Spotted: Polyurethane is one of the main ingredients in insulating foam and industrial sealants and adhesives, and thanks to steady expansion of the construction and automotive industries, it is a rapidly growing market. Polyols are the chemical building blocks of those materials. Biopolyols are made from vegetable oils and are increasingly sought after for use in renewably produced and sustainable polyurethanes.
The foam made from polyurethane can be rigid or flexible, with rigid foams used for insulation in construction, and flexible foams used in furniture and vehicle interiors. If alternatives to petroleum-based polyols can be produced at scale, industrial reliance on fossil fuel for this common polymer could be significantly decreased.
Cypriot startup Ecorbio found a way to do this and more, with its patent-pending Crudyol project. Using biomass waste streams, the company produces biopolyols. Not only does the use of organic waste reduce global consumption of virgin feedstocks, but it also decreases pressure on arable land to produce crops for industry rather than food.
The company works with a range of organisations in a variety of industries to chemically upcycle their biomass waste. As well as adhesives and foams, Ecorbio also produces customised products such as nozzles and gaskets. The biopolyurethane can be cast, making it an ideal replacement for hard-wearing, strong plastics. Ecorbio is currently working to bring Crudyol to market.
Replacing plastic with sustainable alternatives and dealing with the mountains of waste that have already been created are global challenges being approached by innovators in multitudes of ways. Innovations showcased in Springwise’s library include using fungi to produce new packaging options and turning invasive plants into biodegradable plastics.
UK studio Most Architecture has converted an industrial shed in west London into an all-black-and-white showroom and production facility for electric car start-up Charge Cars.
Created to manufacture Charge Cars‘ first vehicle the ’67 – an all-electric version of the 1960s Ford Mustang Fastback built using components from electric vehicle brand Arrival – the facility also acts as an office and showroom.
Most Architecture has created a factory for electric car start-up Charge Cars
“Charge designs and makes its unique cars in a single facility,” said Most Architecture founder Olga McMurdo. “Like an open-kitchen restaurant, everything is on display to the staff and customers.”
“So we created an environment that allows immediate access to every aspect of the process from design through to production,” she told Dezeen. “The factory, and all of its contents, are at once an agile design and manufacturing centre, a customer showroom, and a design statement.”
The building is arranged around the workshop
The facility in Stockley Close, west London, was designed around the idea of promoting a connection between Charge Cars’ clients and the engineers building and customising the cars.
At its centre is a large open workshop where the cars are built and customised, which is overlooked by various offices and meeting spaces.
Charge Cars’ ’67 will be manufactured in the factory
“Our client came to us with an ambition to re-define a classic design icon using cutting-edge electric vehicle technology and to create a customer experience that engenders a visceral response to the product, and the process of creating it,” said McMurdo.
“Their space had to accommodate both the manufacturing and the design process, facilitating teamwork and recreation, testing, a showroom, and areas for customer engagement,” she continued.
“All that had to happen within one architectural volume, and so the primary challenge was to facilitate all of these activities simultaneously and symbiotically, whilst projecting a clear and coherent design statement reflecting the client’s philosophy.”
Office spaces overlook the workshop
Unlike the majority of car factories, the Charge Cars facility was designed so that its customers can visit at any time to observe how the vehicle is designed and assembled.
“Charge wanted the customer journey to be mapped out by the design of the building,” said McMurdo.
“The customer’s access to, and experience of, the factory is an integral part of the product,” she continued.
“They have a personal relationship with the engineers that are making their car, and are able to see the car as it is being constructed.”
The Charge Cars factory is almost entirely black and white
Most Architecture designed the spaces with a stripped-back aesthetic united by a largely white and black colour palette, including a black light fixture above the building’s entrance.
“The white and the black amplify each other by contrast, representing the fusion of a laboratory and a garage, and the constant dynamic between research and production,” explained McMurdo.
“Using this pallet we also wanted to make an impactful design statement on entry to the building. The result was a large anamorphic light fixture, which coalesces into a Feynman diagram from a single vantage point, becoming a composition of independent pieces.”
Cars are designed, built and tested at the facility
Other recent electric car factories featured on Dezeen include a black steel and glass facility designed by Snøhetta for car brand Polestar in Chengdu, China. In Sweden, Danish architecture studio Cobe is designing a development centre for Chinese car manufacturer Geely, which it describes as a “chamber of secrets”.
Client: Charge Cars Lead architect: Most Architecture Interior concepts: Evgeniy Bulatnikov Mechanical engineer: Airon Electrical engineer: Smart Techno Systems Structural engineer: HLS Structural Lighting: Gaismas Magija Building control: The Building Inspectors Wind consultant: Buro Happold Fire engineer: QFSM CDM advisor: Andrew Goddard Associates Main contractor: Hansa Group Steel mezzanine contractor: System Store Solutions Lighting manufacturer: Esse-Ci
