We’re finally growing aware that waste is a design fault. Form nowadays must follow sustainability and improve products’ lifecycle.
At the Stockholm Design Week this year, we had the chance to see the outstanding Natural Bond installation designed by Note Design Studio for Tarkett. The installation explored how the circular economy can be applied to design exhibitions. All the materials used were either recycled or would be recycled afterwards.
Tarkett showcased its recycled vinyl flooring collections: the iQ Surface and iQ Natural flooring. The brand has created an innovative recycling technical solution that allows its vinyl material to be cleaned from glue and filler remains and turned into raw material again. This means that surfaces installed today can be taken back and reused in the future. The new iQ Natural flooring goes even further in terms of sustainability as it is made from wood offcuts biomass instead of fossil fuels. Both collections can be used in floors, walls and furniture surfaces.
Daniel Heckscher, the interior architect from Note Design Studio, explains that the focus of the exhibitions was to explore different ways to use the material and its visual possibilities, but the ultimate aim was to demonstrate how this material works from a sustainability perspective. “In the coming years, there will be more Tarkett installations not less, so we needed to start thinking about not just how to create an installation but how to give it a second life.” – Heckscher added.
Initiatives towards zero waste stands and installations are becoming more recurrent. We have seen these not only in Stockholm this year but in important design events such as Milan Design Week and London Design Festival 2019. We will keep watching out for this trend and hopefully, it will become a basic requirement in all kinds of events and fairs.
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*Ph Credit: Jonas Lindstrom