,

“I think architects would be one of the major benefitting industries in this scenario,” she said.

“We need less mass deployment of inefficient options and much more architectural design. So I think for architects, it’s actually a growth agenda.”

Resource use tripled in the last 50 years

Launched during the sixth session of the UN Environment Assembly this month, the 2024 Global Resource Outlook is the IRP‘s latest review of the world’s resource use since the last edition of the report was published in 2019.

Our “insatiable use of resources” has tripled over the last 50 years, the latest report found, and is now responsible for over 55 per cent of global emissions and 40 per cent of air pollution impacts, making it the “main driver” of the planetary crisis.

While environmental impacts are escalating, the economic and wellbeing benefits brought by our increasing use of the Earth’s resources have stagnated – and in some cases even declined

Left unchecked, material extraction looks set to rise by a further 60 per cent by 2060, compounding these negative impacts.

FoamWork formwork for concrete slabs by ETH Zurich — Clever formwork could be used to make buildings less concrete-intensive. Photo by Patrick Bedarf

Buildings and construction are chief among the four sectors responsible for this increase, according to the Global Resource Outlook. “The built environment globally is the fastest growing material consumer,” said Okatz, who is the “right hand” of IRP co-chair Janez Potočnik and the director of natural resources at consulting firm Systemiq.

But the report also outlines an achievable path by which the industry could reduce its use of raw materials by 25 per cent by 2060, while helping to deliver “global prosperity”.

“You can lift a lot of those people now living in poverty onto a level of really good quality of life in a really efficient way if – and this is the important if – high-income countries also get a lot more efficient,” Okatz said.

Single-family homes “bad urban design”

Concrete makes up the biggest and fastest-growing chunk of the built environment’s material demand.

Sand, gravel, limestone and other “non-metallic minerals” used to make concrete account for half of all materials extracted globally and around half of the industry’s entire climate footprint, according to the Global Resource Outlook.

More efficient structural design – making use of innovations such as vaulted flooring and clever formwork – can reduce concrete use per building by around 30 per cent, Okatz estimates.

And switching to low-carbon concrete or biomass-based alternatives like timber can help to mitigate some of the adverse environmental impacts.

But perhaps the biggest and most undervalued solution highlighted in the report lies in changing what kind of buildings are built – not just how they are constructed, according to Okatz.

“About 50 per cent of residential construction in Europe is single-family homes and, to be honest, that’s just bad urban design,” she said.

“It’s also not particularly future-proof because demand might still be quite high now but the overall trend, largely, is people moving into city centres and wanting to be less car-dependent,” she added.

“So we think a lot of that will basically be a bad investment beyond 20 years from now, even if it wasn’t resource inefficient.”

Architects can lead the charge

Instead, the data suggests we need more “medium-density” residential buildings, which require fewer resources to build and operate while offering a superior quality of life compared to more dense developments.

“In a European context, the average is to say something like six-unit houses are probably best,” Okatz said. “Because it still allows people really good green space access and good noise insulation, all of these things. But it’s quite efficient.”

Following the example of Belgium’s De Sijs project (top image) and Virrey Aviles Street housing in Buenos Aires (below), making these kinds of dwellings more aspirational and attractive presents a key opportunity for architects, according to Okatz.

Aluminium Virrey Aviles Street apartment surrounded by lush greenery by Juan Campanini and Josefina Sposito — Virrey Aviles Street housing balances resource efficiency with green space access. Photo by Javier Agustín Rojas

“Architects and great design should be valued more because everyone can do a boring single-family home but not everyone can do an amazing six-unit community living space,” she said.

“What good architecture can do to slightly denser living – to me that is where I would see architects really leading the way,” Okatz continued.

“To say: if you do it right, this is how amazing life can be in these kinds of set-ups so people don’t even want to live in their own little thing anymore because it’s lonely, inefficient and expensive.”

The top image of the De Sijs housing project in Belgium is by Stijn Bollaert.

Reference

Interior Design

Fala Atelier designs Lisbon home with “very Portuguese” materials

By Zarkon Group,22/03/2024

Architecture studio Fala Atelier decked out the angular spaces of the 087 house in Lisbon with oversized spots and stripes, which also feature on its bold marble facade.

Designed by Porto-based studio Fala Atelier, 087 is a three-storey home in the Portuguese capital with a rectilinear facade decorated with chunky marble shapes.

The studio, known for its playful use of geometry, created custom carpentry from locally sourced materials to accommodate the home’s curved and staggered walls and the sloping ceilings within the building.

A garden-facing kitchen on the ground floor includes terrazzo flooring and stepped timber cabinetry decorated with bold black and white stripes and topped with marble slabs.

Funnel-shaped extractor fan by Fala Atelier — A funnel-shaped extractor fan adds an eclectic touch

Unusual features such as a funnel-shaped, teal-hued extractor fan add an eclectic touch. This Fala Atelier-designed piece can also be found in a windowless garage in Lisbon that the studio converted for a couple.

“There are no elegant extractors on the market,” Fala Atelier partner Filipe Magalhães told Dezeen.

“All of them look like nasty appliances. With the kitchen in the way of the window, we knew we would have to integrate the fan. Since we couldn’t make it disappear, we celebrated the piece,” he added.

The open-plan kitchen connects to the living area, which is characterised by pinewood flooring dotted with geometric walnut accents.

“The colours of the stripes and the dots on the floor really try to be noble,” said Magalhães.

