thequietriot.com » materials

Sitting comfortably?

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:37:34 +0000

Two mega trends will continue to have a major impact on our lifestyles over the next years – the continued growth of information technology and the challenges and opportunities arising through the development of low carbon economies. The COMPOS chair responds very well to both of these trends.

Through mobile technologies working has become more interactive than ever before and the nature of work has changed dramatically. New technologies, activity models and networking have increased the need for working in a flexible way and in new places.

The COMPOS chair manufactured by the Finnish company PIIROINEN was developed from a user centred design perspective resulting in a product full of inspiration, making use of both open and closed spaces and enabling working alone or together in smaller groups. Multifunction use and transformability have been the cornerstones in the design process. The COMPOS chair was designed for open plan workspaces, public seating areas and flexible working.

Samuli Naamanka designed the chair and there is a material innovation behind the COMPOS collection: the seats of the chairs are produced from Finnish linen and corn starch which is polymerized from natural fibre.

At the beginning of the design process the team decided that they wanted to use an organic material. This material obviously had to meet the demands of the furniture industry and achieve curves that are bent into three directions as well as allow for different thickness.

The material is locally sourced and 100% biodegradable. On top of that the costs of the mould for this technology are remarkably lower than plastic or aluminium moulds.

Meet the designer – www.samulinaamanka.com

More product information you can find on www.piiroinen.com

If you are interested in the opportunities bio plastics offer, please see www.european-bioplastics.org

High density concrete

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:32:19 +0000

Concrete is an innovation of the early 20^th century and its development completely transformed the way we built. Recently, it has received bad press because it is extremely energy hungry in its production. However, new developments in concrete not only result in big reductions in the use of energy and resources, they also offer new design opportunities.

Until now the application of concrete was characterised by big structures, because the walls needed a minimum thickness to be stable. With the introduction of high density concrete very different results and application can be achieved.

The new high density concrete called Quantz is a cement bonded high tech material. The production process combines computer power, which allows for the use of a novel optimization algorithms withthe latest developments in nanotechnology. The production process can be adjusted to use local raw materials, which cuts out often highly polluting transport. In comparison to traditional concrete the proportion of cement is reduced by 40%. The material is denser and the structures much thinner which leads to a reduction of the material costs of up to 35%. Due to its high density Quantz also offers the advantages of higher rigidity, resistance and durability.

One of the first designers to work with this material is Hamburg based Alexa Lixfeld. She applies a special coating to the high density concrete and creates filigree designs for kitchens and bathrooms. The surfaces are glossy, abrasion- and acid-resistant, food safe, and hydrophobic.

Doreen Westphal uses the materials to create wall murals and Gregor Zimmermann uses it in furniture design.

www.gtecz.com

www.alexalixfeld.com

www.doreenwestphal.com

Text provided Dr. Sascha Peters, Berlin – www.saschapeters.com

Surfaces from recycled glass

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:54:54 +0000

In 2002 each person in the UK generated 167kg of packaging waste per year – a lot of it is glass. In 2001 2.5 million tons of this material was taken to landfill. Currently 752,000 tons of glass are being recycled annually in the UK. Every ton of glass recycled into new items saves 315 additional kilograms of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere during the creation of new glass. Glass is a material which is virtually infinitely recyclable and it can be turned into new packaging or find new applications such as surfaces and worktops.

Back in 2000 the innovative material Resilica was launched by Eight Inch and the company has been quietly establishing a growing market for recycled glass surfaces during which time the wider demand for sustainable products has changed beyond recognition.

Resilica is made using up to 100% recycled glass. Millions of tiny fragments are mixed with specially formulated solvent-free resins, cured, then diamond polished to reveal a high-gloss surface that has incredible depth and lustre. Each piece of Resilica is made to order. This allows them to create a bespoke colour recipe for individual clients.

Resilica remains at the forefront of the market gaining a reputation for quality, consistency and performance and the company is pleased to have undertaken projects for some of the UK’s best known organisations including The Department of Health, The National Trust, Costa Coffee and London Zoo. Companies who are now appreciating the value in using sustainable materials in their built environments.

Originally known as ‘Ttura’ Eight Inch have recently renamed and rebranded their product and as part of the rebrand their new website is now live and features a comprehensive colour archive and images of surfaces they have created for the domestic and commercial market.

For more information, please visit www.resilica.com.

M.HAUS 2010

Only wallpaper?

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:40:22 +0000

Wallpaper is made from a number of different materials and built up in layers. The top layer is normally printed or structured. About 50 per cent of all wallpapers are made from paper or recycled paper, the other 50 per cent is made from fleece and other synthetic materials. The materials used define the quality of the wallpaper.

