Lars Beller Fjetland designs “100 per cent recyclable” aluminium bench
CategoriesSustainable News

Lars Beller Fjetland designs “100 per cent recyclable” aluminium bench

Norwegian designer Lars Beller Fjetland explains how his fully recyclable Bello! bench created for Hydro aims to showcase the possibilities of extruded aluminium in this exclusive video produced by Dezeen.

Designed in collaboration with Shapes by Hydro – a knowledge hub created by aluminium producer Hydro – the bench is made from nearly 90 per cent recycled and 100 per cent recyclable aluminium, according to the designer.

“I wanted to make something that was extremely robust, and for me, aluminium was the answer,” Beller Fjetland told Dezeen. “It has all these amazing properties that make it a super durable material, especially when you introduce it in an anodised finish.”

Bello! bench by Lars Beller Fjetland in the new forest green colour situated in a forest
Beller Fjetland and Hydro have introduced a new forest green colour for the bench

Beller Fjetland and Hydro recently presented the latest colourway of the bench in forest green during the Material Matters Fair during London Design Festival, where Beller Fjetland spoke to Dezeen about the collaboration.

He cited forest landscapes as a source of inspiration when creating the vibrant green seat.

“I was just walking in the forest and contemplating aluminium as a material, and I was thinking about having a light impact or a low footprint in nature,” Beller Fjetland said.

“Green just felt really fitting. It can also be a cliche, in a way, to think about green, but I think for us it really works.”

Close of the ridged finish of the Bello! bench by Lars Beller Fjetland
The bench can be modified to integrate tables, lamps or chargers for use in public places

The bench is characterised by its ridged surface, which Beller Fjetland explained was informed by the shape of penne rigate pasta.

“One of the things we discussed was how can we make the concept of extrusions accessible for as many people as possible,” Beller Fjetland explained in the video.

“That’s where I started to think about the analogy with the pasta, because the manufacturing technique is surprisingly similar.”

The bench is manufactured using a similar extrusion process to how dried pasta shapes are formed. For the Bello! bench, molten metal is poured through a moulded opening to create a ridged surface.

“You’re pushing the material through a die, which creates a form and, visually, it looks like a penne rigate or a rigatoni pasta,” Beller Fjetland explained.

Close up of the ridged finish of the Bello! bench by Lars Beller Fjetland in the new forest green colour
The bench’s texture is informed by the shape of penne rigate pasta

The bench, which was designed for both inside and outdoor use, features a hard-wearing finish making it suitable for high-traffic settings such as public transportation hubs.

“What is interesting with aluminium is that it is a material that has an inherent value in itself, which kind of makes circularity way easier,” Beller Fjetland said. “There’s an incentive there to actually recycle the material, because it has a monetary value.”

“The beautiful thing is that the energy needed to recycle aluminium to make new material is very low. It makes me believe that recycled material doesn’t have to be a compromise,” he continued.

Partnership content

This video was produced by Dezeen for Shapes by Hydro as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

Reference

Loop Loop finds way of anodising aluminium with plant-based pigments
CategoriesSustainable News

Loop Loop finds way of anodising aluminium with plant-based pigments

Dutch design studio Loop Loop has pioneered a process of adding colour to aluminium using pigments made from plants rather than petroleum.

Odin Visser and Charles Gateau, founders of the Rotterdam-based studio, claim to have created the “world’s first plant-based aluminium dying process”.

They have produced four bio-based pigment solutions that can be applied to aluminium through anodising, a surface treatment process that typically uses petroleum-based pigments.

Plant-based purple pigments used for Local Colours, a project for anodising aluminium by Loop Loop
Loop Loop has developed four plant-based pigments for anodising aluminium

Visser told Dezeen it was “the most complex issue” that Loop Loop had ever tackled.

“Natural pigments are being used more and more, but most of them are absolutely ineffective in the context of anodising,” he explained.

“We had to take a deep dive into chemistry, using resources from research papers to AI chatbots in order to understand the underlying principles that decide if a pigment is going to work or not.”

Local Colours by Loop Loop with Magic Colour Machine
The colours include a warm purple derived from dyer’s alkanet flowers

Visser and Gateau are on a mission to make the process of aluminium anodising more accessible to designers, makers and small-scale manufacturers. Currently, it is largely only used in mass production.

The long-term aim is to make their designs and recipes open source, so anyone could set up a production facility.

Their journey began with the Magic Colour Machine, unveiled during Milan design week in 2022. This mobile, custom-built machine was designed to allow anyone to apply colour gradients to aluminium components, wherever they are.

Local Colours, a project for anodising aluminium by Loop Loop
Different effects can be achieved by applying the pigment in different ways

This new project, titled Local Colours, explores how the process could be made more sustainable.

“To find a way to produce the pigments for our Magic Colour Machine ourselves in a plant-based way helps us to further close the loop,” said Visser.

The four dyes developed so far include a warm purple derived from dyer’s alkanet flowers, a mustard yellow created with dyer’s rocket flowers, a deep pink made using madder root and a bright gold produced with red onion.

Loop Loop has explored different techniques for applying these colours to metal with different effects.

As well as smooth gradients, the pigments can be used to create textural finishes.

“The finish depends on how the pigments are applied,” explained Gateau, a Design Academy Eindhoven tutor with a background in material science.

“We can follow the standard practice of anodising and dip our pieces in a dye to obtain a uniform colour finish. In that sense, it is impossible to distinguish it from the industrial pigments,” he told Dezeen.

“It is also possible to press plant parts directly onto the surface we wish to dye; all sorts of patterns can emerge.”

Plant-based purple pigments used for Local Colours, a project for anodising aluminium by Loop Loop
A press effect results in varied textural patterns

The anodising process involves using an electric current to apply a thin aluminium oxide layer on the outer surface of the metal.

Loop Loop’s tests suggest that plant-based anodising finishes behave much the same as petroleum-based finishes, meaning they can be just as easily removed as added.

The main difference is that the colours react when exposed to direct sunlight.

“This is due to the molecular structure of the dyes, which is way more complex and diverse in the case of natural-based substances,” said Gateau. “The colours have a life of their own.”

Magic Colour Machine by Loop Loop
Smooth gradients can be achieved using the Magic Colour Machine

Visser and Gateau have been growing their own plants for the dyes, supporting their commitment to localised production.

Once the recipes are made open source, they hope to encourage others to do the same. The ambition is to launch a platform that makes this possible in 2024.

“It’s still at an early stage, but we envision an ecosystem of designers, researchers and makers sharing the outcomes of work in the field of circular products and service systems,” added Visser.

Other designers exploring the possibilities of plant-based pigments include Nienke Hoogvliet, who has launched a brand working with seaweed-based textile dyes, and Studio Agne, which has created textile dye from biowaste.

Reference