Living space with Togo sofas — Bespoke Fala Atelier-designed doors and window frames match the kitchen cabinets

The space also features doors designed by the studio and caramel-coloured Ligne Roset Togo sofas – a quilted and low-slung design classic created by Michel Ducaroy in 1973.

This seating was positioned next to a boxy fireplace clad with gleaming white ceramic tiles and a squat display plinth finished in veiny black marble.

Custom striped cabinetry by Fala Atelier — Custom cabinetry also features on the upper floors

“We tried to diversify the material palette as much as possible while still making it quite banal,” explained Magalhães.

“The choices are very Portuguese, but the mixture aims at being more than just that,” added the architect.

Board-formed concrete ceilings were included throughout

Upstairs, the same bespoke cabinetry as in the kitchen was used to form larger cupboards across the curved and angular private spaces of the two upper floors.

Board-formed concrete ceilings, which also feature downstairs, were paired with oversized rounded mirrors in the bathrooms and a mixture of timber and marble flooring.

The garden-facing facade follows the same geometry as its street-facing component, also featuring circular and rectilinear decorative shapes.

“This house is a lot about the relationship with the garden,” said Magalhães, noting the floor-to-ceiling glazing that connects the indoor and outdoor spaces.

Garden-facing facade with chunky marble decoration — 087 focuses on “the relationship with the garden”

Fala Atelier has designed several homes in a similar style, including six micro-houses in Porto with geometric forms and concrete finishes and another Porto property topped with a striped concrete roof.

The photography is by Francisco Ascensao and Giulietta Margot.

Reference

Sustainable News

FranklinTill lists nine principles for a shift to regenerative materials

By Zarkon Group,20/03/2024

Design research agency FranklinTill has compiled a list of principles to help designers, makers and brands avoid greenwashing when sourcing textiles.

By making it easier to identify textiles that have a greater positive impact on people and planet, FranklinTill hopes to enable a shift towards regenerative materials.

“We can only move towards a regenerative approach to textiles by understanding the full lifecycle of our materials,” said co-founder FranklinTill Caroline Till.

“As designers, makers, brands and manufacturers, we need to think of materials not as static and linear, but as dynamic, evolving systems, to holistically consider the full impact to the wider ecosystem they are a part of.”

The defining characteristic of regenerative materials, according to Till, is that they restore and nourish the ecosystems they are part of.

“Sustainability, by its very definition, is all about maintaining the status quo, while regeneration seeks to actively heal and put back better,” she said.

FranklinTill first unveiled its nine principles of regenerative design in an exhibition at the Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt in January, with a second show planned for the Techtextil fair in April.

In an online exclusive, we are also unveiling them here. Read on to see all nine, with captions written by FranklinTill and examples of material innovation in practice:

Agave textile production in Mexico — Designer Fernando Laposse works with local communities in Mexico to process sisal, a fibrous material made from agave leaves, which he turns into hairy furniture

Enriching Communities

“To go beyond sustainability and become regenerative, we must focus on both the social and the environmental impact of production.”

“This means spotlighting how materials are made and by whom, looking to improve livelihoods with better pay, working conditions and future prospects.”

Bulrush plants used for BioPuff material — British manufacturer Ponda produces BioPuff, an insulating fibre filler material, using bulrush plants grown on natural wetlands

Replenishing the Land

“Focused on high yields with an over-reliance on pesticides and water, modern industrial farming damages land.”

“Regenerative farming works holistically to reverse this, rebuilding organic soil matter and sequestering carbon in soil, wetlands and trees, retaining water and reducing the use of artificial pesticides and fertilisers.”

Yak khullu wool is made by nomad families on the Tibetan Plateau — Lifestyle brand Norlha creates apparel and homewares from yak khullu wool, which is handcrafted by nomad families on the Tibetan Plateau

Preserving Heritage

“Many indigenous practices are regenerative by nature, working with the land and local communities.”

“By acknowledging and celebrating the value of cultural heritage and craftsmanship and learning from its ecological wisdom, we can protect valuable skills and knowledge from being lost to technology and globalisation.”

Textiles made from sunflowers — British textile brand Climafibre produces fabrics from sunflowers, a species that can be grown with minimal intervention, fertilisers or watering

Restoring Biodiversity

“Regenerative practices must take a multispecies approach to encouraging biodiversity.”

“Acknowledging the threat of extinction, addressing the causes of loss, and reviving habitats for diverse plants and wildlife aids ecological restoration.”

Charlotte Werth has developed a printing process that uses bacteria to create pigments — Designer Charlotte Werth has developed a fabric printing process that uses bacteria to create pigments

Biological Fabrication

“The convergence of science and design offers huge potential for new materials, from living microbial systems to synthesising nature’s regenerative powers.”

“Growing and extracting next-generation materials using innovative, highly productive processes can create plentiful resources from minimal input.”

Keel Labs produces a textile industry yarn from kelp — US-based Keel Labs produces Kelsun, a seaweed-based yarn, using an abundant polymer found in kelp

Naturally Abundant

“Highly productive, resilient raw materials that grow with little human intervention offer naturally high yields, strengthen soils and capture carbon.”

“These abundant, versatile crops could help move the focus away from traditional natural material fibres that require high levels of water, pesticides or fertilisers.”