The production of paper impacts the environment on several levels such as the use of wood, fresh water, the use of energy, waste water and the management of the paper ‘waste’. In Germany 70 per cent of all paper produced is recycled and recycled paper is also used widely in the production of wallpaper. In Germany alone 80 million roles of wall paper are produced every year.

The use of recycled paper reduces the consumption of primary wood fibres and protects forests and wildlife habitat. It also reduces the use of primary fossil energy as the key driver of climate change.

The primary wood fibres used in the production process should come from sustainable sources. Two labels indicate the use of sustainable woods: FSC and PEFC. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC) were both founded in the 1990s and they not only guarantee social responsibility in manufacturing but also the minimisation of the negative impact on climate and biodiversity.

High quality wallpapers with long lifecycles make ecological sense as they can be redecorated when faded or the colour is out of fashion. It reduces the use of new wallpaper, saves resources and avoids ‘waste’.

MissPrint launched its Dandelion wallpaper at 100% Design in London last year. All MissPrint products are produced in the most environmentally friendly way wherever possible. The complete wallpaper range is PEFC certified, it is printed with organic pigment inks, which are non-toxic, free of heavy metals and classed as non-carcinogenic. In addition to being beautifully designed, each of the products sold by MissPrint also helps preserve the planet.

www.missprint.co.uk

For sustainable wood sources please see www.fsc-uk.org and www.pefc.co.uk .

Ready for a low energy take off?

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:11:51 +0000

The holiday season is upon us and many of us will travel to see family and friends or simply go on a holiday. The transport sector is the fastest growing contributor to Europe’s energy demand and CO2 emissions. This trend is expected to continue in coming decades and air travel, which is damaging the atmosphere, is expected to double its share of overall transport between 2000 and 2030. Innovative materials can contribute to lower emissions.

Textile structures have enormous potential in lightweight construction because of their low weight. Whilst the commercial aviation industry has recently started to use fibre-reinforced plastics, coated fabrics and laminates are finding more and more smart applications in paragliders, kites and hot air balloons.

The Berlin based company aeroix focuses on the development of innovative products in the field of applied aeronautical sciences and technical textiles. The inter-disciplinary team recently developed and successfully introduced an insulation system for hot air balloons called Aerofabrix. The material is a lightweight multilayer fabric and it has the lowest density currently available on the global market.

An air gap within the fabric is required to achieve the insulation properties. Flocked filaments create this air gap whilst being super light. Through this integrated flocked insulation material fuel consumption for ballooning can be reduced by more than 50% or alternatively, larger passengers groups can be transported.

The aeroíx team is currently experimenting with applications in architecture. Other applications could be in the field of protective clothing or outdoor equipment for extreme conditions. The material could also be used in light building structures. aeroix is also working with another Berlin based company called Zendome on lightweight, well insulated and mobile structures,building on Buckminster Fuller’s early groundbreaking structures..

Take your time and explore the two websites – www.aeroix.de and www.zendome.com .

Cultural revolution in materials

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:08:17 +0000

Global sourcing is the standard in the construction industry: bricks might come from the Netherlands or Poland, cement from Spain, steel and marble from India, aluminium from Brazil and wood from Canada or the tropical forests in the Far East. Due to the rising cost oftransport and the growing importance of managing energy and other resources in a sustainable manner, more and more specifiers demand the return to the use of locally produced building materials.

Until recently this change of attitude would have been regarded as some romantic fancy. However at the DesignBoost conference in Sweden in October this year, Roy Antik, the Development Manager for Sustainability at Skanska announced that the company will reduce its energy and resource consumption by 50%. A key part of this strategy will be local recycling and the use of local materials. Skanska is one of the major players in the construction industry.

Mass production, global sourcing and the availability of cheap labour has had a huge impact on the quality of our built environment, but also the traditional skills and methodologies in the construction industry.

In a separate initiative,Atelier Rang – an architectural practice based in Frankfurt – recently finished the Tower of Bhaktapur in Nepal. In this project they not only resourced the building materials directly on site, but also combined the traditional hessian building traditions with the local skills of the Newars. The team exported the forms of the Frankfurter Ziegel (brick), but used the local clay dug up on site in Nepal. The scaffolding was made from bamboo grown in a grove next to the site. The bricks were laid in a structure which reflects the Himalayan Mountains.

The architects describe the building as a brick sculpture and the project could be a prototype for local sourcing of materials. The history of architecture is full of such examples. Older brick building in London, Amsterdam or Hamburg are a reflection of the local clay and building traditions. The Tower of Bhaktapur can offer many lessons for the future.