Saturday 23rd November, Sustainability in Design.
- arturonp05
- Nov 23, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 16, 2025
Now that we had already had designs for the spaces it was important to now research what materials we were going to use and where we would source them from. In addition, since the exhibition will be temporary it was important that the materials we use can be repurposed or recycled.
The "For Now: Unexplained" part of the exhibition will use a large amount of velvet in its design. It is luxurious and has a rich aesthetic, dramatically draped throughout the space it is pliable and thick, enhancing any shapes and tones of light. The 'Merchant Mill' collects dead stock fabric from around the world before they are sent to landfills and resells them. We will source velvet and any other fabrics we need, such as for the workshop activity, from them.
'Merchant & Mills' Logo, some of their fabric, and velvet curtain and velvet texture.
The Screen room will show interviews with Harris Reed, the construction of the exhibition and development of the collections, so it was important to have acoustic panels to soundproof the room. They are aesthetically versatile customisable in various colours and patterns that can blend in with the rest of the exhibit. The panels are lightweight and can easily be mounted, ideal for temporary setups. However, acoustic paneling tends to be made from unsustainable materials but 'John Atkinson Interiors & Acoustics' "prides" themselves in offering "fantastic acoustic solutions which don’t cost the earth!" They use wood, grown in Swedish forests offering a chemical free, biodegradable and recyclable solution. They also have certifications such as the GreenRate, Declare, Red List Free, HPD and CDPH
'John Atkinson Interior & Acoustics' Logo, their products presented in spaces.
Tiles will line the flooring around the space that will host the 'Sixty Years a Queen Collection' they are durable and easy to clean, ideal for high traffic. EcoTile Flooring stands out with iconic, simple, quick and easy-use tiling methods, the flooring fits together like a puzzle pieces and can easily be removed when the exhibition has to vacate. "Made from 100% recyclable materials, we strive for zero to landfill." ... "Our tiles are exceptionally tough and resistant to impact. Offering protection to the subfloor. Strong enough for heavy loads"
'Eco Tile' Logo, their products, Chequered flooring in Reed's home.
Stainless steel will be the main material in the bar area of the cafe as it is durable, highly resistant to wear and tear and low maintenance, ideal for environments with high volumes of work. Reed also has stainless steel in his kitchen which will work as a precedent. Outokumpu aims for a circular economy and to have waste-free stainless steel production, constantly researching more ways to combat climate change and global warming by recycling, reusing and mitigating, their carbon footprint is 75% lower than the global average in the production industry with a 90% recycled material content rate. "This reduces the need to extract new minerals and ores from the ground" ... "Reducing the total volume of landfill waste from our own operations"
'Outokumpu' Logo, Image from their website, Reed's Stainless steel kitchen.
One last thing needed were a large number of pedestals to showcase the outfits, we concluded bamboo was the best choice. It is strong, plentiful, lightweight and one of the fastest-growing, renewable resources in the world it absorbs CO2 in large quantities and has properties comparable to hardwood. 'Moso Bamboo' will be our supplier for bamboo and states "Unlike trees, the bamboo plant does not die after harvesting, eliminating deforestation. In fact, by harvesting the mature plants, the yield and quality of the plantation actually increase."
'Moso Bamboo' Logo, Images of their products and process from their website.
After today's research I now feel much confident to begin taking the design of the exhibition on to 3D design softwares such as Sketchup and Lumion, but first I will refine the floorplans taking my annotations from different iterations and making a new up to date one.
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