Desso carpet tiles by Tarkett use post-consumer waste — Circularity is built into all of the design and manufacturing processes for Tarkett’s Desso carpet tiles

Reclaiming Material

“Extracting raw materials, making products, then discarding them and their byproducts is contributing to the global waste problem.”

“By putting useful waste streams back into production, we can better utilise existing resources and avoid waste altogether.”

Haelixa is bringing transparency to material supply chains by applying distinct DNA codes to raw materials, using a customised spraying system

Radical Transparency

“By using science and technology to create tools and processes that capture and record data along supply chains, we can understand the social and environmental impact of the materials we consume.”

“Encrypting materials helps brands track their footprints and life cycles, and communicate this information to customers in a meaningful, trustworthy and accessible way.”

Sanne Visser works with human hair — Dutch designer Sanne Visser uses traditional rope-making techniques to turn human hair into handspun yarns

Cultivating Localism

“By supporting the local sourcing, production and consumption of materials, we can avoid globalised transportation and reduce carbon footprints.”

“Focusing on availability, seasonality and resourcefulness means embracing non-standardisation, often improving local environments as well as extracting from them.”

Reference

Interior Design

Erik Bratsberg fills Persona restaurant with tactile materials

By Zarkon Group,08/03/2024

Interior designer Erik Bratsberg has created unique artwork for the interior of the Persona restaurant in Stockholm, which also features asymmetrical terrazzo and patinated brass details.

Bratsberg, who worked in finance before moving into interior design, wanted the fine dining restaurant in Stockholm’s upmarket Östermalm neighbourhood to have a warm and welcoming feel.

“The inspiration is drawn from a mix of personal experiences, subconscious imprints from admired styles, particularly mid-century Italian design, and a desire to integrate a homely warmth into a hospitality environment,” he told Dezeen.

“The design philosophy centres around creating a timeless, inviting space that enhances the dining experience while maintaining a sense of personal touch and intimacy.”

Bar in Stockholm restaurant — Green tones feature throughout the interior

Green hues are used throughout Persona‘s 120-square-metre interior, complementing its cream-coloured walls and numerous wooden furniture pieces and panelling.

“Green is my go-to when I want to arouse a sense of calmness and comfort,” Bratsberg explained.

Soft white chairs in front of curtained window — Designer Erik Bratsberg used furniture pieces with rounded and organic shapes

“It’s a tertiary colour, a mix of a cold and a warm colour, which allows it to go well with both warmer and colder hues and materials – a yin and yang of colours somehow,” he added.

“Green also brings the mind to nature and I guess my love for green relates to the joy of seeing the leaves back on the trees after a long Swedish winter.”

Wood-panelled wall in Östermalm restaurant — “Honey-tinted” oak shelving is filled with crockery and art

The restaurant, which feels more like a living room than an eatery in parts, also features plenty of natural materials such as stone and wood, which are interspersed with terrazzo and brass to create tactile interest.

This material mix was chosen to evoke a sense of “casual elegance”, Bratsberg said.

“For the floor I played around with the possibilities of terrazzo, using shades of green and warm greys and whites forming an asymmetrical pattern,” the designer explained.

Bratsberg clad the walls of the Persona restaurant in an off-white plaster with a mottled surface, designed to contrast the “silky honey-tinted oak” used for the wall shelving and tables.

“Patinated brass together with details in yellow ochre acts as an accent,” Bratsberg added. “Sheer curtains, patinated leather and textured textiles round it all off.”

Living-room like corner in Persona eatery — Bratsberg created his own artworks for the restaurant

Custom-made abstract artworks also decorate the interior. Bratsberg made these himself from watercolour paintings that he had made, which were then screen-printed onto acoustic panels.

“In my multidisciplinary practice I strive to interrelate my art, design and interior work – why not make a lamp into sculpture, or a bar front as a painting, or a plain wall a relief?” Bratsberg said.

Jagged shapes decorate Stockholm restaurant — Cut-out geometric details add extra interest to the bar

Also notable in the interior is the variation of shapes, with the angular tables and counters contrasting against round and jagged lamps, cut-out geometric details and smaller tables made from organically shaped burl wood and stone.

“Perfectly straight lines and symmetry bring order and calmness for the eye, but never have I been particularly intrigued by squares and straight lines,” Bratsberg said.

“On the other hand, too much asymmetrical geometries and organic shapes can bring the feeling of disorder. But balancing the two – as with many opposites or contrasts – can create an interesting harmony,” he added.

Bathroom of Persona restaurant — The bathroom features undulating mirrors and a mix of different shapes

In the bathroom, undulating mirrors match a wavy sink and are juxtaposed against square wall niches and angled, jagged cut-out wall decorations.

“Forms, lines, colours and materiality speak to us in mysterious ways, but an interior without any sculptural form and asymmetries is like a language without exclamation marks, gestures or emotional expression to me,” Bratsberg concluded.

Other Stockholm restaurants with interesting interiors featured on Dezeen include an “unexpected” restaurant in a historic food hall and a decadent Italian restaurant located in a former cinema.

The photography is by Erik Lefvander.

Reference

Bou bag by Ganni made using plant-based BioFluff fake fur in pink

Sustainable News

The allure of the ‘bio’ prefix must be taken with some healthy scrutiny

By Zarkon Group,15/02/2024

Biomaterials have the potential to significantly cut carbon emissions but designers should approach them with caution to avoid creating a whole new set of problems, warns Sioban Imms.

