Challenges

DESIGN FOR A CLEAN PLANET

In the lead-up to each issue, Frame challenges emerging designers to answer a topical question with a future-forward concept. A World Health Organization air-quality model revealed that 92 per cent of the world’s population lives in places where air-quality levels exceed WHO limits. Pollution affects more than the air, of course: more than 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the oceans each year, while toxic waste unloaded by factories contaminates the soil. We commissioned five makers to conceptualize a product, space or service that tackles these issues at the source.

DESIGN FOR A CLEAN PLANET Nº 1

A Problem Shared

Realizing the negative impact of households on the environment, ANDREAS TJELDFLAAT suggests a co-living environment to lessen the load.

How did you prepare for ‘The Challenge’? ANDREAS TJELDFLAAT: I studied reports by the World Health Organization and Eurostat that identified households as the single largest contributor to emissions of ozone precursors. As the most significant sources of domestic pollution are closely connected to the city's infrastructure, utility services and air space, it was clear to me that the effectiveness of a solution would depend on the extent to which it interfaces with a building’s envelope – and with the city as a whole.

What’s your solution? A communal space suspended above the street in an urban neighbourhood. By consolidating household amenities among residents; utilizing sustain- able, high-efficiency fixtures and equipment; and tying into social programmes and civic services, we could minimize the total impact of household pollution, while strengthening bonds between residents with communal dining, co-ops and community board meetings.

What kinds of sustainable fixtures and equipment do you propose? Everything from water-recycling bathroom fixtures and induction cooktops to internal waste- and recycling-management facilities. Smart ventilation and heating/cooling systems and wind-turbine energy collection would reduce energy consumption. Civic services could include drone delivery, urban farming and food subscriptions.

How would people access shared facilities? Multistorey volumes suspended above city streets could feature bridges that connect households in adjacent buildings. The centralization of the various functions would allow the installed fixtures and equipment to be upgraded to high-efficiency units – waterless toilets, for example – while the supply of food and resources could be consolidated and products chosen for their low environmental impact.

A communal space suspended above the street in an urban neighbourhood consolidates household amenities while strengthening bonds between residents.

You’ve also made the building itself more efficient . . . Yes. The optimized interior space targets water pollution, soil contamination and interior air pollution. The exterior fights air pollution with a titanium dioxide coat- ing that breaks down nitric and nitrogen oxides when it’s hit by sunlight. Finally, the outer surface will have PVC panelling that harvests solar power, while the underside will accommodate deliveries and waste/recycling disposals – think airline-catering deliverytruck access.

Do you think people are ready to share facilities on this scale? Or does your proposal reflect the idealism needed to change the world for the better? I certainly recognize the idealistic ambition in what I’m proposing. At a surface level, I’m not sure if somewhere like New York City is ready to embrace communal housing. But I do think a cultural shift is already taking place in which the effects of the information economy are fundamentally disrupting social structures. Perhaps it’s more noticeable in cities. A good example is the explosive proliferation of co-working spaces and car-sharing programmes. These initiatives show that people are increasingly willing to trade ownership for access. With this in mind, I don’t think it’s that radical to talk about communal living spaces as well. – WG tjeldflaat.com

ANDREAS TJELDFLAAT’s technology-driven – and optimistic – approach to the use of space secured his inclusion in ‘The Challenge’.

Writing a Wrong

SARA REGAL ALONSO envisions a new process to help combat waste in the fast fashion industry.

You want to clean up the fashion industry . . . SARA REGAL ALONSO: Yes. After oil, fashion is the second most pollutive industry in the world. Its impact isn’t just due to the manufacture and transportation of products, but also to the millions of tonnes of clothes that are dumped worldwide: 15 million tonnes in the EU alone in 2016. Only a tiny percentage of these clothes are recycled – in a process that involves more transport and pollution.

How do you propose changing this situation? With a new method of upcycling textiles based on a worldwide network of local artisans trained to use a special machine – the Textilegrapher – to make functional products from the vast amount of discarded fabrics generated by the fast fashion industry. The result is more environmentally responsible clothing.

How does the machine work? My Textilegrapher combines the technology of a 3D-printing pen with the recycling method of a Protocycler, a machine that converts waste plastic into valuable 3D printer filament. Discarded textiles would be dumped into my machine, trimmed into smaller pieces and melted before emerging from the pen.

SARA REGAL ALONSO’s materialfocused methods – and her research into fusing modern mass production and craft – led to her selection for ‘The Challenge’.

So it’s creative and sustainable? Yes. I see this future craft as a union of handwork and machine. In terms of environmental impact, minimum transport of the discarded textiles is required, and as the application is done by hand, it offers plenty of creative opportunities, too.

How do you envision your concept being employed? Firstly – and most simply – the new material would be used to create patterns and graphic styles on a textile’s surface. It’s also possible to treat the material as a binder, which would replace the stitching in traditional garments. Discarded material could be ‘glued’ together to make new articles of clothing. Think of it as a paper collage, but with old garments replacing the paper and the recycled raw material acting as the glue.

The converted waste plastic could also be used for 3D printing everything from new garments and knitted structures to accessories, such as buttons, buckles and soles for shoes. The latter would be similar to Adidas’s Futurecraft 3D-printed polyester soles. The flexibility of the resulting material depends on the composition of fabrics mixed by the local artisans, so the possibilities are endless. – WG sararegal.com