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Oct 14

2009

Designs on Climate Change

Tagged in: Sustainable Design , reuse , repurpose , recycle , how-to , Energy Efficiency , efficiency , eco-friendly , creative solutions , climate change

Today is Blog Action Day 2009, and this year’s topic, selected by popular vote, is climate change.

If you haven’t heard by now, there is a lot of scientific evidence that the earth’s atmosphere is changing due to man-made side effects of the consumption of fossil fuels. Along with the atmospheric changes come weather and elemental changes such as melting glaciers and loss of habitat, rising oceans, droughts and loss of potable drinking water, tsunamis and hurricanes. There is a tipping point, beyond which we cannot stop the mounting effects that will destroy much of the life on this planet. It’s probably the single biggest challenge of our generation, and may be the defining act of humankind, how we respond to this self-created crisis. So what can we, as designers, do to positively affect climate change?

Live, work and design sustainably. Take a serious look at your workplace, your home, and your designs. Do they incorporate sustainable principles? Are you taking every possible measure to reduce your consumption, reuse what you have already and recycle anything else in a responsible manner? Are you considering environmental and chemical factors when selecting products and finishes? Do you provide a transparent service to your clients and educate them? Are you educating yourself with the latest information on products, services and eco-design techniques? (Furnicology.com can help you here!)

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Aug 03

2009

Repurposed Furniture by Scrapile

Posted by: Meghan Yang

Tagged in: Tables , Sustainable seating , repurposed , repurpose , furniture

Being a part of the design industry, one of my main concerns is the amount of waste that is constantly going in to landfills. There is a lot of attention on new products that are environmentally friendly, moreover it is extremely important to try to preserve and reuse what has already been created. On my quest to find innovative repurposed products, I came across the duo that is Scrapile.

Scrapile was cofounded in 2003 by Carlos Salgado and Bart Bettencourt. These designers take scrap pieces that are headed to the landfill from New York's woodworking industry, and turn them in to one of kind pieces of art. Because they use scraps, each piece is unique. The use of many different woods gives a very distinct striping affect that ties the entire line together. Not only are scrap wood pieces used to create the designs, non toxic adhesives and organic oils are used to finish them off. Scrapile is a great example of how something useful, current, and beautiful can be created by repurposing something that already exists. So before you throw away a broken or unused piece, think how you may be able to give it a new life.