The vision of a civilisation based on biomaterials is compelling: products, clothes and buildings made from materials that have been “grown”, rather than derived from polluting, extractive fossil industries. The promise is not only lower emissions, but products that are more in tune with the environment – manufactured objects that are part of the natural cycle of life. And consumers are willing to pay a premium for such ostensibly “sustainable” products – 12 per cent more, according to a recent study by Bain.

However, in a bid to gain competitive advantage, marketing narratives surrounding biomaterials are regularly inflated or gloss over important details. Prefixing “bio” to a material name conjures a sense of being natural, compostable, and better all round for personal and environmental health.

Marketing narratives surrounding biomaterials are regularly inflated

But these claims can unravel, or at least become complicated, when researching a little deeper than the material classification, product name and strapline. A report from RepRisk found a 70 per cent increase in incidents of greenwashing between 2022 and 2023. Incoming legislation in the EU is specifically targeting this issue.

The definition and terminology around biomaterials is still evolving. For clarity, we’re not talking here about biomaterial designed for implanting into the body, but biologically derived materials used in product, fashion and architecture.

Often grown using living micro-organisms like yeast, bacteria, cellulose and mycelium, they can be finely tuned at the nanoscale by engineering DNA sequences to produce specific properties. For example, UK company Colorfix tweaks the DNA of bacteria so that they excrete coloured pigments for dyeing textiles. Microbial manufacturing organisms like these tend to be fed, fermented and modified in controlled environments.

The substitution of fossil-derived, high-carbon materials for biomaterials is urgently important. A recently published study by Radboud Universiteit in the Netherlands concluded that biomaterials reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by an average of 45 per cent compared to fossil-based materials.

But biomaterials are not a magic bullet to the multi-faceted nature crisis industrial civilisation is causing. Especially important is avoiding what are sometimes called “regrettable substitutions” – whereby one material is replaced with another that merely introduces a new set of problems.

For example, BioCane disposable food packaging is an alternative to plastic food packaging made from bagasse – pulped sugarcane-fibre, a waste product from the sugar industry. The design is geared to express its natural origins and circularity, from the subtly flecked, neutral colour and matte finish to the embossed logomark featuring a plant within a gradated circle.

Biomaterials are not a magic bullet to the multi-faceted nature crisis

However, for BioCane to be grease repellant (so it doesn’t fall apart before you’ve consumed the contents) it needs an oleophobic coating, unlike plastic packaging. BioCane uses a polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) for this coating. PFAS are termed “forever chemicals” due to their damaging long-term persistence and accumulation in the environment – not to mention our own bodies.

BioPak, which produces BioCane, transparently publishes information about this on its website, highlighting it as an industry-wide problem. The company also includes a timely pledge to phase out PFAS-containing packaging by June 2024, which happens to coincide with a move to phase out PFAS by the Environmental Protection Agency in the US.

Not all manufacturers are as responsible; it’s common to find unlisted additives – or perhaps a fossil-based lamination to improve a material’s durability – under a headline claim of biological origins.

Bioplastic is another material experiencing significant growth, partly driven by high oil prices making fossil-fuel-derived plastic less competitive. Most bioplastic is made from ethanol, commonly sourced from corn, wheat or sugarcane. Sugarcane, for example, is planted in monocultures in tropical and sub-tropical countries like Brazil. The sugar is extracted, fermented and distilled to produce precursor chemicals for bioplastics.

But to assess the environmental value of using this bioplastic, we need to know about how the crops are managed – for example, the pesticides and synthetic fertilisers used to increase crop yield, the land-clearance practices, and the effect on food prices if the bioplastic became widely adopted. At the end of the product’s life, specialised infrastructure for disposal will need to be in place, further complicating the picture.

Biodegradable bioplastic would seem to offer a solution to the worst ravages of plastic – the alarming buildup of microplastic pollution across the world. How much better if the material could be absorbed back into the environment?

Biodegradable doesn’t mean a material will break down in the environment over useful timescales

The market opportunity for biodegradable plastics is alluring, and forecasts predict that they will account for the majority of the bioplastics market – 62 per cent, by 2028. This opportunity is attracting investment and also the potential for greenwashing as companies vie for a competitive advantage over others.

But biodegradable doesn’t mean a material will break down in the environment over useful timescales. A 2022 UCL study of supposedly “home compostable” bioplastics revealed that 60 per cent did not fully degrade within the tested timespans – a finding that unravels the whole purpose for investing in compostable packaging.

Claims relating to bioplastics were at the crux of a recent legal case brought against US biotech firm Danimer Scientific Inc. The manufacturer of biodegradable products had claimed that its proprietary plastic material Nodax PHA is able to biodegrade not only in industrial composting facilities but in landfill and in the ocean.

Danimer’s share prices rocketed, sparking an investigative report in the Wall Street Journal, which stated that “many claims about Nodax are exaggerated and misleading, according to several experts on biodegradable plastics”. Danimer refutes this statement, but what came out in court was that the company performed biodegradability tests on Nodax in a powdered form, which doesn’t relate to real-world product formats like bottles that have variable thickness.

The legal case was eventually dismissed, but nonetheless the alleged greenwashing spiked Danimer’s share price, shaking investors’ trust in the company and having knock-on effects for the wider industry.

Going forward, manufacturers will need to be transparent about what goes into their products. In the EU, legislation tackling greenwashing in product labelling will come into effect in 2026. The new law is a direct response to the rise in misleading claims that companies use.

