With projects like the Floating Glass Museum, Organic Cities, Vertical City, and Desert Cities, Luca Curci Architects is setting new standards for sustainable architecture and urban planning. Their commitment to eco-conscious innovation, renewable energy, and harmonious integration with nature positions them as leaders in shaping the future of architectural design.

As the world shifts towards green, energy-efficient solutions, these projects serve as beacons of sustainable development, proving that architecture can be both visionary and environmentally responsible.Among their most visionary designs is the Floating Glass Museum, a revolutionary concept where art and nature merge, transforming water into a living canvas for contemporary expression.

Floating Glass Museum: A Harmony of Water, Art, and Sustainability

Inspired by Venice’s rich cultural heritage and the intricate craft of glassmaking, the Floating Glass Museum is a testament to the balance between tradition and modernity. Designed by an international team of architects and designers, with the support of artificial intelligence, the museum embodies a pioneering approach to sustainable architecture.

Through the meticulous selection of materials and a deep respect for its surroundings, the Floating Glass Museum is set to become a sanctuary of glass artistry and contemporary experimentation. The structure itself will minimize environmental impact, incorporating eco-friendly materials, renewable energy solutions, and innovative floating technology that ensures stability while preserving aquatic ecosystems.

This museum will not only celebrate the history of glassmaking but also serve as an interactive space where visitors can experience the fusion of traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge sustainable design.

Organic Cities: Rethinking Urban Sustainability

With the growing need for self-sufficient, nature-integrated urban spaces, Luca Curci Architects presents Organic Cities—an ambitious vision of green urbanism. Designed to mimic natural ecosystems, these cities prioritize renewable energy, green roofs, vertical gardens, and sustainable materials, ensuring a zero-carbon footprint.

By redefining how cities interact with nature, Organic Cities promote community-driven spaces, pedestrian-friendly layouts, and advanced waste management systems. This project stands as a blueprint for the future of sustainable living, where architecture coexists harmoniously with the environment.

Vertical City: The Future of High-Density Sustainable Living

The Vertical City project addresses the challenges of overpopulation and urban sprawl by creating self-sustaining vertical metropolises. These futuristic skyscrapers are designed with integrated green spaces, renewable energy sources, and efficient water management systems to support thousands of residents while minimizing land use.

By building upwards rather than outwards, Vertical City reduces the ecological footprint of urban expansion, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional city planning. This concept embodies energy-efficient living, smart infrastructure, and a new paradigm in sustainable urban design.

Desert Cities: Sustainable Habitats in Extreme Environments

As climate change continues to reshape global landscapes, Desert Cities provide an innovative solution for inhabiting arid regions. Luca Curci Architects envisions self-sufficient cities in desert environments, designed to harvest solar energy, optimize water conservation, and utilize climate-responsive architecture.

These eco-friendly structures incorporate passive cooling techniques, shaded walkways, and underground water reservoirs, ensuring minimal environmental disruption while providing comfortable, sustainable living conditions. Desert Cities stand as a visionary approach to climate-resilient architecture, proving that sustainable design can thrive even in the most challenging ecosystems.

What began as a form of personal meditation has grown into a mindful practice rooted in sustainability, simplicity, and deep self-connection. Each piece she crafts —earthy, and essential—, tells the story of presence, patience, and the power of working with our hands.

Ceramics as Meditation: The Story of Cristina Vila-Homs

For Cristina Vila-Homs, ceramics was never just a craft —it was a way to quiet the mind. What began as a personal meditation evolved into CVH Ceràmica, a soulful studio nestled in the stillness of Menorca. “I didn’t have a process at first,” Cristina shares. “I simply learned from the clay while working with it.”

Six years ago, she moved to the island with her partner. It was here that ceramics became more than a practice —it became a companion. “It’s something I return to whenever I feel like it,” she says. “It has always been a healthy relationship.”

Her forms are elemental—bowls, cups, vases—rarely with handles, always functional, never ornamental.

Crafted in Silence, Born in Patience

The process is slow and intentional. Cristina throws each piece by hand, guided not by sketches but by instinct. She works alone, mostly in silence, allowing the act of creation to clear her mind. “I started working with clay when my mother was ill,” she says. “It empties my mind so completely that sometimes I surprise myself with what I’ve made.”

Each piece is a journey: throwing, drying (impacted by Menorca’s humidity), trimming, first firing, glazing, and a second high-temperature firing. It takes up to 15 days for a piece to be born. “You can’t open the kiln until it cools—it’s nerve-wracking, but it teaches you patience.”

Sustainability and Local Roots

Nothing is wasted. Leftover clay is crushed, rehydrated, and reused. Her creations are sold mainly in Menorca, at handpicked locations like NUMA, an art centre featuring local artisans. Cristina also offers intimate one-on-one or two-person wheel-throwing classes, introducing students to the rhythm and patience that define her craft. “You won’t take anything home the same day,” she smiles. “It’s about learning the time ceramics really needs.”

An Island Life in Clay

Menorca’s seasons shape Cristina’s life and work. Winter is quiet and introspective, while summer brings vibrant outdoor living. “You need a certain maturity to live here,” she says. “Menorca is solitary—you have to be good with yourself. Ceramics keeps me company. It’s a conversation I have with myself.”

Looking out at the sea, she finds endless inspiration. “The colours of the sea with the sky… they move me more than the beaches. My clays always take me back to that view”.

Antwerp Design Week 2025 is not only a showcase of aesthetic brilliance —it’s a statement on how design must evolve to meet the climate challenges of our time. Whether you’re seeking ethically made homeware, cutting-edge recycled materials, or organically inspired art pieces, the brands highlighted here promise to inspire a more sustainable future.

According to ADW Founder Geert-Jan Van Cauwelaert and Project Lead Emma Vanbeckevoort, sustainability is not just a buzzword at this year’s event—it’s a foundational principle. From partnerships with design schools promoting eco-conscious innovation to the event operations themselves, every aspect is designed with circularity and responsibility in mind.

Immerse yourself in a curated journey through five districts showcasing both Belgian heritage and forward-thinking international talent. Beyond its sleek surfaces and bold aesthetics, what sets this year apart is a clear shift towards sustainability as a core value. From responsible production methods to materials rooted in nature, here are the brands and concepts not to miss for conscious design seekers.

Evolution21
Timeless elegance, Sophisticated taste

One of the most exciting names on the lineup is Evolution21, a design brand making waves for its luxury contemporary furniture and classic-modern designs. Under Karine Bonjean’s direction, Evolution21 delivers timeless elegance for sophisticated tastes.

Their artisans blend tradition with innovation, crafting elegant pieces. Committed to excellence, they use superior materials and meticulous detail. Known across Europe for high-end textiles and leathers, they ensure quality in every piece.

Atelier Vierkant
Organic Form, Local Clay

Known for its sculptural pottery, Atelier Vierkant continues to honour the earth through its use of local, organic clay and timeless handcrafting techniques. Each piece is made in Belgium by skilled artisans, using low-impact processes that emphasise longevity and natural form. Their philosophy embraces slowness and authenticity —values that resonate deeply in today’s climate-conscious world.

Atelier Vierkant’s signature aesthetic lies in its organic forms and textures, inspired by nature’s beauty. Their creations range from minimalist vases to striking sculptural installations, all characterized by their earthy hues, tactile surfaces, and timeless elegance.

Domani
Enriching Spaces through authenticity

Domani is a renowned manufacturer of high-quality pottery, defined by a passion for craftsmanship, natural materials and timeless design. Every piece is conceived and designed at their Antwerp headquarters, then meticulously crafted in their workshop near the historic Hungarian city of Pécs, where they honour traditional techniques while embracing innovation.

Since 2024, Domani has been part of a newly established Belgian outdoor luxury group alongside Tribù, a leader in high-end outdoor furniture. This partnership strengthens their commitment to excellence while ensuring that Domani retains its unique identity, artisanal expertise and production integrity. Their focus remains unchanged: to create pottery that enriches spaces – indoors and out – through authenticity, presence and longevity.

