Sustainable creativity: 5 recycling and upcycling design projects from Salone del Mobile
Each year, Salone del Mobile unveils the cutting-edge trends and latest frontiers in design, where creativity meets technological innovation in a visionary partnership, anticipating the future of living spaces. The impact on sustainability is particularly profound and extraordinary.
From the concept to the materials and production processes, every detail showcases the evolution of design towards a more environmentally conscious lifestyle. This shift includes the adoption of recycling, upcycling, and the creative reuse of waste, alongside the development of new materials through continuous experimentation and research. At Milan Design Week 2024, we explored groundbreaking sustainable innovations from Paola Lenti, Magis, Arper, Mater, and Kartell, exemplifying how sustainability drives creativity and inspires design.
Paola Lenti has introduced a new chapter in the Mottainai project with Studio Nendo, aiming to pioneer a new design language that breathes new life into discarded fabrics.
Mottainai, which translates from Japanese as "don't waste what is valuable", is a project through which Paola Lenti seeks to restore both function and aesthetic value to production surplus. This upcycling process results in an original and eclectic collection that aligns seamlessly with the brand’s style.
Oki Sato worked with offcuts of Maris, a fabric whose structure and texture influenced the designs. Paola Lenti described the resulting Hana-arashi collection as being marked by a colorful yet subtle style, which she considers distinctly Japanese. Each piece in the collection, including armchairs, ottomans, and lamps, features dual layers of Maris fabric joined by welding. Some pieces are adorned with inserts of the same or other reclaimed materials. The unique fabric qualities ensure that each product varies in color mood.
Thomas Heatherwick's latest outdoor project for Magis embodies innovation, technology, experimentation, and creativity, with a strong emphasis on sustainability. In-Side uniquely showcases the interior of recycled materials, turning multicolored materiality into the collection’s distinguishing feature. The furniture’s design specifically aims to reveal its internal structure and the production method involved.
“Normally with a rotation moulded chair you never get to see the inside, like a geode with all the recycled plastics captured inside it”. Heatherwick Studio
This project highlights the importance of plastic recycling and the role of design in prioritizing sustainable processes. The material—a blend of recycled post-consumer and post-production bio-plastics and polymers—makes each piece unique for its composition of multicolored flakes.
Catifa Carta sets a new standard in sustainable design innovation. PaperShell, an innovative material derived from wood waste, molds the iconic curvaceous shell of the Catifa 53, ensuring both durability and comfort. Since its debut in 1999, Arper's celebrated Catifa collection has undergone various expansions and stylistic interpretations. With this latest collaboration with PaperShell Industries, it reaffirms its status as a contemporary design icon, evolving to meet new living challenges.
Thanks to PaperShell Industries’ patented material, Catifa Carta functions like trees because it sequesters carbon dioxide. At the end of its lifecycle, the material can be converted into biochar, a type of vegetable charcoal that retains the CO2 absorbed during its earlier stages.
Mater has reinforced its commitment to sustainability by patenting Matek®, a composite material made from a mixture of post-consumer and post-production recycled plastics, coffee waste, and wood, available in five unique combinations and finishes. The Alder collection is the first to be crafted from biodegradable Matek™.
Born from a collaboration with Patricia Urquiola, the new Alder collection includes a series of biodegradable, indoor and outdoor coffee tables created entirely from natural materials, designed for a sustainable return to nature at the end of their lifecycle. Inspired by natural forms, Urquiola’s designs cohesively embody the project's ethos.
Following the success of the A.I. and Kartell x Illy projects, a new innovative addition has emerged that unites them in the spirit of sustainability. At Salone del Mobile 2024, Kartell introduced new pieces to Philippe Starck's collection, conceived using artificial intelligence to minimize plastic use and maximize recycled materials.
Among these new additions is the A.I. console, meticulously crafted from Illy hyperespresso capsules, advancing the pursuit of a circular economy by two distinguished Italian brands.
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