Hasta La Ideas

This year, sustainable design finally went mainstream at Milan design week. Here is Dezeen’s pick of the 10 best projects and shows that tackled environmental issues.

Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival by Paola Antonelli

Paola Antonelli has brought together 120 architecture and design projects from the last 30 years for her Milan Triennale exhibition, Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival, which aims to explore humankind’s fractured relationship with the planet.

By showcasing projects such as Italian Limes, which looks at shifting national borders as ice melts in the Alps, Antonelli hopes to make people aware of the “crisis in our humanity” and encourage us to make the most of the time we have left on the planet.

Conifera by Arthur Mamou-Mani x COS

French architect Arthur Mamou-Mani demonstrated his investment in circular design at Milan this year with his Conifera installation designed for fashion brand COS, which was created using only sustainable materials.

Installed in the courtyard of Palazzo Litta, the large-scale parametric structure was constructed from 700 bio-bricks, each printed in a mixture of polylactic acid (PLA) – a fully compostable bioplastic that is made using renewable resources – and wood, and fixed together using PLA cable ties.

Ro Plastic Prize by Rossana Orlandi

Rossana Orlandi challenged designers to develop new ways of recycling and reusing plastic in her Ro Plastic Prize competition, which was launched at this year’s Milan design week as part of the gallerist’s Guiltless Plastic initiative.

Among the chosen winners was German designer Alexander Schul, who designed a collection of furniture using sheets of recycled high-impact polystyrene, and Reform Studio who created a line of colourful textiles from reused plastic bags.

The Circular Garden by Carlo Ratti

In his quest to discover more responsive “living” architecture, Italian architect Carlo Ratti grew a series of arched structures from mycelium – the fibrous root of mushrooms – for an installation in Orto Botanico di Brera, a Milanese botanical garden.

The archways, which were grown organically “just like real mushrooms” over six weeks, will remain on view until 19 April before being shredded and returned to the earth as compost in a fully circular fashion.

On and On by Emeco

Emeco teamed up with London designers Barber & Osgerby to launch its On and On collection at this year’s Salone del Mobile furniture fair. The seats can be endlessly recycled, demonstrating the brand’s commitment to the circular economy.

Made from a mixture of recycled PET bottles and fibreglass, the collection comprises a stacking chair and two stools designed with a classic cafe aesthetic in mind, with round seats that allow for rotational stacking.

Waste No More by Eileen Fisher

Eileen Fisher’s Waste No More installation aimed to confront visitors with the reality of society’s overconsumption by repurposing garments and materials from the brand’s own past collections to create a series of wall hangings, acoustic panels and decorative objects.

The brand teamed up with artist Sigi Ahl to create the zero-waste works, which were made using unique needle-punch felting techniques that require no water or dyeing. The exhibition was on show at Spazio Rossana Orlandi during the design week.

Join by Norwegian Presence

This year’s Norwegian Presence exhibition in Zona Tortona showcased the work of 21 designers, alongside seven of Norway‘s leading manufacturers, with the aim of highlighting the economic and social dimensions of circular design.

Projects such as Tron Meyer’s towering stack of split volcanic stones were displayed in an exhibition space constructed entirely from recyclable and reusable materials, allowing it to be dismantled and repurposed now that design week is over.

Exploring Eden by Bethan Gray and Nature Squared

British designer Bethan Gray collaborated with natural surface specialist Nature Squared to create a furniture collection from seashells and feathers left over from the fishing and meat industries, also on show at Spazio Rossana Orlandi.

The duo took advantage of the pearlescent and iridescent qualities of capiz shells, scallop shells and pen shells to create a series of patterned tables, stools, shelving units and lounge chairs, making use of materials that are normally treated as waste.

Bananatex by QWSTION

Swiss bag brand QWSTION collaborated with Taiwanese yarn and weaving specialists to create the “world’s first” material made purely from banana plant fibres, which are organically cultivated in the highlands of the Philippines.

The material, called Bananatex, is not only waterproof and durable, but is also fully biodegradable. Its creators see it as an alternative to the technical plastic materials dominating the market for outdoor garments today. An exhibition highlighting the material was at Alcova‘s Via Popoli Uniti space through the week.