D&M Depot
Botanical Beauty in Sustainable Form

If indoor greenery is your aesthetic, D&M Depot should top your list. Known for its modern plant pots and home accessories, the brand has made strides in using eco-friendly composites and recycled content. Their design language is soft and minimal—letting the beauty of nature and sustainable materials shine through.

Today, the D&M range – for indoors and outdoors – includes more than 1,500 high-quality products. Thanks to their special focus on innovation in material, design and sustainability, each season they are able to present decorative items with a unique and timeless character.

ASA Selection
Fashion-Forward Tradition

Founded in 1976, ASA Selection is a leading manufacturer of ceramic home accessories. With the philosophy “simple things are beautiful,” ASA focuses on clear shapes and colors for products such as tableware, kitchenware, and home décor. Committed to sustainability, ASA Selection emphasises a fair, handmade production, with many items crafted in traditional ceramic regions like Portugal.

GOMMAIRE
Organic Living

GOMMAIRE Organic Living is a Belgian brand offering indoor and outdoor furniture with a signature organic touch. Our timeless designs, from teak wood tables to upholstered sofas and accessories, suit any style. Crafted for quality and exclusivity, GOMMAIRE pieces turn a house into a home, ensuring lasting enjoyment in any setting.

Gardeco
Artisanship with a Conscience

Gardeco’s mesmerising art and design objects are born in the minds of both upcoming and renowned designers and artists from all corners of the world. The result of these partnerships are exclusive collections that evoke profound emotions and carry meaningful stories.

Gardeco continues to act as a bridge between global artisans and contemporary European design, sourcing natural and responsibly harvested materials. Their focus on small-batch production and fair labour practices is a testament to how design can uplift communities and protect natural resources at once.

Henry Dean
Color and Craftmanship

The Henry Dean company was founded in 1972 and is now a second generation family-owned business. Henry Dean specialises in a range of exclusive decorative glass objects. The art and nature inspired designs are all created in-house with a focus on colour and craftmanship.

BEST PRODUCTS IN INTERIOR & LIFESTYLE

Aufgetankt

Designer: Robin Woll & Luca Ganzert
Company: CITY DECKS
Country: Germany

This quality furniture brings in the natural greenery you need in your city! From stylish seating areas and plants that “are constantly supplied with water” with automatic solar irrigation, Aufgetankt is the solution to environmentally-friendly furniture and “lively, green meeting places.”

From Dutch Wool and Seaweed

Designer: Nienke Hoogvliet
Company: Zeefier BV
Country: Netherlands

The Knitwit Stable and Zeefier collaborated to produce this intricate, sustainable carpet. Called “From Dutch Woof and Seaweed”, it is created “from local wool dyed with eco-friendly seaweed.” Zeefier, founded by Nienke Hoogvliet and Anne Boermans, creates seaweed-based dyes. The Knitwit Stable, founded by Reina Ovinge, brings Dutch wool production back to life. Through this incredible product, they combine what both companies stand for, honoring and valuing sustainability, and bringing out its undeniable beauty.

ZEN

Designer: Julia Vegh
Institution: Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz 
Country: Switzerland

Another intricate, modular product that “[stimulates] body & mind.” Having three unique embedded patterns, it provides a transformative, sensory experience with the incredible Swiss virgin wool felt it contains. From strengthening your foot muscles and relieving tension “in the entire musculoskeletal system”, this unique lures the individual to a tranquil, sound world, urging them to never leave and feel nature all around them.

Top bed system

Designer: Daniela Puppa
Company: Frugone 1885 srl
Country: Italy

This “innovative bed system”, designed by Daniela Puppa, is a comprehensive system made of boxspring, mattress and topper materials. With a padding that is made better by the iconic Orange Fiber, this bedding system achieves the perfect comfort feel for summer, includes amazing “breathability and cooling properties”, and also features “a linen/cashmere blend” that is perfect for the winter. In other words, who wouldn’t want to have this?

BEST GREEN PRODUCT IN WORKSPACE

Soundbounce

Designer: Mathilde Wittock
Institution: Central Saint Martins
Country: UK

This incredible product, designed by Mathilde Wittock, literally saves a product within tennis. What do you think it is? Tennis balls. Because only 1% of 400 million tennis balls end up being recycled annually, Wittock’s design addresses this issue by reducing this kind of waste. With Soundbounce, it takes tennis balls that have been “discarded” and converts them into “circular, modular materials for acoustic dividers, wall paneling and furniture.” Through this, the future of discarded tennis may be no more, and it’s all because of Soundbounce.

CQuestBioX Erweiterung

Designer: Interface Inc.
Company: Interface Deutschland GmbH
Country: Germany

Designed by the flooring solutions company Interface, CQuestBioX is dubbed as their “most sustainable backing construction to date.” CO2-negative carpet tiles that come in 363 colours, with “bio-based materials and recycled fillers”, this awesome product is also PVC and bitumen free! If that isn’t cool, I don’t know what is.

Second Use für E-Motoren

Designers: Michael-Andreas Spreng & Francisco Trigueros Morera de la Vall.
Company: Audi AG
Country: Germany

Designed by Michael-Andreas Spreng and Francisco Trigueros Morera de la Vall, Second Use für E-Motoren (“Second use for electric motors”) is an incredible design approach that allows “electric motors to be reconditioned after their first use.” Through a careful revamping of the motors, not only does this increase their service life, it also decreases electronic waste and “conserves valuable resources”. This project, in other words, is awesome.

BEST PRODUCTS IN KIDS CATEGORY

Bloom

Designers: Thibault Lerailler, Philippe Marchand, Enora Labidurie, Gabrielle Lachance, Olivia Handfield
Company: Punctuate Design
Country: Canada

This heavenly product, designed by Thibault Lerailler, Philippe Marchand, Enora Labidurie, Gabrielle Lachance, Olivia Handfield, is a flexible design solution that was created for the purpose of being part of your child’s happy life. A design that is “a low-tech alternative” and made for children to “build what they wish”, this heartfelt set stays with your child, growing up to either remain as a cherished memory or ready to be passed down to future loved ones.

CIRCLE

Designer: Lydia Junker
Company: Hama GmbH Co. KG / Step by Step Schulranzen
Country: Germany

Dubbed as “the first recyclable school bag” for kids aged 5-9, this “5-piece satchel set” contains “97% reusable or recyclable materials.” In addition to having components that are “single-origin materials”, it can also be taken apart according to its individual parts, making it the perfect, handy bag for a perfect school day.

Natural Crayon Kit

Designer: Sofia Catalan Garcia
Institution: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Country: Spain

Earthly Palette, the natural crayon kit you need. This unique, “experimental kit” comes with a manual guide that teaches children how to make “their own colored crayons.” Doing so not only teaches the value of sustainability, but also “promotes a circular view of materials and is based on STEAM methodology.”

MOBILITY CATEGORY WINNERS

URWAHN STADTFUCHS

Designer: Sebastian Meinecke
Company: Urwahn Engineering GmbH
Country: Germany

This sleek product is for your exciting journey in the city. Designed by Sebastian Meinecke, it hails from “revolutionary 3D printing”, which is what Urwahn Engineering GmbH is primarily known for. With steel that is completely recyclable and adaptable because of 3D printing, this FAIRFRAME bike can take you anywhere around the city.

VER-TEC

Designer: Tobias Spröte
Company: Möve Mobility GmbH
Country: Germany

This groundbreaking design “makes it possible to massively reduce the cost of the structural bonding process across all industries.” It not only includes the replacement of welding “as a joining process”, it enables small series production and supports recycling and repair processes.

NEXA und LINK

Designer: Betreuender Professor: Prof. Detlef Rhein; LINK: Jessica Kaufmann, Katrine Struve, Laura Esteban, Lina Steinbock, John Feldmann, William Hoier; NEXA: Lisa Dethloff, Alicia Kastner-Pöhlmann.
Institution: Muthesius Kunsthochschule
Country: Germany

In this pioneering project, “two student teams developed autonomous, fully electric ferry concepts that reduce car traffic and promote climate-neutral local transport.” In addition to being “cost-effective”, these minimalist ferries include “autonomous systems to counteract the shortage of skilled labour.”

