Spotted: In France, a recently enacted law prohibits companies from destroying their unsold non-food goods without first trying to resell, donate, or recycle them. To promote the circular economy and help companies meet this requirement, startup CircularPlace has created a platform that optimises the collection and management of unsold goods, second-hand equipment, and returns. The digital marketplace matches businesses and charities with available products that are either unsold inventory, returns, or used, non-food items.
Items are first offered for sale, then for donation. The marketplace is free to use, and CircularPlace takes a 10 per cent commission on every sale. Products listed for sale are auctioned, and after the seller confirms the condition of the items, the buyer receives a tax receipt and certificate of sale. Items available for donation go through a similar process.
After being listed for both sale and donation, CircularPlace provides owners of items unable to find a new home with a network of verified recyclers. And as a last resort if products are unable to be recycled, CircularPlace issues a certification that allows the owner to discard the products without falling foul of waste regulations.
For organisations large enough to utilise an internal marketplace, CircularPlace provides a white-label platform to rent, share, and exchange products. Gamification features help make it fun for employees to track team footprints, and for all users of the marketplace, CircularPlace provides reports on the volume of emissions prevented by every transaction.
Industries notorious for the volume of their waste are beginning to explore circularity, with innovations in Springwise’s library showcasing options for reusing electronics and deadstock material.
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
Energy savings achieved by insulating UK homes appear to be cancelled out within a few years by an increase in energy use, according to a study by the University of Cambridge.
The study, which analysed the gas-use patterns of more than 55,000 homes across England and Wales, found that the fall in gas consumption achieved by retrofitting wall insulation was voided within four years.
Retrofitting lofts proved half as effective, with any gains becoming “insignificant” after year two, the researchers said.
Further research is now needed into the causes of this “rebound effect”, which is preventing energy savings from continuing long-term.
But the study posits that it could be due to the simultaneous construction of home extensions, which can increase a household’s energy consumption by around 16 per cent.
“We found that energy efficiency retrofits are often combined with home improvements that actually increase consumption, such as extensions,” explained Cristina Peñasco, an associate professor in public policy at the University of Cambridge, who co-authored the study.
Home insulation “not a magic bullet”
Other possible causes include the fact that 18 per cent of English households have conservatories, which according to the study negate any energy savings within the first year, as well as the possibility that energy and cost savings could in turn encourage increased consumption.
To achieve a long-term reduction in gas use and the associated emission – in line with the UK’s mission to reach energy independence and net-zero emissions – the researchers argue that insulation thus needs to go hand-in-hand with the installation of heat pumps and regulations to change people’s behaviour.
“However, home insulation alone is not a magic bullet,” she added. “In the long term, simply funding more of the same insulation roll-out to meet the UK’s carbon reduction and energy security targets may not move the dial as much as is hoped.”
Wall insulation causes seven per cent drop in gas use
Published in the Energy Economics journal, the study is the first to track the long-term effects of insulation in households across England and Wales, according to the researchers.
Their analysis is based on data collected by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, tracking households’ gas use for five years before and after insulation was installed.
Factoring in the age and size of the building, as well as the weather and gas prices at the time, the study found that cavity wall insulation was the most effective, leading to an average seven per cent drop in gas use in the first year.
In comparison, retrofitting loft insulation saw an initial fall of only four per cent.
“Insulating the lofts and cavity walls of existing UK housing stock only reduces gas consumption for the first year or two, with all energy savings vanishing by the fourth year after a retrofit,” the study concluded.
Retrofits must include heat pumps
In low-income households, these savings were even smaller – an average of three per cent during the first and second year post-retrofit – suggesting that any savings are immediately redirected into keeping the home warmer for longer.
This proves that insulation is effective in democratising access to heating and fighting fuel poverty, the researchers argue, especially in light of the current energy and cost-of-living crises.
But the study also shows that, to actually cut down on gas use and emissions, insulation retrofits must go along with energy reduction targets for households and waivers on energy bills for low-income households, the researchers argue.
In addition, they argue electric heat pumps should be installed alongside insulation to decarbonise residential heating, which is responsible for around 14 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions.
The country’s housing stock is among the oldest and least energy efficient in Europe, which has long led industry groups including the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Construction Leadership Council and the Architects Climate Action Network to call for a comprehensive national retrofit strategy.