Liveable earth by Ventura Future

This year’s edition of Ventura Future explored the topic of bio-design by tasking eight designers with showcasing their visions for a “liveable earth”.

Matilde Boelhouwer’s Food for Buzz project was included in the exhibition, which saw the Dutch designer create a set of artificial flowers that turn rain into sugar water, to serve as emergency food sources for city-dwelling insect pollinators.

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Amsterdam-based duo Formafantasma and architectural materials brand Dzek collected volcanic ash from Mount Etna in Italy to glaze this “totally 1970s” collection of surface tiles.

Presented at Milan design week, which took place between 9 and 14 April, the ExCincere collection of volcanic ash-glazed porcelain tiles are rectangular and feature yellow-brown tones.

“Generally we are never retro in our work, but this just came out and it’s totally 1970s, it definitely speaks of the decade,” said the designers.

Suitable for both indoor and outdoor surfaces, the tiles are available in two sizes and five volcanic glazes.

They are glazed using volcanic ash from Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy, which consists of fragments of pulverised rock, including basalt rock – a magnesium and iron-rich volcanic rock created by the rapid cooling of lava.

“Mount Etna is a mine without miners; it is excavating itself to expose its raw materials,” said Formafantasma.

The collection aims to demonstrate the “full potential” of volcanic ash, which is described by Formafantasma as “naturally-occurring, self-generating, and abundant”.

“Like César Manrique’s evocative Lanzarote architecture, which so seamlessly integrates into its surrounding volcanic landscape, ExCinere is a new take on the tradition of volcanic lava as a building material and a manifest of the enduring attraction between humans and the impossible force of nature,” said Dzek.

The project follows on from Formafantasma’s 2014 project De Natura Fossilium – a series of homeware objects made of basalt rock formed after Mount Etna erupted in 2013.

Formafantasma and Dzek built on this existing research to investigate the uses of volcanic ash in creating architectural materials, like tiles.

Ash has a high metal-oxide content, which makes it “complex and unpredictable to work with”.

The designers spent nearly two years examining the exact balance of porcelain tile, ash glaze, firing temperature and method to prevent the pieces cracking or exploding during the firing process.

“Although volcanic ash and basalt rock may appear inert, their metal-oxide content makes them complex to work with,” said Dzek. “The material has its own will and you have to allow it to go where it needs to.”

“Identifying the right balance of volcanic ash percentages, granule sizes, densities, firing temperatures, firing methods and clay body took almost 20 months to be exact,” explained the brand.

The five different colour glazes were created by mixing varying amounts and densities of volcanic matter.

“The lighter glazes use extremely fine ash powders. The glazes become increasingly darker and more specked as the ash particles increase in size and frequency,” said Dzek.

These glazes were then applied onto the porcelain tile bodies and fired in a kiln.

“The glossy tones achieved from mixing and firing varying percentages and densities of volcanic matter are evocative of the dynamic landscape from which they come,” explained Dzek.

The full range of colours of the collection were displayed in Milan in an installation at a satellite of the Alcova site on Via Popoli Uniti.

The two brands showed the products as tiled wall panels, steps, shelves, columns and low benches, as well as a wall-mounted block with an indented tiled nook.

“We wanted to show the possibilities and how it could become an entire architecture,” explained Formafantasma.

Also on show at Milan design week was a set of flat-packed furniture essentials by Panter & Tourron and an installation of geometric totem poles by Note Design Studio.

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Tiny homes, an apartment building and a boarding house make up the Virginia Placer development, which Charles Cunniffe Architects designed for a Rocky Mountain community in Colorado with a dearth of low-cost housing.

The Virginia Placer development is located in Telluride, a popular resort town ringed by forests and snow-capped peaks. Funded by the local government, the project was conceived in response to the area’s shortage of affordable housing.

While hotel rooms and expensive vacation homes are plentiful, Telluride – like other Colorado resort towns – lacks housing options for low- to moderate-income residents.

Workers at ski parks, restaurants, shops and other tourist-oriented venues are often forced to live far outside of town, where costs are lower.

Designed by Aspen firm Charles Cunniffe Architects (CCA), the Virginia Placer development – named after an historic land owner and a mining term – consists of two buildings and three tiny homes, all situated along a small road just outside of Telluride’s central village.