BEST PRODUCTS IN PERSONAL CARE

Naturhautpflege “OliPhenolia®

Designer: Fattoria La Vialla
Company: Fattoria La Vialla
Country: Italy

Based on OliPhenolia and developed by the RSC Pharma laboratories, this natural skincare line was made for all types of skincare in mind. With natural ingredients made straight from the Demeter-certified raw materials found in the La Vialla farm, this line introduces the true concept of natural beauty. From face creams and beauty balms, to hand creams and face wash gels, Naturhautpflege “OliPhenolia® is the heavenly, natural gift we’ve all been waiting for.

BEST PRODUCTS IN FASHION

RAIS

Designer: Johannes Wacker
Company: rolf.produktions GmbH
Country: Austria

RAIS is sustainable eyewear made of beans! Included in the Substance Collection, this product – achieved in “powder form” and “combined with patented Rolf Flexlock hinge” – achieves the sleek, sustainable look that is better for the environment. Comfortable to wear, lightweight and friendly to the skin, this eyewear changes the game for sustainable fashion.

Homage to Mountain

Designer: Jehnna Yang
Institution: Central Saint Martins
Country: UK

“Homage to Mountain” is alpine gear made “for filmmakers documenting wildlife in mountainous terrains.” It not only includes waterproof, UV-protective flavonoids that are inspired by alpine flora, it also houses a unique design that “mimics alpine plants, providing wind resistance and visual blending.” Perfect for withstanding difficult weather conditions, this mountain gear is the perfect companion for your adventurous journey into nature.

Eco-tech bijoux

Designer: Ludovica Cirillo
Company: ByLUDO srls
Country: Italy

“Eco-tech bijoux” are genius jewelry made from electronic waste such as “earphones, cables and old keyboards.” They combine innovation and sustainability, providing a unique, conscious way to create art that is both genius and precious. “Designed for tech-lover and eco-conscious individuals… each piece is a reminder that in a fast-paced world, nothing is truly obsolete.”

Bouretteseide

Designer: Helena Harfst
Company: Helena Harfst
Country: Germany

This bourette silk collection includes elegant, stylish dresses and unisex shirts that give off a “distinctive look.” A collection that is perfect for all seasons, chic and comfortable, and a bourette silk material that “is easy to care for and can be machine washed without any problems”, this clothing line is the most comforting, sustainable solution for your fashion needs.

BackPaq

Designer: Oscar Weiß
Institution: ecosign / Akademie für Gestaltung
Country: Germany

This multifaceted product – embedded with a digital product passport (DPP) – can be enlarged and transformed in many ways, “almost fivefold in size thanks to innovative twist technology.” From a bum bag to a cross-body bag, or perhaps a rucksack if that’s more your style, this BackPaq is your go-to sustainable companion in transportation, ready to be transformed into whatever you desire according to your preferences.

Upcycling Sneaker Minou

Designer: Karina Ranft
Company: KAPIRE UNIKAT 
Country: Germany

These heavenly unisex sneakers are made from discarded woolen blankets. With woolen blankets that are 100% wool, an inner lining that is of chrome-free tanned leather, and trainers that are handmade in Italy, these unique sneakers are your go-to shoes for your favorite stops around the city.

BEST PRODUCTS IN BUILDING DESIGN

KiTa aus Re-Use Bauelementen

Designer: blrm Architekt*innen
Company: blrm Architekt*innen GmbH
Country: Germany

This design includes reused materials “from a dilapidated daycare centre building and other dismantled buildings from Darmstadt.” Made to remain on the same site with the intention of protecting and preserving nature, this building focuses on the concept of identity and “circular construction.” Remaining in the same place, preserving the surrounding scenes of nature and reusing materials that don’t have to be discarded, this building is an example of why sustainability really matters.

BEST PRODUCTS IN NEW MATERIALS

Organoid® CARPE DIEM

Designer: Organoid® Natural Surfaces Team
Company: Organoid® Technologies GmbH
Country: Austria

This product, a sustainable interior that is akin to having “the scent of the Mediterranean”, includes “carefully selected herbs” that bring out an environmentally-friendly interior design. For interior design enthusiasts, this product is a must grab, for how could you not want a Mediterranean-scented feel in your own bedroom?

TRASHBOARD

Designer: François Jaubert
Company: TRASHBOARD
Country: France

Designed by François Jaubert, TRASHBOARD introduces a new, developed and “advanced” recycled material and production process. With sport hardware products such as skateboards that have a high performance and a “low carbon foot print impact”, TRASHBOARD paves a new path for sustainable recycling, showcasing how the art of reusing is much better than the woes of wasting.

terrazzoflex

Designer: Julia Linnig
Institution: Hochschule Düsseldorf
Country: Germany

Flex foil is known as a “major source of waste.” Julia Linnig addresses this issue through the genius “terrazzoflex.” A groundbreaking, recycling material “that is produced without any additives and is characterised by its versatility”, it brings attention to the topic of waste and proves that using recycling as a material and art can indeed make the world a better place.

These are your winners for this year’s Green Product Awards. Innovators who create, sustainable developers who dream, they master the art of making the world a better place with and for the sake of sustainability.

BEST PRODUCTS IN INITIATIVES

Tire repurposing

Designer: Jean Francois Cassier
Institution: REGOM
Country: France

REGOM provides AI-powered solutions for identifying and grading used tires at an industrial speed of one tire every 3 seconds. Designed for tire recyclers, its technology optimizes sorting for reuse, resale, retreading, material recovery, and pyrolysis. The tire recycling sector has been slow to adopt digital transformation, relying on manual inspection for decades. REGOM disrupts this status quo by bringing AI-driven efficiency and technology, increasing yields for reuse applications, extending tire lifespan, reducing waste, minimizing environmental impact, and preventing landfill accumulation.

BeeHaven

“BeeHaven” is an innovative urban beehive design that provides sustainable habitats for pollinating bees in city environments. It is suitable for urban planners, environmental organisations, and communities aiming to enhance urban biodiversity and support bee populations. Its sustainability and innovation stem from integrating digital scans of tree forms with mycelium additive manufacturing to create adaptive habitats that meet bees’ ecological needs. By using environmental analysis and the A-star algorithm to select optimal locations, it ensures scientifically sound placement.

Designer: Yao Yulu, Liu Xinyi & Dai Yanning
Institution: 中国美术学院
Country: China

BEST PRODUCTS IN PACKAGING

Kelpi High-Barrier Coating

Designer: Kelpi Technical Team
Institution: Kelpi
Country: United Kingdom

Kelpi is on a mission to combat plastic pollution by reducing fossil fuel reliance and replacing traditional single-use plastics with innovative, seaweed-based materials. Applied as a coating to paper, card, and other fibre substrates, Kelpi High-Barrier Coating is designed to replicate the performance of plastic and is an ideal alternative for large FMCG organisations looking to reduce their plastic consumption. Incorporating natural bonds into the material’s chemistry, Kelpi’s material is recyclable and biodegradable, breaking down completely in the environment, ensuring no toxins or microplastics are left behind.

Augenbrauen-Rasierer-Blister

Designer: Chocal Packaging Solutions
Institution: Chocal Packaging Solutions GmbH
Country: Germany

The Chocal eyebrow shaver blister is made of paper and replaces conventional plastic packaging. Our paper comes from sustainable forestry and can be completely recycled and composted. The packaging fits the product like a second skin and is as large as necessary and as small as possible, resulting in enormous material savings. The energy-efficient thermoforming process also helps reduce CO2 emissions. We therefore offer a packaging alternative that conserves resources and returns used resources to nature.

WOODMER Seal

Designer: Petri Oinonen
Institution: Ecohelix
Country: Sweden

WOODMER® Seal is a revolutionary wood-based heat seal coating for packaging. Born from renewable wood biomass, it offers a greener alternative to traditional plastic coatings with an emission reduction of up to 90%. It‘s not just eco-friendly; it‘s performance-driven, ensuring strong, reliable heat seal coatings for e-commerce, industrial and agricultural packaging. WOODMER® Seal enables mono-material structures, improving circularity and reducing waste. Sustainable, high performing heat seal coating, empowering you to meet market and regulatory requirements for more eco-friendly packaging.

