Swedish furnishings designer Emma Olbers has created the Now or by no means – 1kg CO2e exhibition at Stockholm Furnishings Truthful to showcase the local weather influence of supplies generally utilized in structure and furnishings design.
By bodily displaying how a lot of a sure materials must be produced to create one kilogram of carbon emissions, Olbers goals to higher visualise the advantages of selecting sustainable supplies.
“You’ll be able to nearly consider it prefer it’s cash; it is extra worth for the emission,” she advised Dezeen. “In the event you’re doing a seat for a chair, you do not actually get a complete seat [for 1kg of CO2e emissions] in case you select leather-based. However in case you select woven rattan, you get six and a half metres, which is possibly 10 seats.”
“In the event you consider it like ‘that is how a lot you get on your cash,’ then folks actually perceive,” she added.
The exhibition is on present as a part of Stockholm Furnishings Truthful, the world’s largest platform for Scandinavian design.
It locations round forty supplies facet by facet to analyze which offers essentially the most worth when contemplating their carbon emissions.
For instance, whereas one kilogram of CO2e emissions will provide you with only a small sq. of concrete weighing in at 4.4 kilograms, you may get 7.7 kilograms of limestone tiles, which can cowl a bigger floor, or a big pine log weighing 9.1 kilograms.
“You’ll be able to actually inform, in case you’re speaking about buildings, the distinction between concrete and large pine – it is an enormous distinction,” Olbers mentioned.
She calculated the carbon emissions of the supplies utilizing Doconomy’s 2030 calculator, which reveals the carbon footprint of merchandise primarily based on the emissions created from manufacturing and transport up till the purpose of sale.
Olbers, whose work consists of the revamp of Stockholm’s Nationalmuseum library utilizing sustainable supplies, has lengthy been within the topic.
“I am a furnishings designer since like 20 years again and I’ve at all times been desirous about sustainability,” she mentioned.
“I did the Outdated Library on the Nationwide Museum and at the moment, I additionally did strive to decide on supplies that had been as sustainable as attainable.”
Bodily displaying the supplies on this exhibition actually made her realise the variations between them.
“The massive distinction between the rattan and the leather-based stunned me,” she mentioned.
“And the burden, once I lifted the supplies onto the desk. The limestone stunned me too; you bought much more limestone than I assumed [for the emissions.]”
Now or by no means – 1kg CO2e additionally confirmed the distinction in emissions between recycled and virgin aluminium, and shows quite a few progressive and newer supplies which are higher for the setting.
These embody Penylon, a fabric comprised of recycled fishing nets that was developed for use for 3D printing, and mycelium.
Olbers hopes that the exhibition will encourage the various architects and designers who go to Stockholm Furnishings Truthful to decide on their mission supplies extra properly.
“Fifty per cent of the emissions for furnishings, at the least, comes from the supplies,” Olbers mentioned. “Transport stands for 4 or so per cent. In order that’s why it is a materials exhibition, not a transport exhibition.”
The exhibition has additionally helped her determine what supplies to prioritise in her personal tasks.
“Leather-based is de facto not good,” Olberts mentioned. “I really like leather-based, however now we have to make use of it much less – we would must solely apply it to sneakers.”
In distinction, different supplies will turn out to be extra essential in her work. “I’ll attempt to use the fast-growing grasses much more,” she mentioned.
The exhibition was created along with Sally, a future manifestation lab at design and innovation company EY Doberman, and developed with assist from EY, Polestar, Nrep, Ludvig Svensson and Tre Sekel.
Stockholm Furnishings Truthful 2023 takes place from 7 to 11 February 2023 at Stockholmsmässan, Mässvägen 1, 125 30 Älvsjö, Sweden. See Dezeen Occasions Information for an up-to-date listing of structure and design occasions happening around the globe.