One building serves as a boarding house with beds for 46 tenants, while the other contains 18 traditional apartments. The standalone micro homes each have a single room with a sleeping loft. All tenants are provided storage lockers for ski gear.

Situated at the base of a mountain, the buildings rise up from slender parcels that line a curving road. The apartment building and boarding house – both three storeys – have a similar aesthetic.

For the street-facing elevations, the team created staggered facades wrapped in varying types of metal, including standing-seam panels and weathering steel. Sloped roofs with deep overhangs help protect the buildings from the elements, including large amounts of snowfall.

Timber balconies and open-air stairwells protrude from the apartment building, adding a sense of energy and movement.

In lieu of balconies, the boarding house has a generous wooden deck that is partly sheltered by an angular canopy. The deck “provides arguably the best mountain views in Telluride”, according to the firm.

Encompassing 9,600 square feet (892 square metres), the boarding house offers 18 rooms with single beds, and 14 rooms with bunk beds. Communal spaces include lounges, two kitchens and bathrooms.

Totalling 14,427 square feet (1,340 square metres), the apartment building encompasses studios and two-bedroom units ranging from 407 to 837 square feet (38 to 78 square metres).

“The apartments include oversized windows to allow passive solar and ventilation, outdoor decks, and high ceilings for maximum livability,” said CCA.

Interior finishes include white-painted drywall, concrete and vinyl-composite flooring, and reclaimed wood accents. Acoustic panels in the boarding house help with sound attenuation.

Across the street from the boarding house are the micro dwellings, which are clad in corrugated metal and warm-toned cedar. The interiors feature high ceilings and large windows, along with wooden floors, ceilings and walls. The homes total 290 square feet (27  square metres), which includes the sleeping loft.

Rental prices at Virginia Placer are notably low for Telluride, where on average it costs $1,560 (£1195) per month to rent a bedroom, according to the Colorado Sun.

At the new complex, monthly apartment rates are $850 to $1430 (£650 to £1095), while the tiny homes go for $700 (£535). The tenants are chosen through a lottery system. The monthly rate at the boarding house is $385 per person (£295).

Aesthetically, the Virginia Placer development is meant to emulate the “high-end design” seen throughout Telluride.

“A balance was struck between affordability and sustainability with passive solar and ventilation, maintenance-free materials, and design in this new neighbourhood a short walk from downtown,” the team said.

Founded nearly four decades ago, Charles Cunniffe Architects has designed numerous projects in Colorado, including an Aspen treehouse with vertical wooden slats and translucent panels.

Photography is by Dallas & Harris Photography.

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The X-Tankcopter may just be the ultimate toy for all of us big-kids! As the name would suggest, this device is more than just a drone… it’s the highly capable combination of both a drone and a tank. This unusual hybrid gives it seemingly limitless capabilities when it comes to negotiating obstacles; whether you choose to scamper along rough terrain or gracefully fly over it, the X-TANKCOPTER has you covered!

You can capture your action-packed mission via the onboard HD camera, allowing you to re-live your adventure and track your progress. This camera also allows you to become immersed within the experience through the VR goggles that accompany the device!

How you choose to control the device is up to you, whether it be by using the mobile app, gesture control or the controller, you are bound to become completely engrossed by its capabilities. This agile, durable and undoubtedly unique device is certainly a going to get onlookers talking!

Designer: Witold Mielniczek

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The X-Tankcopter can easily cruise through hard terrain, narrow gaps, drift and get to speed on straights, take off and fly fast.

Drive

Drive with ease in most of the terrains, drift and drive fast on straights.

Climb

Seamlessly drive over obstacles in difficult terrain.

Fly

An agile drone, simple to control even for a beginner.

Drift

Drift around the corners on flat surfaces.

Flight Endurance

The tracks and arms do not weigh more than the standard drone propeller guards. Moreover, they provide both driving and guarding functions. Therefore the X-tankcopter features good endurance and agility in flight.

Features:

– Auto Take Off/Landing
– Custom Route
– Gesture Control
– HD Camera live/recording
– 2.4 GHz Remote Controller
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– Smartphone application

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