Highlight Image:
© Courtesy Green Product Awards 2025

From Broadway stages to luxury hospitality spaces, David Rockwell has long been celebrated for transforming environments into stories. But with Casa Cork, his latest project showcased during Milano Design Week, Rockwell is pushing the narrative further—into the realm of sustainability, adaptability, and circular design.

Your work has always been at the intersection of architecture, design, and storytelling. How do you define sustainable design in today’s world?

Of course sustainable design involves many components, from healthy, sustainable products that are good for the environment and human beings, to construction and design processes that reduce waste. With cork, you have an example of nature’s perfect product: Cork oak trees are not felled or damaged in the process of harvesting, where the bark, or cork plank, is carefully removed. Every nine years, the bark, which absorbs and retains large amounts of CO2, regenerates and can be extracted again. After its initial use as, say, a wine bottle stopper—cork’s primary application—the buoyant, impermeable material can be recycled, its carbon sequestering ability still intact.

But more broadly, when we think about sustainability at Rockwell Group, we think about durability and audience. Will a project be enjoyed and used for a long time by a lot of people? Does it possess the capability to transform and be repurposed over time? Can it be adapted? Adaptability is a huge piece of sustainability. We are always excited when we get to work in historically important buildings or landmarks—or even just mundane spaces that were something else before they were the site of a new project. We get to re-use and repurpose valuable resources as well as benefit from the patina of time.

Your latest project, Casa Cork, will be showcased at Milano Design Week. What inspired you to work with cork, and what story does this project tell?

We’ve been interested in cork for a long time. We previously developed a cork wallcovering collection called Porto with Maya Romanoff, years before the Cork Collective was even a spark of an idea. It was inspired by our obsession with cork, even then, and its incredible range of aesthetic properties and applicability in the built environment. We saw it as a sustainable, flexible product that was an exciting and versatile material for a wide range of hospitality environments.

Fast forward to the last couple of years, in thinking about ways in which we could be better sustainability stewards, we were shocked when we learned that 13 billion cork stoppers worldwide are thrown in trash. With our deep roots in the hospitality industry, we felt called to try to galvanise our community around an educational and recycling campaign that would open people’s eyes to cork’s incredible transformative properties and potential because it can be recycled over and over again.

Cork Collective’s New York City Collection Program launched in Summer 2024 in collaboration with 70+ local restaurants, hospitality venues, and wine stores. The recycled cork will be used for neighbourhood playground surfaces and public spaces.

We also wanted to grow the program internationally, and when it comes to wine and design, we felt that we need to have a footprint in Milan and Italy. Simply put, Casa Cork is a hospitality experience to showcase cork design innovation. We wanted to ignite people’s curiosity and sense of discovery around this material and we felt that an immersive, hands-on journey, in collaboration with some incredible designers and craftspeople, was the way to go. Interiors, furnishings, and lighting are crafted nearly entirely from cork. We wanted to choose objects and materials that further reveal the versatility and beauty of cork, while also displaying the R&D process. We hope designers are inspired to think differently about cork and other sustainable materials.

THE POWER OF STORYTELLING IN ARCHITECTURE

We have read Casa Cork is an exploration of sustainability and adaptability. Do you think this project represents a larger shift in how we will design homes in the future?

A lot of people have been thinking about how to design more sustainably for a long time; for example, there are now designers experimenting with Hemplime, a carbon negative biocomposite made from a mixture of lime and hemp hurds, the core of industrial hemp plants, for carbon-neutral building insulation. I hope that with Casa Cork and the Cork Collective, we are another source of provocation— another voice asking if something can be done a little bit differently for the health of our planet and ourselves.

How can the principles behind Casa Cork be applied on a larger scale, whether in urban developments or commercial spaces?

With Casa Cork, we are creating an element of surprise and delight—turning what is thought of as a mundane material into beautiful, functional objects and finishes that are durable and recyclable. What’s been done at Casa Cork can absolutely be transferred to a residential or commercial setting. We also hope that it inspired designers, owners, and developers to think about a wide range of other sustainable materials and how they can be employed in new and inventive ways.

Sustainability in design often comes with challenges. Were there any unexpected obstacles or breakthroughs during the development process?

A main challenge is designing something reusable. With any project intending to travel, detailing is extremely important at every stage of the development process to ensure each component can be easily demounted and portable.

There are always challenges with research and development when experimenting with a new material, particularly with such a short lead time for production. Cork wasn’t a material our local fabricator had much experience working with before, so this project really allowed us to take risks.

Can you share some details about the materials and techniques used in the project to ensure a low environmental impact?

Much of the cork is from Amorim, which uses either recycled cork stoppers or upcycled off cuts from their cork stopper production. The Parsons students will be working with recycled wine cork stoppers from Amorim, who are fabricating their prototypes. Suber Design and Amorim Cork Italia are providing recycled cork material to Politecnico and will be fabricating the finalists’ prototypes.
Casa Cork features a large replica of a cork tree, which is clad in virgin cork reclaimed from trees that had fallen due to disease or lightning storms. The installation itself is designed and built modularly so we can pack it up and travel to different cities. We are currently exploring future locations now.

Cork used for installation:
• Approx 200 cork blocks of various densities
• ~ 200 meters of rolled cork goods of various densities
• ~ 270 sqm of cork flooring

INSPIRATIONS AND VISIONS

Who is inspiring you right now in the realm of sustainable design? Are there any architects, designers, or movements you admire?

There are a growing number of design practitioners and architects making strides in sustainable design. A few that come to mind include Matthew Barnett Howland, Dido Milne, and Oliver Wilton, whose 2019 ‘Cork House’ is made almost entirely of solid load-bearing cork; Jonsara Ruth, the Design Director of Healthy Materials Lab (HML) at Parsons School of Design and founder of Salty Labs, a collaborative studio using design to improve human and environmental health; the architect Lesley Lokko who founded the African Futures Institute to facilitate education and research for the next generation of environmental leaders. We are also consistently inspired by innovative uses of sustainable building materials like hempcrete, mycelium, bamboo, and reclaimed wood.

What do you hope visitors at Milano Design Week take away from Casa Cork?

We hope that they learn something new about cork’s versatility and its value in powering a circular economy. We chose objects and materials for Casa Cork that are emblematic of this, made by design- industry luminaries from around the world. Displaying and demystifying the R&D process was also important, so that visitors could envision a path to doing something similar.

What’s next for you in sustainable design? Any upcoming projects we should look out for?

At Casa Cork, we are also launching our new lighting collection for Stackabl, a design company based in Toronto. Their mission is to divert 500 tons of textile waste from landfills by 2029. Made from end rolls and off-cuts of felt, the collection features a range of floor and table lamps in bold geometric cylindrical shapes. The bases are made of solid cork from Amorim cork blocks, which consist of 100% post-industrial cork made from the waste material of wine stopper production.

The idea of a home as a sanctuary dates back to prehistoric times, when early humans sought shelter to protect themselves from the elements. With the rise of agriculture, societies transitioned from nomadic lifestyles to permanent dwellings, leading to increasingly complex architectural and interior designs. Over time, the home became a symbol of cultural identity, influenced by social structures, technological advancements, and environmental conditions.

Philosophers and anthropologists like Martin Heidegger and Marc Augé have explored the intrinsic bond between humans and their living spaces, emphasising that a home is more than a physical structure—it is a reflection of our identity, a vessel for memories, and a foundation for relationships. French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu further argued that domestic spaces shape our daily lives and societal behaviours, making the way we dwell an integral part of our existence.

Pioneers in Dwelling Home Interior Design

The transition towards thoughtful dwelling in interior design has been influenced by visionary architects and designers. Le Corbusier, one of the most significant figures in modern architecture, emphasised functionality and space optimisation, coining the term “machine for living.” His designs paved the way for open-plan homes that maximise natural light and ventilation, elements that remain fundamental in contemporary dwelling design.