When specifying a biomaterial, it’s important to dig into its provenance

It comes after a study commissioned by the bloc found that 53 per cent of green claims on products and services are vague, misleading or unfounded, and 40 per cent have no supporting evidence. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority has published the Green Claims Code – a six-point guide to help businesses ensure they are not unwittingly misleading customers.

These two initiatives highlight the importance of using the right language when promoting products and materials, and as the impact of the EU’s legislation ripples through the industry, there will be a natural calibration to more transparency.

The takeaway for designers is that, as ever, the picture is complex. When specifying a biomaterial, it’s important to dig into its provenance, as well as to look at the material use and disposal. The allure of the “bio” prefix from an ethical – and marketing – perspective may be strong, but must be taken along with some healthy scrutiny.

Sioban Imms is a colour, material and finish (CMF) and sustainability strategist with a background in design and manufacturing. She is co-founder of consulting agency Substance and a contributing editor at trend forecasters Stylus and WGSN.

The photo, of MarinaTex designed by Lucy Hughes, is courtesy of the University of Sussex.

Dezeen In Depth
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Reference

Workstation Sinks By Delta Faucet Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Kitchen & Bath, Fixtures & Fittings - Kitchen

Architecture

Smart and Stylish: 6 Innovative Home Products Deftly Designed for Modern Life

By Zarkon Group,13/02/2024

Architizer’s A+Product Awards is open for submissions, with the Extended Entry Deadline fast approaching on Friday, February 23rd. Get your products in front of the AEC industry’s most renowned designers by submitting today.

The time we spend at home has been on a steep incline over the past few years. Much of this time is accounted for by the considerable rise in people working from home. However, it’s not all work. Spending time on other activities at home has also seen a dramatic surge. For many people, their home has become their sanctuary, opting for intimate dinner parties over visiting lavish restaurants and cozy movie nights on the sofa above dancing in crowded nightclubs. Our homes are our offices, our gyms, our libraries, our playgrounds, and, in some cases, even our supermarkets. It is thanks to this shift in societal behavior that we are changing our view of what our homes are and what we need them to do for us, and with that, how we choose to furnish them is changing, too.

Homeowners are investing more in their homes, aiming to make their places of refuge as functional, comfortable, and efficient as they can — adopting new technologies to create spaces that are adaptable and places that can cater to an evolving lifestyle.

As of 2024, there are over 400 million smart homes worldwide, expected to reach 478.2 million by 2025. In the United States alone, over 60.4 million households are using smart home devices as of 2023, and this figure has grown to approximately 69.91 million households actively using smart home devices in 2024. Ease of use and functionality have become key factors in how we use our homes. The following products were designed to be as practical as they are stylish — as A+Product Awards winners, they also all received accolades from Architizer’s stellar jury of industry experts, comprising 200+ renowned architects and designers that truly understand what it takes to create great buildings and spaces:

Enter the A+Product Awards

Workstation Sinks

By Delta Faucet

Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Kitchen & Bath, Fixtures & Fittings – Kitchen

Workstation Sinks By Delta Faucet Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Kitchen & Bath, Fixtures & Fittings - Kitchen If you’ve been on social media any time in the last year, you’re bound to have seen a workstation sink. The multifunctional units are the envy of every avid home chef, and this version by Delta Faucet is terrific. Designed to meet the evolving needs of modern kitchens, the workstation sinks are a blend of Delta Faucet water-delivery expertise and functional design. Each Workstation sink is sleek in design and offers a multifunctional workspace through its built-in WorkFlow™ ledge. The adaptable sink space is equipped with integrated accessories like cutting boards, dish racks, utensil holders and even a ledge to hold your phone or tablet. Constructed from durable TRU16 gauge stainless steel and featuring noise-reducing soundproofing, these sinks are designed for both durability and quiet operation.

Statement Showering Collection

By Kohler Co.

Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Kitchen & Bath, Fixtures & Fittings – Bath

Statement Showering Collection By Kohler Co. Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Kitchen & Bath, Fixtures & Fittings - Bath Often, the goal of technology is to increase functionality and make things easier, but sometimes, it’s about pure luxury, and that was Kohler’s goal when creating the Statement Shower Collection—exquisite design paired with innovative performance to create the ultimate well-being experience.

The Kohler Statement™ showering collection transforms the shower experience, offering a unique blend of form, function, and flair. Drawing inspiration from furnishings and lighting, the collection’s designs integrate seamlessly into any space, encouraging personal expression through a variety of shapes, sizes, finishes and innovative spray experiences. This global line is designed for universal appeal, ensuring easy installation and specification across different regions. Kohler’s approach reimagines modern minimalism, blurring the boundaries between rooms and promoting a cohesive and warm aesthetic. The Statement collection marries powerful functionality with design sophistication to create an immersive environment.

36 Induction Cooktop with Integrated Ventilation

By Fisher & Paykel

Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Kitchen & Bath, Appliances

36 Induction Cooktop with Integrated Ventilation By Fisher & Paykel Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Kitchen & Bath, Appliances The average kitchen extractor or cooker hood has never been the most attractive of appliances. While they have a valid purpose in most homes, bulky, shiny and painfully noisy are but a few choice descriptives for the standard extraction system, and because of these unfortunate characteristics, these silver suckers have been rapidly falling out of favor with designers and homeowners alike. But what do you do when you have poor ventilation and a fondness for aromatic foods? The answer— downdraft extractors. A relatively new innovation in kitchen design, downdraft extractors offer a sleek and discreet alternative to traditional overhead cooker hoods. They’re designed to be flush with the kitchen countertop and extract air directly from the hob when in use, making them especially suitable for kitchen islands or where a clear line of sight is preferred.

