Be Magazine 2021 EN

BE#16
3. SCAU, UNEARTHED: ANNA SAINT PIERRE
Compressed excavated earth from a SCAU architecture
project in Clamart, France.
Photo: SCAU Architecture
4. CITRUS PARADIS: REPULP
An eco-friendly material produced in France out of
waste from the citrus juice industry and other renewable
materials. Repulp is completely biobased
and recyclable and offers a valid alternative to petrochemical-based
materials. Repulp is later processed
in a workshop in Marseille with a combination
of handcraft and digital techniques resulting in
small series of 3D printed objects featuring unique
colours.
5. MYCÉLIUM, STUDIO PAYET & MIMO
In collaboration with Champiloop and the biolab
Nemeton, the studio created a table lamp made of
mycelium, a material which is available in large quantities
and easily accessible. This little known material
is becoming an alternative to cowhide and plastic.
6. ALGA DESIGN: SAMUEL TOMATIS
Tomatis created flexible materials made entirely of
algae, which he is developing with scientists. With
an appearance similar to leather or plastic, these
materials are biodegradable.
Photo: Florent Mulot
7. SCAU, GRANITO: ANNA SAINT PIERRE
Anna Saint Pierre’s in-situ recycling technique
called Granito has been adopted by SCAU, the
architecture firm for which she works. Granito –
or ‘in-situ’ quarrying – involves the recycling of
construction materials from building structures for
the renovation of those buildings.
Photo: SCAU Architecture
France, responsible beauty
The Maison&Objet trade fair focused on a lifestyle that is in harmony with nature,
which makes use of technology to bring people together – sometimes virtually
– and which at the same time draws upon the traditional expertise of crafts
that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Paris Design Week focused on a completely different kind of design: sustainability
with a businesslike approach. All over the city, there were exhibitions about
new and renewable materials to visit. Talks were organised that triggered an
awareness of how we treat our planet.
Various exhibitions showcased projects by designers who are carrying out research
with recyclable and energy-efficient materials including seaweed, fungi
and shells. We are invited to reconsider our approach to beauty and we are encouraged
to seek it out in a frugal and sustainable way. Today’s ecological problems
leave us all with no choice but to consider how things are produced. Disposable
items, polluting products and non-sustainable production processes must
make way for more responsible solutions.
BRUSSELS FURNITURE FAIR
6 7
1.
Fortunately we are seeing more
and more engagement with the
planet amongst the new designers.
It’s high time the manufacturers
followed suit.
An appeal for the planet
Alcova made an impression against the filmic backdrop of an abandoned barracks.
Many of the works presented balanced on the borderline between art,
materials research and spatial installations. It is these parts of the Milan Design
Week that have perhaps been most sorely missed this past year. Places for inspiration,
wonder and confusion. It’s like a quest for what still remains in a postindustrial
world in which climate change, rising sea levels, and the depletion of
raw materials and energy supplies has forced humans to change their lifestyles.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Many pieces of furniture had archetypical shapes and used earthy pre- or indeed
post-industrial materials such as steel, stoneware and wood; rough tables and
chairs that meet the basic requirements for our standard of living. But the message
is clear. The old familiar system of the furniture industry with designers
obliged to dance to the tune of manufacturers is a thing of the past. There will
be fewer objects in our living environment. The necessary utensils will therefore
also need to reflect this: they must be indestructible and made out of necessity.
It is in these kinds of unexpected places, in which design appears to be a bit-part
player, that new thoughts, ideas and surprising insights are born.
1. AGGLOMERATI, MAS: FRED GANIM
Agglomerati presents at ALCOVA 2021, MASS
its first collection of functional art-objects
made exclusively in stone, designed together
with Australian furniture maker Fred Ganim.
Photo: Studio Piercarlo Quecchia
2. PROTOTYPE IV: MARC LESCHELIER
The work develops the notion of pre-architecture
which is an intermediate state where
architecture is materially unfinished and legally
undefined to both explore new vocabularies
and an alternative genre of architecture.
Prearchitecture is also a moment where
architecture is not yet a discipline but a wide
spectrum of physical, plastic and spatial relationships.
6.
7.