In the 20th century, designers like Charlotte Perriand and Alvar Aalto championed human-centric interiors, incorporating organic materials and fluid spaces that harmonise with nature. Their philosophy laid the foundation for today’s sustainable and biophilic design movements.

The New Generation of Dwelling Designers

Contemporary interior designers and architects are redefining Dwelling Home by incorporating environmental responsibility, local craftsmanship, and emotional well-being into their designs. Some of the leading names shaping this movement include:

• Ilse Crawford. Known for her human-first design philosophy, she creates interiors that prioritise comfort, tactility, and natural materials.
• Vincent Van Duysen. A master of minimalist yet warm interiors, he blends simplicity with deep attention to textures and natural light.
• Norm Architects. This Danish studio embraces soft minimalism, designing spaces that are calming, functional, and deeply connected to the user’s experience.
• Studio KO. Merging modernist aesthetics with artisanal techniques, their approach respects local cultures and environmental integrity.
• Cristina Celestino. Fusing history with contemporary design, her work often revisits past styles while integrating sustainable materials.

Initially presented as Kiki’s final thesis project at the Central Saint Martins, the Rewild The Run trainers were also showcased at the 2023 Milan Design Week, where they garnered considerable attention. It’s easy to see why.

Sporting thick electric blue soles with a mesh of curling spikes meant to mimic the hooves and fur of animals, Kiki’s creation is both futuristic and timely. In recent years, design has been entering an era of prioritizing eco-consciousness, with designers frequently incorporating biomimicry or utilizing ethical, ‘green’ products. Architectural design has also witnessed a shift, with architects and city planners increasingly emphasizing green spaces that restore lost biodiversity, and aim to nurture mankind’s strained relationship with nature due to rapid urbanization—a phenomenon known as urban rewilding.

The Rewild The Run trainers converge these two trends, with a design based on biomimicry and an intent to foster the human-nature connection. These trainers offer a glimpse into what the clothing of the future could look like.

Urban rewilding plays a significant role in the design of these sneakers, as Kiki aims to democratize rewilding efforts. Much like city planners advocating for more rooftop gardens, green corridors, and parks to promote biodiversity, ecosystem function, and the persistence of native species, the Rewild the Run trainers allow people to contribute to rewilding efforts by sowing seeds as they run. The soles of the trainers mimic the mechanism of epizoochory, which is essential to the dispersal of seeds by animals.

We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Kiki on her design journey, Rewild the Run trainers and her take on urban rewilding.

An intent of your Rewind the Run trainers has been to connect humans to the natural world. What is your personal connection to nature?

My personal connection to nature was deeply rooted in my upbringing and background of Greek heritage, a country that has a strong tradition of living in harmony with its nature and agriculture, eating seasonally, and respecting the natural cycles of the earth.
However, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that I truly re-appreciated the importance of our connection to the natural world. The lockdowns and social distancing measures brought a stark reminder of how essential nature is to our well-being.

Can you tell us a little bit about your design journey? Did you always know you would work on eco-conscious designs?

My design journey has evolved significantly over the years. I grew up wanting to become an automotive designer, however, studying Industrial Design at Central Saint Martins shifted my focus towards product design in fashion accessories. Post-university, and despite working for 4 years in industry (within some sustainability projects), the waste and impact caused by us as designers and by the industry as a whole became evident, prompting me to return to Central Saint Martins to pursue an MA in Material Futures.
This course allowed me to further explore and re-learn to design in a more eco-conscious way. While I didn’t always know this would be my path, witnessing the need for sustainable practices led me here.

How significant is biomimicry in your designs? Is this a field you would want to explore in future designs?

While working on ‘Rewild the Run’, I concentrated on designing a mechanism for the trainers to ‘pick up and disperse seeds’ (epizoochery). I began by attaching Velcro strips to my existing shoes to observe what kinds of foliage I collected during my walks and runs. This experiment reminded me that Velcro is an example of biomimicry, which sparked my interest in exploring how biomimicry can be utilized as a design tool, particularly for environmentally focused projects, although it has become an incredibly useful tool to use for all design too.

How do you balance wearability with eco-consciousness in your designs? What approach do you take to create products that are both commercially successful and beneficial to the world?

Balancing wearability with eco-consciousness in my designs involves finding the equilibrium between sustainability and appeal. A significant part of this process is creating a conversation around the sustainability of the product, whether through the use of bio-materials or by highlighting environmental issues. At the same time, it’s essential to design products that resonate with a specific market or community without alienating them. By embedding eco-conscious design and manufacturing decisions into the product, we are able to create items that are both commercially successful and beneficial to the world. This approach not only makes the products appealing but also promotes environmental awareness and responsibility among consumers.

How did the initial concept for the Rewind the Run trainers come about? Can you tell us about the process you went through when developing the design.

The initial concept for the ‘Rewild the Run’ trainers emerged from my fascination with how keystone species contribute to rewilding, specifically through a process known as epizoochory. Epizoochory refers to the dispersal of seeds that become attached to animal fur or feet. I was inspired by this natural mechanism and wanted to replicate it in a wearable form.
To develop the design, I began by studying the textures and patterns that facilitate seed attachment in nature. As mentioned earlier, Velcro, a form of biomimicry, played a significant role in this process. The invention of Velcro was inspired by how cockle-burrs stuck to George de Mestral’s trousers and his dog’s fur, thanks to their tiny hooks. Drawing from this, I designed textures that mimic the seed attachment capabilities of plants like the cockle-bur and the grapple plant.
The specific texture on the ‘Rewild the Run’ trainers combines elements from these plants to create an effective epizoochory-inspired pattern. The chunky, platform-like outsole was inspired by the hoof of a bison, a keystone species known for its rewilding impact. However, I aimed to blend these natural inspirations with a digitally-led, futuristic aesthetic to create a unique and functional design.

Are there any further developments that you made to the trainers or are currently researching?

Yes definitely! This project started as a thesis project for my masters, so naturally the outcome has been quite ‘conceptual’ so to speak. I am researching and developing how to integrate the concept of Rewild the Run in a more commercially viable and wearable manner, whilst still taking into consideration the ecological and material limitations when working on a sustainability project. So basically, more to come!

Let’s talk about urban rewilding. Most people think of this concept as being relegated to architectural design and as the responsibility of policy makers, city planners and so on. Your Rewind the Run trainers subvert this belief by showing how everyone can contribute to urban rewinding efforts. How would you define Urban rewinding?

Urban rewilding, by definition, aims to restore natural processes and reintroduce nature on a city-wide scale. While it’s encouraging that policy makers and city planners are focusing on this, I wanted to democratize urban rewilding with these trainers. This project brings the concept to a smaller, more local level, emphasizing our often-limited connection with nature in urban settings.
Our awareness of natural systems is particularly fragile in cities, so engaging individuals through fashion and sport provides a unique opportunity for personal involvement. By allowing everyone to contribute, we can foster a deeper relationship with the wild in our cities and enhance our collective impact on the environment.

You were living in London when you designed and launched your ‘Rewind The Run’ trainers, do you think it’s a city that aligns with your design philosophy in urban rewilding? Are there aspects of the city that particularly support or challenge your approach?

Yes and no. London has recently seen many amazing and even radical urban rewilding efforts, such as the introduction of beavers in Greenford, West London. These initiatives are wonderful to witness and definitely align with my design philosophy. The city’s numerous parks and green spaces have made it particularly suitable for ‘Rewild the Run’, as the trainers can facilitate seed dispersal while running through different green areas.
However, like any urban environment, London has experienced significant damage to its local ecology. This presents a challenge but also an opportunity. It’s become crucial for us to advocate for greener urban environments, no matter which city we are in, so, by encouraging individual involvement in rewilding efforts, I believe we can collectively contribute to restoring and enhancing our urban ecosystems – whether that’s London or anywhere else.

What role does educating consumers on urban rewilding and ecological crises play in the planning and design of your work?

