Local and Improvised: Aluminium

The Norwegian aluminium group Hydro took part in Milan Design Week for the second time. Like last year, contemporary designers were tasked with creating products using recycled, colour-anodised aluminium – but this time, the aluminium waste had to come from within a 100-kilometre radius of the factory. The aim was to reduce the carbon footprint of the typically energy-intensive material through localised production. The results included waste bins by Stefan Diez and lamps by Sabine Marcelis. Much more experimental was the improvised laboratory made from a bathtub and washbasin that Studio Looploop set up in Alcova. The duo developed a process for anodising aluminium using plant-based pigments – a notable contrast to the typical petroleum-based dyes. Despite the do-it-yourself approach, Studio Looploop still managed to achieve the characteristic shimmer of anodised aluminium.

Felted Fleece: Wool

The design world has been rediscovering wool for some time, most recently since Formafantasma’s ‘Oltre Terra’ exhibition. Many projects aim to find meaningful uses for European wool, which is often discarded or incinerated due to high processing costs and the closure of necessary facilities such as wool laundries. This year’s House of Switzerland exhibition featured two wool-based projects. One was a collaboration between textile designer Claudia Caviezel and the Swisswool initiative and textile manufacturer Lantal. The result: the ‘Moira’ rug collection, made from the fleece of the Valais Blacknose sheep. In another project, designers Alix Arto and Emma Casella worked with Yihan Zang of the Chinese Róng Design Library to explore new felting techniques. This project also used only Swiss wool, processed in Swiss factories. On the other side of the world, wool is still produced on a large scale in Australia, where huge flocks of sheep graze the country’s vast plains. Australian designers Kate and Joel Booy, from the Netherlands-based design studio Truly Truly, designed the ‘Big Glow’ lighting collection for Australian manufacturer Rakumba. The lampshade is made from a blend of wool and bioplastic fibres and is biodegradable. The lamps are made entirely in the Australian state of Victoria and are shipped flat-packed.

Grown: Palm and Bamboo

Austro-Mexican designer David Pompa not only celebrated the traditional Mexican material lava stone at his Euroluce stand, but also presented two lamps with shades made of palm fibre – ‘Cilia’ and ‘Nilia’. The fibres are processed by local artisans and create a striking contrast between the natural colour of the fibres and the metal elements of the lamps.

Bamboo also has a long history as a material in many countries. London-based designer Michael Anastassiades uses it in his lighting designs, and in Milan he created an entire exhibition out of it. To avoid damaging the historic interiors of the Fondazione Danese, he constructed a bamboo scaffolding to hang his latest designs. Gucci dedicated an entire exhibition to the fast-growing plant, curated by 2050+. After all, bamboo has been one of the brand’s signature materials since 1947. Nathalie du Pasquier designed bamboo room dividers, the Kite Club collective flew kites as a tribute to the material’s qualities, and London-based Dima Srouji collected antique bamboo objects such as baskets and hats, adorning them with hand-blown glass drops made in her native Palestine. A conceptual and playfully free-spirited exhibition – something the marketing machines of the fashion industry rarely achieve.