Alongside insulation, they argue a holistic approach would must include the addition of “low-carbon” heat pumps and triple-glazed windows at the same time.
Dezeen promotion: working from home during the pandemic has changed people’s expectations of their workplaces, according to research from office design leader Steelcase.
The Steelcase Global Report finds that issues concerning safety, productivity, comfort, control and a sense of belonging – all stemming from experiences over the past year – will lead to changes in the way that offices are designed in the future.
“After spending months at home during a crisis, workers have never been more in touch with what they want from their work and workplace,” reads the report.
“They have new and increased expectations of their employers and workplaces — desiring a dramatically different and better experience than the one they left.”
The report identifies four “macro shifts” that it believes organisations will need to address as employees return to working at the office.
These trends were already developing before the impact of Covid-19, the research suggests, but have been accelerated as a result.
Design for Safety
Safety has emerged as the primary cause of change in office design going forward.
Companies will need to reassure their employees that the office is a safe environment, by enforcing measures that minimise risk of infection.
“Pre-pandemic, when organisations addressed safety in the workplace, their focus was primarily on occupational health and safety standards,” reads the text.
“Now, they will need to take a multifaceted, systemic approach that prioritises mitigating the spread of disease.”
Steelcase’s research found that offices will likely become multi-functional environments
Social distancing measures, such as spaced-out furniture and partition screens, could form part of a long-term safety strategy, while advanced HVAC systems can monitor and maintain safe levels of humidity, filtration, air dilution and air movement in a contained space.
Companies will also need to optimise cleanability, by specifying materials that reduce the spread of infection. Sensor technology could also be introduced, to identify high-traffic areas that need to be cleaned more regularly.
Design for Productivity
During the pandemic, many suggested the office would develop into a social hub, primarily centred around group work and meetings, while focus work would primarily be carried out in the home.
However, the research indicates that the office is more likely to develop into a multi-functional environment.
In all 10 countries surveyed for the report, employees identified “collaboration” as one their top five requirements for their workplace. However, eight out of 10 also listed “focus”.
“Moving forward, organisations will benefit from creating multimodal spaces that support collaboration and focus work equally,” reads the report.
“The workplace can’t simply be a social hub that brings people together with the expectation that individual work will happen at home. Research tells us this is not an inclusive strategy since many people struggle to focus at home.”
It is recommended that workspaces provide spaces that support four types of activity: in-person collaboration, virtual collaboration, privacy and movement.
Design to Inspire Community
In every country surveyed, people identified connection to others and a shared sense of purpose among their top reasons for wanting to return to the office.
Although working from home offered some benefits, many also found it to be an isolating experience.
Workers desire comfort and flexibility from their workplaces, the report discovered
Going forward, the indication is that the most successful offices will promote community amongst their employees.
“Organisations will need to rethink the purpose of the office from simply a place to work to becoming the infrastructure for building social capital and fostering a sense of purpose and belonging,” reads the report.
Design for Flexibility
The research identified a clear need for comfort and control in the future workplace.
Those who have been comfortable working from home, in terms of their physical, cognitive and emotional needs, will demand the same from the office. Whereas those who have been uncomfortable at home will be more acutely aware of their comfort needs.
Similarly, people report being more able to reconfigure their home environment to suit their needs, whether that means moving furniture or changing the temperature.
As a result, flexibility looks likely to become more important than ever in the office.
“Organisations need to design spaces that can be easily adapted, especially as more flexible work policies are implemented,” reads the report.
“The workplace must be designed to provide individuals and teams greater control over their environment so they can change it on demand.”
Steelcase’s Design Principles
Additionally, Steelcase has compiled four design principles for workspaces that meet new employee needs. These include Me + We, Fixed to Fluid, Open + Enclosed and Braiding Digital + Physical.
Me + We involves balancing the needs of individuals and teams. It aims to create environments designed for both focused and collaborative work to ensure a professional working environment.
Fixed to Fluid encourages greater flexibility and mobility, championing spaces that can change to fit individual and organisational needs.
Open + Enclosed provides both enclosed “me” and open “we” spaces. According to Steelcase, individual workers may require shielded working environments “to control privacy and safety”. It also references how teamwork may require increasingly flexible spaces that can change based on their activities.
Braiding Digital + Physical advocates enhancing human experiences with technology. It aims to create solutions for group and individual video interactions – not constrained to phones or laptops – to support artificial intelligence-guided or data-driven experiences.