A very important role. I recognize that there isn’t necessarily a need for new trainers in the world, but the idea of using a product, like running trainers, as a means of active participation in a broader rewilding effort is an important message I want to convey.
By integrating this concept into ‘Rewild the Run’, I hope to inspire consumers to think differently about their purchasing decisions as it is vital that people consider the wider ecology and environment when buying clothes, shoes, or any other products. My goal is to encourage a mindset shift, where consumers are more aware of their impact and more motivated to support sustainable and ecologically responsible choices.

Studies have shown that jackets and socks can unwittingly display the mechanisms of epizoochory. Do you have plans to expand the design principles used in your Rewind The Run trainers to other apparel?

Indeed, it gives me a lot of joy when I find little seeds clinging to my socks or jacket during a walk! For now, my focus remains on shoes and refining the concept of rewilding through footwear. I’m collaborating with experts and designers to perfect this approach and make it as effective as possible. However, the principles used in ‘Rewild the Run’ trainers certainly have the potential to be applied to other apparel in the future. So, who knows? Watch this space!

Circular Design: A New Blueprint for Sustainable Living  

Circular design is an approach where every aspect of a product’s life is considered, ensuring minimal waste and maximum resource efficiency. For centuries, human consumption has largely followed a linear pattern: extract resources, make products, use them and then discard what remains. Now, as environmental pressures intensify, an alternative model known as “circular design” has begun to shape conversations on how best to create a more sustainable future. At its core, circular design aims to minimise waste and maximise resource efficiency by rethinking every aspect of the product or system lifecycle. It challenges designers, manufacturers and consumers to consider how materials are sourced, how easily products can be maintained and repaired, and how they might be disassembled or recycled once they reach the end of their usefulness.

Crucially, this method emphasises the entire lifecycle of a product: from the extraction of materials to the potential regeneration of those inputs at the end of the line. It insists on using sustainable materials—preferably renewable or recycled—to reduce our dependence on virgin resources. Essential too is the idea of “designed longevity” through repair and maintenance features that can keep products in circulation for as long as possible. Modularity and adaptability follow naturally from this principle, with components that can be upgraded or replaced without discarding an entire product. In industries ranging from fashion to technology, this has led to fresh thinking about how items can be taken apart and recycled or transformed when they’ve reached the end of their primary life. Ellen MacArthur’s work on the circular economy has been instrumental in popularising these ideas, illustrating how a closed loop of material use can reduce waste and cut costs in one fell swoop.

Although the concept can trace its philosophical roots back to the resourceful practices of ancient civilisations, modern circular design gained significant traction in the late 20th century. The publication of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in 2002 offered a framework for continuous product life-cycles and showcased real-world examples of how designing from the start with end-of-life recycling in mind could reduce environmental harm. Around the same time, Denmark’s industrial symbiosis in Kalundborg demonstrated that seemingly disparate factories could share waste and by-products with mutual advantage. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation formalised many of these early ideas into actionable strategies from 2010 onward, effectively showing governments and multinational corporations alike how a circular design strategy might look in practice.

Figures compiled by the World Economic Forum suggest that fully embracing a circular model could add around 4.5 trillion dollars of economic output by 2030. It’s a huge sum, yet not surprising when one notes that an influential McKinsey & Company study estimates that 80% of all product-related environmental impact is determined at the design phase. The ability to shape how we extract, use and eventually dispose of resources lies firmly in the hands of those who first sketch out a product. Equally striking is the UN Environment Programme’s calculation that materials extraction and processing are responsible for over 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a number that underscores why designers who start with circular principles can be genuine game-changers in the fight against climate change.

Circular Design Success Stories

The momentum building around circular design can be felt across industries. Fashion labels are unveiling jeans stitched in such a way that zips can be replaced easily, electronic manufacturers are offering modular smartphones that allow consumers to upgrade cameras or batteries, and entire communities are emerging to share and redistribute items that might otherwise be thrown away. It is an approach that looks beyond mere aesthetics, focusing on longevity, adaptability and the long-term impacts of what is created. At its heart is the premise that if we align design with ethical and ecological imperatives, then prosperity need not come at the expense of the planet.

Anyone wishing to explore these ideas in more depth can find illuminating insights in several books. William McDonough and Michael Braungart’s Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things remains an essential starting point for understanding continuous lifecycle thinking, and their sequel, The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability—Designing for Abundance, delves further into the philosophy of upcycling.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Design for Fashion provides a detailed look at how designers can transform one of the planet’s most polluting industries, while Designing for the Circular Economy, edited by Martin Charter, collects case studies illustrating practical, hands-on techniques for driving circularity across multiple sectors. Finally, Yvon Chouinard’s Let My People Go Surfing may not deal solely in circular design, but it offers a candid account of how Patagonia interweaves environmental responsibility with commercial success—proof that ethical manufacturing and sound business practice are far from incompatible.

Fashion: Leaders in Longevity and Innovation

The fashion industry has long been synonymous with waste, yet a growing number of brands are rethinking their practices to align with circular principles. Eileen Fisher stands out with its innovative Renew Program, which invites customers to return worn garments. These pieces are then cleaned, repaired, and resold or upcycled into entirely new designs, demonstrating that high-quality craftsmanship can enjoy a second—and even third—life. Similarly, Patagonia has revolutionized outdoor wear with its Worn Wear Initiative, a repair-focused approach that includes mobile vans, online tutorials, and in-store services. These efforts encourage customers to fix their gear instead of replacing it, proving that sustainability and customer loyalty can go hand in hand.

Elsewhere, Stella McCartney has been a trailblazer in luxury fashion by incorporating Mylo, a leather alternative derived from mycelium, and focusing on regenerative materials in her collections. Her designs demonstrate that high fashion can—and should—embrace materials that align with the natural world’s cycles.

Furniture: Building for a Circular Future

In the furniture sector, Herman Miller has led the charge with its Design for the Environment protocol. Their iconic Aeron chair, for example, is a marvel of circular design. The chair is easy to disassemble, ensuring that individual parts can be repaired, replaced, or recycled at the end of its life.

Boutique brands like Vestre, a Norwegian outdoor furniture maker, design their products with longevity in mind, using modular components and sustainable materials that align with the principles of circularity.

Industrial Design: Creating Systems That Last

Industrial design has seen some of the most innovative applications of circular principles. Philips Lighting has pioneered the “pay-per-lux” model at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, which keeps the company responsible for maintaining and recycling light fittings. This approach ensures that the products stay within a closed loop, promoting efficiency and minimizing waste.

Tech companies like Fairphone are also making waves. Their modular smartphones allow users to replace or upgrade individual components, such as cameras or batteries, without discarding the entire device. This approach not only reduces electronic waste but also empowers consumers to make more sustainable choices.

Architecture: Designing Regeneration

Architecture, by its nature, is an industry of long-term impacts, making it a vital area for circular innovation. The architect William McDonough, co-author of Cradle to Cradle, has been a leader in regenerative projects. His buildings often incorporate water-reuse systems, renewable energy sources, and materials that can be repurposed at the end of the structure’s life.

In Amsterdam, the Circl Pavilion exemplifies circular architecture. Designed with demountable parts, the building can be deconstructed entirely, ensuring its materials remain in use rather than becoming waste. The structure also uses recycled materials wherever possible, setting a new benchmark for environmentally conscious construction.

It is no exaggeration to say that the principles of circular design are changing the way we think about production, consumption and waste. Instead of one-way journeys that end in landfill, we have the possibility of creating real closed loops where resources remain in use for as long as possible, and where the notion of “throwing away” looks increasingly outdated. By paying attention to an item’s entire lifecycle, using materials that can be reused and integrating repair and maintenance at every stage, we stand a much better chance of living well within our ecological limits. And it is precisely this sense of possibility, of designing a future that provides both prosperity and environmental health, that continues to galvanise business leaders, environmentalists and creative thinkers worldwide.

Courtney Mattison is an American artist and marine activist working with ceramics to raise awareness about coral reefs and climate change. Using clay as her medium, Courtney Mattison creates intricate ceramic sculptures on a large scale. These pieces are informed by her background in ocean conservation science and policy. You can find Courtney’s pieces all over the world, from Indonesia to California.

