The sustainable design was the focus of the Dutch Design Week, an event filled with meanindful design ideas for a better world.

Sustainable Design at the Dutch Design Week

Dutch Design Week 2022 (DDW) returned to Eindhoven between 22 and 30 October 2022 and showcased over 2,600 designers with 450 exhibitions at 100+ locations. With this year’s theme ‘Get Set: We Are On A Mission’, DDW called for designers to create a societal impact on a smaller or larger scale, and ‘get set’ for the challenges we are facing nowadays, whether it is the climate crisis, inequality, or any of the many other social challenges.

The DAM team was there and we love how this event showcases design in a non-commercial way. So, it’s a place to spot new ideas, talents, innovations. DDW was filled with positive thinking, meaningful design ideas, for a more sustainable, inclusive, right society.

Our Dutch Design Week Favourites

We want to share with you our favorites that focus on sustainability and forward thinking for the planet. The list underlines projects that reinvent how we deal with nature and the space we live in. From eco-friendly design and architectural solutions to biodegradable materials and coatings.

So, find out our 10 favorites from the DDW 2022 that demonstrate that environmentally conscious design can take many creative forms.

1. Philips 3d printed recycled lamps

Fishing nets waste is a problem in Cornwall, in the UK, due to the lack of a proper recycling infrastructure. Around the world, most of the fishing nets were burned, put in landfill, or dumped into the sea, causing massive environmental problems. Repurposing the material helps to keep these ‘ghost nets’ out of the sea.

So, the shade lamps developed by Philips MyCreation are 3D printed from used fishing nets gathered directly from harbors on the Cornish coast. After collected, the recycled polyamide fishing nets are chopped and shredded into small pieces. This is then extruded into filament, this means that it is processed and transformed into a print-ready material. Made locally and on demand such as our eco-frienldy furniture, these lamps empower people to make a conscious choice without having to compromise on beauty. After all, trash can be beautiful and valuable.

2. RE-GLOW tiles by Studio Rens

RE-GLOW tiles are created by studio rens, a Dutch creative studio with a focus on color research. This tiles collection is focused on giving old and unused tiles a new lease of life by employing a manual painting and glazing method, with beautiful colors and finishes. Re-used and updated with an exceptional sense of colour.

 

3. Myamo Acoustic panels

Myamo is a high-performance and sustainable acoustic panel that is created in a growth process based on mycelium, the underground root structure of mushrooms in combination with agricultural waste. These acoustic panels are 100% biodegradable, without chemical additives, naturally fire resistant and very lightweight. The surface structure captures sound waves for us to feel comfortable and work productively in open-plan offices, co-working spaces or home offices.

 
 

4. Cooloo’s ecological coatings

Waste is only waste if we waste it. That’s why Cooloo creates coatings out of waste streams such as leather, jeans, cork and metals. These circular coatings combine the principles of the circular economy with the design philosophy and production techniques of Cooloo. High-end coatings made from consumer and industrial waste and developed for eco-friendly furniture, interior projects and design applications. The available coatings are: Econcrete, SoftConcrete, CoolCork, CoolLeather dark/light, CoolJeans, CoolMarble.

 

5. Renewable ceramics made from sea silt

The Dutch north coast is struggling with a silt surplus. The Eems Dollard is silting up, threatening biodiversity and the accessibility of ports. At the same time the sea level is rising while the land behind the dikes is subsiding, requiring material leveling of the land. Simultaneously, the building materials are becoming scarce, so there is a demand for more diverse applications of this continuous residual flow. In this context, since 2020, the Dutch design studio Humade has been investigating the applicability of dredged salted sea sludge to create more sustainable ceramic processes. The material provides a beautiful palette of colors, a lower firing temperature and can sinter itself, making an extra glaze firing unnecessary and resulting in a reduction of emissions. Together with Koninklijke Tichelaar, Humade is developing the scalability of this renewable material.

 

6. Matter of Fruit by Verena Brom

The consumption of vegetables and fruit is an essential part of our diet and invariably produces food waste. This happens on a large scale in the juice industry. So, the textile & surface designer Verena Brom developed the project Matter of Fruit developing natural materials from local industrial juice press residues. The residues are transformed into flexible, compostable and recyclable films which offer a non-toxic alternative to conventional plastics and synthetic material such as soft PVC or polyurethane. The initiative – which takes responsibility for product development and recycling and reuse – establishes a new material cycle.

 

7. Re•born collection by Lara Baler

Re•born is a collection of fully biodegradable baby items that can be discarded guilt free or simply planted, providing nutrients for the soil. They are made out of neo material from local organic waste – walnut shells – and through simple and low environmental impact processes using injection molding. So, re•born is introducing a change to the short lifespan products that are generally used only for a few years during the childhood period. Good job Lara Baler!

 

8. Sustainable house by Biobased Creations

The sustainable house by Biobased Creations was entirely made from biomaterials (except from the screws of the timber frame and the glass windows), with 100 different plant-based or natural materials that are either commercially available already or coming to market soon. Walls, floorings and ceilings were totally made of biomaterials, including earth, plants and fungi, different ones according to the room functions. For example, there were bathroom wall tiles made from waste, exterior tiles 3D printed from sewage sludge and algae; insulation made from reeds, acoustic wall paneling made from bioplastic; tiles made from seaweed, lime plaster coloured with algae and an algae textile screens.
 
 

9. Pretty Plastic tiles by Overtreders W and Bureau SLA

Called Pretty Plastic, this range of facade cladding tiles is made of recycled PVC construction waste, such as window frames, downspouts and rain gutters. Designed by Dutch studios Overtreders W and Bureau SLA, Pretty Plastic tiles are hung in overlapping rows from a single screw. They look great, are safe in use, easy to apply, last forever and contribute to a circular economy. they. First developed in 2017, the tiles received fire approval in class B (very difficult to burn) last year, allowing them to be used as a cladding material on external facades.

 

10. Mono Do (A) Wear by Josefine Andersen

The Design Academy Eindhoven showed its graduation projects at the Dutch Design Week 2022. The projects looked from environmental, migration and gender issues to colonialism and political activism. A lot of the pieces also majored on our relationship with people and the world in an era defined by over-digitalisation and isolation. One of the projects was the project ‘Mono do (a) wear’ by Josefine Andersen that examined our relationship to clothing by designing a series of garments that could also dress the home; a coat that turns into a cover for a cupboard in the evening, a blouse that becomes a curtain. Andersen’s hope is that if we build meaningful and lasting relationships with our personal belongings we will no longer want to throw them away.

There were many more projects that we saw. And many more remain to be seen. It was very inspiring, we recommend it and we’ll return for sure.

Now, discover here our sustainable and eco-responsible furniture.