Sofia Trapani, Climate Change and the Need for Sustainable Interiors

Sofia Trapani

Climate Change and the Need for Sustainable Interiors

Designing Eco-friendly

AAD Dissertation Studio 13 2020–21

Extracts from Sofia Trapani, Climate Change and the Need for Sustainable Interiors: Designing Eco-friendly

Dissertation Studio 13 B(read) Tutor: Harriet McKay

School of Art, Architecture and Design London Metropolitan University 2021

CHAPTER FOUR

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Fig. 13

FURNITURE There was a time when furniture was bought to last in our homes for decades and then passed away from generation to generation. Sofas, chairs and dining tables were looked after because made with valuable materials and upstanding workmanship. In the past when furniture would break, they would then be fixed, refurbished and adjusted in order for them to be used till the end of their lives. Nowadays capitalist society had lead us to a continue research to ‘convenience’ privileging cheap, low quality, standardised products which are also putting the environment and renewable resources in danger. The furniture manufactory industry generates a great carbon emission therefore most large corporations have come to the realisation that if they are to stay relevant and compete with the industry, they must change their business approaches and understand what sustainable design is. Sustainable furniture, also known as eco-friendly are all those products focussing on reducing environmental impact starting from material extraction till end of life.

Circular economy interventions have the potential to help counter the general challenges identified in the sector, with repair, refurbishment and remanufacture allowing value recovery, economic growth and job creation within the European furniture industry (European Union, 20017, p 8).

It is of great importance to understand that a sustainable house will lose their validity if furnished with non-sustainable products. This chapter focus will be to analysing the disadvantages of fast furniture and the benefit of an eco-friendly choice.

Fast furniture As mention before, fast furniture seems to be the only choice for today modern life as they provide a cheap fast option which will probably satisfy our temporary needs until we choose the next product. Many are the downside of this product category which will analyse here and hopefully bring designer and house owner to change their mind.

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Cheap furniture can only be made with poor materials. Those products are generally made with pressed wood, also known as particle board or MDF, finished with laminate or veneer. To be aware of is that this inexpensive hardware will easily peel away, swell if expose to moisture and impossible to sand back down if damaged. Those materials are cheap and most luckily, they won’t last more than a few years especially if they go through disassembly and reassembly while moving to a new house. (Heidi Bischof, Mar 6, 2019) Poor quality led to breakage and consequently to waste. ‘According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the amount of furniture and furnishings taken to a landfill rose from 7.6 million tons in 2005 to 9.69 million tons in 2015, and the rate of increase is accelerating’ (Jeff Andrews, Apr 11, 2019).

As already mention tables, shelves and cabinets are mostly made of particle board. This material contain formaldehyde a potent chemical which is be highly toxic and dangerous for both humans and the environment. This resinbased chemical could leach into the atmosphere as well as irritate both eyes and airways. (Michael Bloch, Nov 22, 2006) This is to say that buying cheap furniture might seem a good deal at the time, but it is just a waste of money has it will have to be replaced every five years and effect oil resources, raw materials and textiles. On that account rather than keep changing furniture switching to sustainable ones will induce to a more conscious and healthy consumption. In order to minimise costs and emission due to transportation the ideal solution will be to contact a local producer or purchase second-hand furniture, but this is not always possible.

Following on from this some furniture example and practical tips for both designers and households will be illustrated. (Research based on UK supplier as the most sustainable option will vary for each country).

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Sustainable furniture NATURALMAT

Fig. 14, T h e C a r r i c k B e d

This Devon based company focuses on organic handmade mattresses and beds for both adults and children. They offer are range of different products like bed bases, toppers, headboards, mattresses and home accessories. This company believes in the healing powers of natural organic ingredients, like coconut coir, cotton and blends of lambswool. All those products are 100% chemical free and natural fire retardant without being treated by chemicals.

Their showrooms can be found in London, Exeter and Cornwall. (Naturalmat, 2021)

The Carrick is characterised by elegant, rounded corners and two bold

vertical pleats on a quite short, upholstered headboard.

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SEBASTIAN COX

Fig. 15, Hewn trestle-pair with tabletop

The brand comes from a husband-and-wife partnership working in their workshop along with designers, makers, and environmentalists. Their design aims to decrease co2 emission forward thinking to a zero- waste production.

They also run a forest for biodiversity and materials in Kent, England.

(Sebastian Cox, 2021) This unique table is made from sustainable crops of English ash and Kentish hazel. All the elements of this product have been carefully and craft and customised to fit in harmony.

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SUSTAINABLE FURNITURE

Fig. 16, Easy element sofa

This multi-award winning for sustainability furniture brand is based in the UK runed by a Cornish Family. The focus of this company is to supply long lasting, hight quality furniture, ethically sourced designed and manufactured. They provide a broad collection of reclaimed wood furniture for both outdoors and indoors. (Sustainable Furniture, 2021) The Easy Element Sofa is a versatile piece of furniture suitable for any room. It comes with intuitive cushions that can be adjusted various positions.

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Make your own furniture

"The essence of interior design will always be about people and how they live. It is about the realities of what makes for an attractive, civilized, meaningful environment, not about fashion or what's in or what's out. This is not an easy job.”

Albert Hadley 36

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MATERIALS Here all the materials you will need to build a wooden cloths rack: -LEGS: 4 pieces X 180 cm -SHELVE: 2 pieces X 40 cm + 2 piece x 120 cm -Rope -Round wooden pole -Screws of different lengths [1] METHOD To make the shelf measure the thickness of the legs and mark that number on each side of one of the 2 x 120 cm pieces of wood. Cut the excess out only on one of them. [ 2] Screw the 40 cm piece to the 120 cm one by leaving out the thickness measured before. Then screw the piece you have cut before all the way to the edge. [3] Take the 120 cm pieces of wood and stuck them together as you are going to be creating the actual quote-unquote leg on one side of the wardrobe rack.

Grab a measuring tape and pull apart the 2 pieces of wood until it is a depth of the shelf you are going to create. Trace where the 2 pieces of wood meet towards the top, find the canter and cut a hole with a cup drill od the same diameter of the pole. [4] Go back to the shelve, and let’s see how to create the macrame portion. Get the cord and a staple gun ready. [5] Wrap the cord around the 2 long side (about 20 times). Stable gun a few times to hold firm.

For the middle part start by stapling the cord on the backside then go up through the bottom, wrap around and up to the centre. Do this until you are satisfied with the length. [6] Here is how the final shelf should look like [7] Crew the shelf to the legs remembering that the longer side should be attached to the outer leg. Pass the pole through the holes. [8] ALL DONE!!!

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School of Art, Architecture and Design London Metropolitan University 2021 liveness.org.uk