What is the state of coral reefs at the moment and why do they need help? 

Coral reefs are extremely important to the health of the ocean and they’re also extremely sensitive to changes. And for that reason, with climate change and more extreme temperature changes and weather events, coral reefs are increasingly threatened. A lot of marine scientists have stated that they don’t expect coral reefs to be a functioning ecosystem by the end of this century, which is really scary.

Is this a big topic of conversation where you’re based in San Francisco?

Yeah, definitely. I think climate change in general is something that people in the coastal cities of the US are really focused on. America is famous for having sceptics about climate change, but here in San Francisco, it’s much more progressive and a lot of the people here believe in science and understand what’s going on in the world. It’s something that I hear a lot of people talk about and people are extremely mindful of their impacts on the environment and their ways of influencing corporations and governments to turn things around with climate change. 

I focus on this because climate change really is the biggest threat to coral reefs. I think there are other major threats like overfishing, commercial fishing, pollution and things like that. But climate change is what’s really devastating reefs around the world, way more quickly than anyone expected, because they are so sensitive to those temperature changes. Also, carbon dioxide dissolves into the seawater which makes it more acidic. So it’s a double whammy, dissolving them and suffocating them at the same time.

And has your art always been on coral reefs or climate change? 

It’s kind of my muse. I grew up in San Francisco and we don’t have tropical coral reefs right off the coast here, but I was always really fascinated with the sea and I started exploring tide pools and studying marine biology as a teenager.

As soon as I really dove in and became fascinated with marine life, I wanted to sculpt them. I felt like it was a way for me to connect with corals differently, and to understand the anatomy and structures of these creatures. Corals are animals, but they don’t have faces and they’re colonial and there are just so many weird aspects to marine invertebrates that I find fascinating. So to me, they seem really sculptural and it’s always been a natural way for me to celebrate and explore them. 

Was there a light bulb moment where you decided this was what you were going to do with your life? 

Yeah, I trained in marine science and art, so I was straddling these two disparate fields for most of my education. My formal education mostly focused on marine biology so I did think about becoming a marine scientist, but then I realised that if I was strictly a scientist, I would be throwing away a lot of this passion and the skills that I had developed in sculpture. I would also be throwing away my voice because scientists have to remain so neutral to collect data and publish studies.

I didn’t feel like I would have enough of an outward-facing voice to advocate for conservation. So that’s why I became an artist professionally. And now I work full time as an artist and I use that background in science to inform my work.

Can you tell me more about how your background in marine biology informs the work and how it influences what you do? 

I studied marine ecology and I focused on coral reefs. I did fieldwork in Australia on the Great Barrier Reef, and I’ve been scuba diving since I was 18. So I’ve been really lucky to go around the world to different tropical marine regions and other places and to see some of the healthiest coral reefs that we still have on our planet. And there are still some really healthy coral reefs that are possible to protect and worth saving. So all of that knowledge, both from the ecology side, the taxonomy side, but also the environmental kind of conservation world, that all informs my work.

I really want the people who see my work to fall in love with coral animals the way that I did because that’s what inspired me to want to act to protect them. So I really hope that my work can bring that alien exotic beauty above the surface for people to appreciate, even if they’re not able to put their faces underwater themselves. 

So is that the aim of your work? What reactions are you trying to inspire? 

I try to encourage people to protect the corals in a gentle and personal way. We protect what we love, and we love what we know and understand and feel familiar with.

The ocean is a dark, mysterious and scary place for a lot of people. I want to help people understand it in a different way and I think art has an immense power to shape how we understand the world. By portraying these coral reef ecosystems in kind of fantastical, colourful, beautiful ways, I try to celebrate them and invoke emotions and individuality so that people might become more curious. I think it has to be a really personal exploration because that’s the only way we’re going to feel truly motivated to make long-lasting change.

What’s the process behind your creations? 

A lot of my work uses similar themes. Because coral reefs bleach white, I think that’s a really stark way to visualise climate change. So that’s a theme that I explore in a lot of my work. Corals are not necessarily as colourful as what you see in my work. But I like taking an artistic licence and not being completely realistic because it’s more about evoking that sense of wonder. 

When I come up with my designs, a lot of them are swirly and evoke ideas of weather patterns or just changing places. The swirling forms are kind of anti-gravity, elevating the reef off the seafloor and putting it into space where its fate is up in the air. So conceptually, to me, the fate of coral reefs is in our hands, and we get to decide if they’re doomed or not. I think having work that swirls from colourful to bleached or maybe the other way around is up to interpretation for a lot of people. 

In terms of my actual sculpting process, when I come up with a design like that,  it looks very freeform, but it’s actually extremely meticulously planned out. I know where every single piece of hardware is going to go on the wall before I start building a single piece. So I map everything out first on the computer and then I create a full-scale map on the floor of my studio. I build each piece in relation to each other, so it’s really like a big three-dimensional puzzle. So it’s really meticulous, takes tons of planning and sometimes the installations that I do are many metres high or require a lot of logistical strategies to install them.

How does it change depending on the place where you’re going to show it or the exhibition? 

I do a lot of site-specific work that is commissioned for permanent installation and integrated into the architecture of an office building or a hotel or something like that. I like working really big because I think that gets people’s attention and it brings up this idea of one small person creating something really enormous which is a metaphor for the impact that one person can have. So I do try to focus on really large-scale stuff. But I also do some residential commissions.

I also show in museums around the world and things like that. It’s fun to do site-specific stuff because I can kind of integrate it into the architecture and respond to how the light moves through a space.

Do you get to see the way that people react to it? Have you had a response that really stood out to you and touched you? 

Sometimes I’ll go into a place where my work is installed and just pretend I don’t know what I’m doing there. But I don’t get to do that very often. There have been a couple of times when I’ve seen someone have a really emotional response, and maybe tear up. That has been really important to me as motivation to keep going.

You see a lot of cynical stuff when you’re in a museum show. You sort of overhear comments and you don’t know if it’s actually getting through to people. But seeing little glimmers like that is really, really lovely.

Do you find it difficult to stay positive?

Yeah, definitely. I’m not naive and I understand the science behind all of it so it is really hard to stay positive sometimes because things really aren’t looking good for coral reefs. They’re not going to disappear altogether because certain coral species are resilient and they’re going to persist like weeds in a garden. But the beauty and the value of the coral reef come from diversity and redundant species that help each other out or compete with one another in important ways. So if a number of those species go extinct or disappear in certain areas, they just won’t function in the same way. So it is really hard to know what’s happening.

I think the way that I stay positive is through interacting with people who are moved by the work and are using that to do their own things that can help. But also by visiting reefs that are still really healthy. I try to get back in the water at least once a year and see a healthy coral reef because they are still out there.

Why do you choose to show coral reefs through clay? 

It started out as a medium that was available to me. I had used clay before and there was a ceramic studio at my high school. But once I started working with it and really learned what reef-building coral does, I realised that calcium carbonate is what corals essentially sculpt their skeletons out of. That’s a material that’s limestone essentially, and that is really common in glaze materials so there’s sort of a chemical parallel between my work and real corals.

There’s also this sense of fragility that is really undeniable. So conceptually that sense of fragility is really important in my work. But you can imagine that porcelain and anemone tentacles are extremely fragile. Making something with clay is so difficult, it takes a lot of patience and troubleshooting. Ceramic is not a friendly material at first, because everything is so fragile. But if you handle everything properly and you protect it at certain stages of the production process, it’s actually pretty resilient. 

What’s the most difficult thing in the physical design process? 

I think there are certain challenges that are related to working with design-build teams. When I’m doing a big project for an office building in an earthquake country, for example, there is a risk with installing the work. I’ve had some really interesting experiences working with engineers and architects to fine-tune the attachment methods that I use and really make sure that my work is going on the wall securely in a way that’s not going to kill somebody. Packing and shipping artwork like this is also really challenging because it’s so fragile. I work with professional art handlers to pack all my work now.

Have you had any projects that you’ve particularly enjoyed or that have touched you in a certain way? 

