Sustainability

Do more

A design studio wants others to follow its lead

Design studio WeWantMore has developed a sustainability-based classification system for its material sample library. The goal? To make it easier for interior designers and architects to select sustainable materials and partners for their projects.

It firmly believes it is a designer’s responsibility to design and develop sustainably. At the same time, the Belgian design studio also realised it had failed to do so itself until recently.

‘During the 2020 Stockholm Design Week, we were invited by Emeco to join its zero-waste dinner. Gregg Buchbinder, the ceo of the recyclable furniture company, asked how WeWantMore applied sustainability in the design process and what our clients’ expectations were on that topic. I told him it was often a part of the briefing but it didn’t have a bearing on our design process. It wasn’t a decisive factor like the budget or the aesthetics of a material. That evening was eyeopening, because I realised not only that we couldn’t ignore it any longer, but also that, as designers, we are in a key position to have a significant impact when it comes to sustainability,’ says Ruud Belmans, WeWantMore co-founder.

‘A lot of material suppliers and furniture brands are already making great efforts when it comes to sustainability. But unless a designer or studio selects that particular material or brand, there’s little they can do. Designers are in a key position. They are involved in the early stages of creation and production, so the potential impact of their choices is huge. Sustainability should be a decisive element in the design process. It should count for something in the decision-making process and the project in the same way that aesthetics and budget do.

‘In order to achieve this, we need to understand fully what sustainable development is all about. It’s complex because it’s not just about sustainable resources. Environmental, social and economic factors are important too. To understand every angle is part of the responsibility of a design studio. But for individual designers it might be too much. This was one of the reasons we developed the system. Because it’s the studio’s belief that designers should be able to make choices based on their strong aesthetic sense without having to spend all of their time researching and analysing how sustainable a material or supplier really is.’

The materials and brands are graded using a simple colour code – green, orange and red – to denote their environmental impact and their involvement in sustainability, making

Materials fit into three categories

it easier for designers to make a sustainable choice.

WeWantMore’s colour-coded classification system is based on a comprehensive study and survey of two key components: the materials and the companies supplying them. Both were evaluated and awarded points according to their environmental impact and involvement in terms of sustainability. This resulted in two separate classifications. Afterwards, the two grading systems were weighed up to determine the place of a material on a green, orange or red coloured shelf in the studio’s sample library. The result is a simple colour code to highlight the environmental impact of the material and the sustainability involvement of the brand at hand.

Yet WeWantMore doesn’t consider its work to be done. The studio is fully aware that it still has lots to learn and that both the study and the system are a constant work in progress. By sharing its method freely and openly, it hopes to encourage other studios and designers to implement it in their own sample libraries. In addition, the studio sees this as a way to kickstart a conversation about sustainability with designers, studios and experts across all disciplines. Visit: www.wewantmore.studio

Concur

Design first

The inaugural Ralph Saltzman Prize has been won by a furniture designer

Furniture designer Mac Collins has won the inaugural Ralph Saltzman Prize, a new design award that celebrates emerging product designers. It includes a £5,000 bursary and the opportunity for the winner to exhibit their work at the Design Museum in London.

The annual award is supported by the family of Ralph Saltzman, the founder of Designtex, in recognition of his design legacy. Nominations were put forward by established designers, with a brief rationale on how the individual will make an impact on the profession. A review of the nominee’s skill, innovation and sustainable approaches also formed part of the criteria for the award.

The judges – Justin McGuirk, Design Museum chief curator; Sumitra Upham, Crafts Council head of public programmes; Susan Lyons, Designtex president; Professor Jane Pavitt, Kingston University head of impact; Professor Daniel Charny, Kingston School of Art professor of design and Lisa Saltzman, Ralph Saltzman’s daughter – were impressed by the breadth of ability and creativity on display, though commented that Collins’ ‘deeply personal design’ made him a worthy winner of the prize.

‘He is breaking away from paradigms and introducing clean decisions,

Mac Collins

Bowl for Vaarnii