Fisher & Paykel have taken this innovation to the next level and integrated a downdraft extractor into their 36 Induction Cooktop. A true two-in-one appliance, the induction cooktop, with accurate temperature control, combines the precision of induction cooking with powerful extraction, meaning no more ugly overhead extractor.

30-Inch Column Refrigerator

By Dacor

Popular Choice Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Building Systems, Smart Design & Technology

A fridge is a fridge, right? Wrong! The 30-inch Column Refrigerator by Dacor is the epitome of refrigerator technology. Placing technology at the forefront, the innovative fridge boasts intuitive features such as the iQ Remove View, which allows users to control temperature and lighting remotely and even view the contents of their refrigerator to simplify grocery shopping and a hidden touch-control display panel regulates temperature, helping to preserve food freshness and extending the lifespan of your groceries.

The refrigerator doesn’t just stop at technological prowess, though; its sleek design comes in three high-end finishes and can be fully integrated to sit flush with other kitchen cabinets, while the water dispenser is ingeniously fitted inside the unit to maintain the uninterrupted exterior finish.

Wilderness Front Facing 31H

By Ortal

Popular Choice and Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Building Systems > Building Equipment & Systems

Wilderness Front Facing 31H By Ortal Popular Choice and Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Building Systems > Building Equipment & Systems There’s nothing quite like sitting in front of the fire on a cold winter’s evening, but the thought of cleaning it out and lighting it, alongside environmental concerns, can quickly take the romance out of the idea of having a fireplace in your home.

The Wilderness Front Facing 31H by Ortal removes those problems altogether. Drawing inspiration from the natural world to redefine the fireside experience, the beautiful feature fire uses advanced ceramic log technology with a soothing, nature-inspired aesthetic. The collection aims to provide a tranquil and memorable ambiance while the Wilderness Burner technology, available in variations like Wilderness Burner Dark Brown and Wilderness Burner Chopped Wood, pays homage to the timeless tradition of humans gathering around the hearth to tell tales and watch the world go by.

Ortal’s Front Collection takes the whole concept a step further by achieving the seamless integration of high-end contemporary frameless fireplaces into a building architecture with passive cool wall technology and powerful vent systems, and over 100 models with various media options to create unique and extraordinary focal points in any space.

Reference

Double-height lounge space with large windows and a red striped sofa

Interior Design

Home Studios uses local materials to renovate Northern California hotel

By Zarkon Group,10/02/2024

Brooklyn-based Home Studios has turned a conference centre in Northern California back into a luxury hotel, as originally intended by the property’s founder: the inventor of the radio.

The Lodge at Marconi sits on a 62-acre site next to Tomales Bay, within the picturesque Marconi State Historic Park – a 1.5-hour drive up Highway Route 1 from San Francisco.

Designed for Nashville-based company Oliver Hospitality, the hotel occupies a historic property that was first built by Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian physicist who invented the radio in 1896.

“Home Studios found inspiration in the property’s storied history – particularly in the pioneering spirit of Guglielmo Marconi, who worked with a New York-based engineering company to build the property’s initial building, a luxury hotel, in 1914,” said the design team, led by Oliver Haslegrave.

Hotel reception counter clad in oxblood-coloured tiles — The reception counter is clad in oxblood-coloured tiles from Heath Ceramics

It took 17 months to overhaul the complex of blackened-wood buildings, which are topped with mono-pitched roofs of different heights and opposing directions.

The architecture is similar to that of The Sea Ranch Lodge further up the coast, which reopened in 2022 after its own extensive renovation.

Dining room featuring brick flooring, blue-green tilework and eclectic contemporary furniture — The Redwood Dining Hall features brick flooring, blue-green tilework and eclectic contemporary furniture

Home Studios looked to the iconic site – famed for its modernist style and sensitive land planning – for cues when developing the Lodge at Marconi’s 45 guest rooms and suites, which occupy freestanding buildings across the wooded site.

“Borrowing design language from Sea Ranch’s ‘living lightly on the land’ credo, the rooms blend into the environment and boast a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere,” the team said.

A series of coloured wooden cubes mounted on a wall above banquette seating and dining tables — Artworks in the restaurant, including a series of coloured wooden cubes, were created in collaboration with Lukas Geronimas Giniotis

The hotel complex is made up of eight indoor and outdoor spaces, laid out “like a summer camp” to accommodate different activities in each area.

In the reception block, guests arrive to a series of lounges and other communal spaces that create a more informal setting than a traditional hotel lobby.

Bright guest suite with a double bed, day bed and blue lounge chair — The bedrooms are bright and airy, with materials and colours that subtly reflect the hotel’s natural surroundings

A check-in counter is fronted with oxblood-coloured tiles by Heath Ceramics, which was founded in nearby Sausalito.

More of the company’s tiles, this time in blue-green hues, line the lower walls of the restaurant known as the Redwood Dining Hall.

Shower with colourful patchwork of tiles from the 1960s — Three of the guest room bathrooms feature original tiles that date back to the 1960s

Red bricks are laid in a basketweave pattern across the floor, contrasting with the bright blue bases of the custom dining tables, while warm cedar panels and beams cover the ceiling.