There are a couple of projects that I’ve done that are in Indonesia that are extremely meaningful. There’s also a project that I did for the Coral Triangle Centre in Bali that is a community project. So I didn’t sculpt everything myself, we actually worked with a team of around 200 volunteers, artisans and marine scientists and everybody got together and sculpted ceramic corals. We ended up installing about 2,000 of them on a wall in an installation that I designed for the Centre for Marine Conservation in Bali. So that was a really fun one. 

The other, the biggest work that is also in Indonesia is at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. That was a commission that I created myself, and it’s absolutely enormous. It’s a big, swirling wall installation that is in the kind of atrium of the embassy building. And that one’s called Confluence, and it’s part of my Art Changing Seas series.

So you have exhibitions literally all over the world? 

Yeah, I just completed one in Capri in Italy. That one is a brand new one that I am hoping to be able to share photos of soon.

Can you tell me about the sustainability aspect of your work? 

Obviously, it’s coming from the environment and it’s a natural material. I try to be mindful of where my materials are sourced and I buy all my clay in the state of California. So it’s all made, you know, within the state. So it’s relatively local. I try to do the same with my glazes. I am very mindful of resource use in general. I think water and electricity are big resources that I have to think about because I have electric kilns in my studio and water is required for all kinds of steps of the fabrication process. So I try to limit resource use.

But, in terms of environmental impacts and climate change, there’s often an imperative put on individuals to focus on their own impacts, but that often distracts from the focus on big corporations and policymakers that really make the outsized impact on these environmental issues. A lot of the work I do is trying to remind people about the advocacy work that we can do to raise awareness and push for reforms on a bigger scale instead because it’s always the individual who gets the blame, not the massive companies.

If you could tell people what to do to help the situation what would you say? 

I think the biggest thing any of us can do is what we are uniquely skilled at. I got some really interesting advice when I was first starting out from an author and marine scientist named Carl Cicina. He said, do what you can uniquely do to make a difference, and I think that refers to the personal impact that I was talking about. Each of us has to feel personally inspired and motivated in our own way to do whatever it is. It could be advocacy, policy change, research, Marine science or social science. There are so many facets to the problem and to the solutions, and we need to come up with creative solutions in order to fight climate change and also reduce the other threats that are on coral reefs. So coming up with new ways to develop and promote renewable energy is a big one. 

I think there are so many exciting things that all need to happen at once. And so we need everyone to feel excited about doing their own part of that process.

And what do you think the situation will be in 10 years time? 

I think we’re going to see a lot more bleaching events. Every summer is the hottest summer on record now. But I also think there’s so much awareness growing really quickly among young people. So it makes me hopeful that there are a lot of young people who are becoming really passionate about demanding change.

I think technology is going to play a big part in it. I think we’re way more connected now than we used to be, and that’s only going to keep growing. And so I think it’s possible to hold people accountable in new ways, and I can only imagine where that’s going to go in the next 10 years. So I’m cautiously optimistic. 

Philipp Hainke work employs a circular approach, specialising in sustainable product development His project, ORGANICO explores hemp’s potential as a renewable resource for circular materials. Through the use of a self-developed bio-adhesive, Hainke transforms hemp fibres and shives into a stable yet lightweight material. The result is an aesthetic design that showcases the transformative power of technology, while preserving the archaic nature of the material. His work advances sustainability by reimagining materiality and reshaping product life cycles. Philipp has been internationally recognized, earning awards such as the Green Concept Award, Materialica Award, and Salone Satellite Award.

Interview with Philipp Hainke

Can you share your experience with using hemp as a material for furniture in your projects? What initially sparked your interest in incorporating hemp into furniture designs?

The starting point for this long-term project was the search for non-harmful, biological alternatives to petrol-based binders like Epoxied-Resists and Polyurethanes. Therefore, the material landscape before 1930 was the field of my research, and here is traditional glue.

In today’s industry, it’s common to use binders with fibres, the most prominent examples might be glass- or carbon fibre. However, flax and hemp are used due to their good technical properties, but mainly in non-visible parts. To decrease the amount of binder in volumetric parts, it’s common to use filling agents, and here the hemp hurds, also known as hemp shives, caught my attention. This foam-like material is the core of the hemp plant. It is a by-product of the (hemp) fibre production and comes as flakes.

Can you walk us through the specific project/s where you utilised hemp, detailing the process and the final outcome? What makes this project stand out?

I’ve been experimenting with bio-composites since 2013. During my studies at the University of the Arts Berlin, I decided to dedicate my Bachelor’s degree to deeper research into biocomposites. The outcome of this work is ORGANICO. A versatile material based on hemp and a self-developed bio composite that utilises plant-based bio protein as a binder.

What specific properties of hemp make it an appealing choice for furniture design? How does the use of hemp in furniture contribute to the overall aesthetic and feel of a piece?

The hemp fibres are durable, it was not without reason that sails and ropes were made from it. In combination with the hemp hurds, I manufacture bio-lightweight objects. Depending on the method of pressing the parts, the aesthetic can vary from a raw organic texture to a technical surface quality. But all pieces share one – not so obvious – feature, their healthy smell. I think we all know the smell of cheap plastic. If I needed to imagine some opposite of this smell, it would be the smell of ORGANICO. It reminds me of the fresh hay stacks of my childhood.

From an environmental standpoint, how does using hemp in furniture align with sustainable design practices? How do clients respond to the sustainability aspect of hemp in furniture, and is it a factor in their decision-making?

My wood-free product mainly consists of plant material which functions as a carbon storage as well. The vegan adhesive is free of conventional binders, resins, or bioplastics such as PLA. While many projects focus on highly processed mono materials, ORGANICO is made of up to 90 % raw natural hemp. This fast-growing plant can be cultivated on practically any soil and, in addition to its good technical properties, also offers a remarkable amount of positive ecological cultivation aspects, such as pest resistance. Thanks to the lime used in the adhesive, the material is naturally protected against fungal and pest infestation. Depending on the application, it can be insulating, light, flame-retardant, water-resistant, or it can combine these properties. After its life cycle ends, the entire part can be returned to the biological cycle without causing any harm to the environment.

What advice do you give to clients regarding the maintenance and care of furniture made from hemp? Are there any misconceptions about hemp furniture that you find important to address?

I don’t think it’s possible to generalise “furniture made from hemp” in a way that would make it possible to give universal advice here. Talking about ORGANICO, it can be seen more as wood than as fabric. The objects are flame retardant and can resist water for a short period. Crucial parts are the corners where you face the partly untreated fibre, which is a potential weak point and has to be treated more carefully.

Are you seeing an increased demand for furniture made with hemp, and if so, what factors do you attribute this to? How do you stay updated on market trends related to hemp in furniture design?

I’m not sure if I would limit the field to hemp alone, but you can see that there is a general trend in alternative material and alternative material streams. This is a healthy trend, but of course, there are players in the market who try to benefit from this development without risking big investments.

How do you source hemp? Have you collaborated with hemp producers or manufacturers to source materials for your designs?

In the beginning, I tried to build a direct connection to a local producer in the surrounding area of Berlin but came into some trouble with changing material properties. By now, I’m sourcing most raw materials from a provider for construction materials. The benefit here is that you always receive the same material quality.

Where do you envision your products being displayed?

ORGANICO has already been shown in many exhibitions, including the Salone del Mobile in Milano, the IMM in Cologne and the Global Grand Show in Dubai to name a few. It would be great to see ORGANICO applied in the mobility sector because this industry has the financial freedom and innovative mindset to grow a concept further. I could also imagine a collaboration with a brand like Nike or Patagonia to be displayed in a flagship store.

Where do you see the future of hemp in furniture design heading? Are there emerging technologies or processes that you think will further enhance the use of hemp in furniture?

Certainly, we will see a more diverse material landscape in the furniture industry. We have a major need to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions and/or capture it from the atmosphere. Since plants are natural carbon storage, I see a huge potential in this field. As a one-year crop, hemp is not only growing relatively fast, but it is also very resistant and grows even on poor soils which allows the cultivation without any pesticides. I see huge potential in a combination of high-tech and low-tech, like I tried to examine with ORGANICO.