A mural comprising four-panel linen screens and a series of wood cubes mounted on a wall was made in collaboration with California-based artist Lukas Geronimas Giniotis.

The guest rooms are bright and airy, with the colours of the natural surroundings subtly reflected in the furnishings.

Some have cosy loft spaces, while larger suites feature a dedicated workspace and sitting area.

Buildings clad in blackened wood and topped with monopitched roofs — The accommodations are split across several buildings clad in blackened wood and topped with monopitched roofs

“Northern California’s rugged environment served as a design influence, and is reflected in the natural woods and earth-tone textiles that adorn each room and weave together a cohesive connection throughout the property,” Home Studios said.

“Three guest room bathrooms feature original tile dated to the 1960s when the hotel served as a rehabilitation facility known as Synanon.”

Wooden chairs surrounding a fire pit with blackened wood buildings in the background — The property includes multiple outdoor areas for gatherings and events

Across the property, the indoor spaces are afforded scenic views of the forest and the water through large windows.

A variety of gathering and event spaces are available to guests both inside and out, including wooden chairs positioned around fire pits among the landscape designed by Bay Area firm Dune Hai.

View through the trees to Tomales Bay at sunset — Lodge at Marconi sits atop a hill overlooking Tomales Bay in Northern California

This is Home Studios’ third hotel project, following the Mediterranean-influenced Alsace hotel in Los Angeles and the boutique Daunt’s Albatross motel in Montauk.

The firm’s other recent projects include a revamped bar and restaurant on Nantucket, an Italian eatery close to Harvard University and a townhouse renovation in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

The photography is by Brian W Ferry.

Reference

A small square piece of leather-like material, in a mottled hue of caramel brown

Sustainable News

Food-waste dyes bring colour to mycelium leather by Sages and Osmose

By Zarkon Group,31/01/2024

Two British materials companies, Sages and Osmose, have collaborated to dye sheets of mycelium with natural food waste, mimicking the appearance of tanned leather and suggesting a colourful future for the biomaterial.

Osmose is a company making a leather alternative from mycelium – the fibrous underground root network of mushrooms – while Sages makes natural dyes from food waste such as avocado pits, blueberries, red cabbages and onion skins, which are normally applied to textiles.

The two believe they’ve achieved a world first with their collaboration, combining two emerging areas of sustainable material development to colour mycelium without resorting to petroleum-based synthetic dyes, thereby keeping the product non-toxic and able to biodegrade safely in soil.

“There are lots of different types of vegan leather alternatives to traditional leather but the majority of them use either synthetic colourations or they use plasticisers, so they’re non-biodegradable,” said Sages CEO Emily Taylor.

“We wanted to explore an option where we could have a fully biodegradable leather that has also been coloured in a biodegradable and sustainable manner,” she continued.

Companies that prioritise biodegradability have offered mycelium in its natural shades of white and brown or black, which Osmose CEO Aurelie Fontan says is much easier to achieve naturally.

“I think the challenge for mycelium leather was that the offering just wasn’t there in terms of aesthetic,” she said. “When you’re presenting for brands and you’re like ‘we can only do brown’, it’s a little bit boring for them.”

Photo of swatches of mycelium dyed in different shades of tan, pale violet and mulberry — The companies experimented with different food wastes in the dyeing process

“The colour sector is somewhere where you can develop your USP, essentially, which is why working with Sages is so interesting,” Fontan added.

Osmose and Sages have created tan-coloured mycelium sheets using avocado waste, which Sages sources from an importer and guacamole factory in Milton Keynes, where tens of tonnes of leftover pits and skins are produced each week.

It was a new area for both companies, as the food waste dye takes differently to mycelium leather than it does to the usually cellulose-based textiles that Sages has worked with.

The duo collaborated with materials science researchers at the UK’s Cranfield University on the project, for which the researchers focused on how to transfer and fix the dye to the material using “green chemistry” – an area of chemistry that aims to cut out hazardous substances.

In this case, the researchers sought to replace the formic acid and fluorinated acids that are often used in tanning to dissolve the polymers of the leather so it can be infused with dye. Instead, the team developed a method, which they say is significantly less toxic.

After working with Cranfield University, Sages and Osmose expanded the experiment and trialled other waste streams such as blueberries and onion skins to see what colours they could get, producing mycelium swatches in shades of violet and bordeaux.

Taylor and Fontan say they are trying to develop a process for mycelium that is akin to leather tanning, where both colour and durability properties are added in one or two steps. Their equivalent, they say, would be to dye and waterproof the material at the same time.

Close-up of vegan mycelium sheet showing its similarity to the texture of tanned leather — The tan colour was created by using waste avocado pits and skins

Osmose’s focus now is on developing a waterproof coating for their mycelium that, like the dye, is bio-based, non-toxic and able to biodegrade safely in soil. This is notoriously a challenge for plant-based leather alternatives, which almost always rely on a protective synthetic coating.

“It’s really hard to design a solution that fits all materials, which is basically what everyone is struggling with,” said Fontan. “Someone might have pineapple leather and they have their own coating but it doesn’t mean it’s going to work on mushroom and so on.”

Unlike some companies, however, Osmose says it does not want to bring a product with a non-biodegradable coating to market.

“If you’re doing a composite, it will not biodegrade at the end of life, which is compromising all the good work that you’ve been doing before that step,” Fontan said.

Mycelium is one of the most popular emerging leather alternatives. It has already appeared in luxury goods such as a bag by Hermes, clothing by Stella McCartney and trainers by Adidas.

Reference

Portrait photograph of a tall wind turbine against a bright blue sky

Architecture

First full-height timber wind turbine opens in Sweden

By Zarkon Group,29/01/2024

The world’s first full-scale timber wind turbine has started turning in Sweden, with a tower built by wood technology company Modvion.

The 105-metre-tall tower, located in the region of Skara, is Modvion‘s first commercial wind turbine tower, and follows on from a smaller 30-metre-high demonstration project the company completed in 2020.

While its rotor blades and generator hub are made of conventional materials, the tower is made of laminated veneer lumber (LVL), a type of engineered wood made of thin veneer strips glued together and often used for beams and load-bearing building structures.

The company says that this type of wood is not only strong enough to withstand the forces of a turning turbine, it is much more environmentally sustainable to build with than the currently used steel.

While wind power plays an important role in providing the world with green renewable energy, there are still ample carbon emissions created during their construction — in part because of the steel towers.

Modvion describes its wood towers as reducing the carbon emissions from wind turbine construction by over 100 per cent, due to the combination of a less emissions-heavy production process and the carbon storage provided by trees.

“Our towers, just in the production of them, they emit 90 per cent less than a steel tower that will do carry the same work,” Modvion chief financial officer Maria-Lina Hedlund told Dezeen. “And then if you add the carbon sequestration, then you actually end up with a minus — so a carbon sink. This is great if we want to reach net zero energy production, and we need to.”

Photo of the inside of a large timber cylinder, with a ladder going up the middle — The type of wood used is laminated veneer lumber

Hedlund, who is also an engineer, describes LVL as having a construction “similar to carbon fibre”, with strips of veneer just three millimetres thick sandwiched and glued together, giving it a high strength-to-weight ratio.

This lightness is a benefit, reducing the amount of material needed overall. With a heavy material, there is a “bad design spiral”, says Hedlund, as the weight of the tower itself adds to the load that it needs to carry.

And while some LVL has all their veneer strips facing in the same direction, Modvion uses its “own recipe” specifying the directions of the fibres, improving the material’s performance even more.

Photo of three people in work gear on top of an incomplete wooden tower — The turbine tower is the tallest so far built by Swedish company Modvion. Photo by Paul Wennerholm

The production process involves timber boards being made to order in a standard LVL plant and then delivered to Modvion’s factory. There, they are glued together into larger modules and bent into a rounded form in a step called lamination, and then very precisely machined to fine-tune the shape.

“In the wood industry, you usually see centimetre tolerances, while we are in the sub-millimetre scale,” said Hedlund.

The modular nature of LVL construction addresses another problem Modvion has observed with steel: that with turbines getting ever bigger to give more power, it’s becoming impossible to transport steel towers to site.

They are built as essentially large cylinders and transported by truck, but the base diameter desired for the tallest towers is getting to be taller than some bridges and roads can allow.

Photo of a giant module of curved laminated veneer lumber being engineered in a factory — The timber is laminated into modules at Modvion’s factory

“We’re now reaching a point where they will not get through anymore,” said Hedlund. “So we will see a transition in the wind power industry to modular construction, because this is the way to get them there. And one of the big advantages of building in the material we do is that it’s naturally built modular.”

While steel could also be built modular, it would require bolts rather than glue to join it together on site, which Hedlund says is a disadvantage.

“Bolts are not very nice when you have so much dynamic loading, because it will loosen over time,” she said. “So first of all, you have to have to put them in place which is a lot of work, and then you have to also service them over the lifetime.”

Photo of a worksite with a man in hi-vis operating machinery in the foreground and a large curved module being lowered into place in front of him — The modules were assembled and glued together on site

The Skara turbine has a capacity of two megawatts, which represents the maximum power output the turbine can achieve under ideal conditions. This is a bit lower than the average capacity for new turbines built in Europe.

On the outside, the tower has a thick white coating that makes it look similar to steel, and it’s rotor blades and generator hub, which are not supplied by Modvion, are made of conventional materials like fibreglass. This may change in the future, however, with another company, Voodin Blades, working on the technology for wooden blades.

Modvion was founded in 2016 by university peers David Olivegren and Otto Lundman. While its current focus is wind turbines, it is dedicated to wooden technology more broadly, and Hedlund told Dezeen that the team believes it has “the world’s strongest joint for timber construction”, which could also be put to other uses.

Another recent milestone for wind power came in the form of a wind-powered cargo ship, which had been retrofitted with two 37.5-metre-tall sails.

Reference

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Workstation Sinks

By Delta Faucet

Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Kitchen & Bath, Fixtures & Fittings – Kitchen

Statement Showering Collection

By Kohler Co.

Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Kitchen & Bath, Fixtures & Fittings – Bath

36 Induction Cooktop with Integrated Ventilation

By Fisher & Paykel

Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Kitchen & Bath, Appliances

30-Inch Column Refrigerator

By Dacor

Popular Choice Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Building Systems, Smart Design & Technology

Wilderness Front Facing 31H

By Ortal

Popular Choice and Jury Winner, 2022 A+Product Awards, Building Systems > Building Equipment & Systems

Home Studios uses local materials to renovate Northern California hotel

Food-waste dyes bring colour to mycelium leather by Sages and Osmose

First full-height timber wind turbine opens in Sweden

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