The green side of the Salone del Mobile 2021: Seven design companies exploring the complex theme of sustainability

 

 

Waste recovery, raising the efficiency of productive processes, innovating traditional craftsmanship, raising ecological awareness: showcasing a variety of approaches to green design, “supersalone” design fair in Milan provided a unique opportunity to engage with the various responses and approaches from the design companies to the theme of environmental sustainability. This is just a selection of the many proposals exhibited at the Milan Fairgrounds, Rho, from 5th to 10th September 2021.

Stefano Boeri Architetti forAran Cucine: Oasi, 2018

Aran Cucine

Stefano Boeri Architetti’s kitchen for Aran Cucine is so much more than just that. With Oasi, the Milanese design studio is furthering its research into how architecture and design can be married with green features. From the regional scale of the Forestami project to the domestic scale of the Oasi kitchen (by way of the architectural Bosco Verticale), Stefano Boeri Architetti’s aim is to reinstate a healthy and symbiotic relationship between man and the environment.

Pedro Franco per A LOT OF Brasil: poltrona Rendeiras, 2020. Foto di Henrique Ribeiro

A LOT OF Brasil

The brand A LOT OF Brasil uses design as a platform to bring together local, manual and industrial values. Hand-weaving meets the web and artificial intelligence, generating glocal (global+local) design. The company helmed by the designer Pedro Franco unveiled its latest collection, Renda, which can be seen as the formal manifesto of the principles evidenced by A LOT OF Brasil, at “supe2021 rsalone.”

Art Direction Studio FM, photo Andrea Garuti @Pedrali at salonemilano.it

Pedrali

Product sustainability is at the heart of Pedrali’s company corporate culture. The company recently presented its first collections made entirely from recycled plastic material – a new material made from 50% of post-consumption waste plastic and 50% of industrial plastic waste. Taking pride of place on the Pedrali stand at 2021 “supersalone” were two chairs, seen for the first time in their new recycled versions: Remind recycled grey by Eugeni Quitllet and Babila XL recycled grey by Odo Fioravanti.

Odo Fioravanti for @Pedrali: Babila XL recycled grey, 2020

@Giovanardi Raytent presented at 2021 “supersalone”

Giovanardi Raytent

At 2021 “supersalone,” Giovanardi brand showcased its Raytent circular economy project – the first pre-consumption recycled acrylic yarn dyed in the mass. This fabric derives from the awning industry and is ReMade in Italy certified. The trade fair display introduced the design enthusiasts to the green philosophy and the production process step by step, from the scrap to the Giovanardi Raytent recycled yarn.

Storage dressing room by @piero lissoni for @porro

Porro

For Porro, Piero Lissoni – the company’s Art Director since 1989 – has designed the installation The Electric Box: a see-through illuminated box, a pure 12 m cage, created for Storage, a multifunctional wardrobe system designed in 2000, now undergoing an aesthetic and functional evolution. The innovative furnishing is custom-designed only, thanks to the innovative just-in-time technique, which takes a lean approach to sustainable growth.

@Riva 1920

Riva 1920

“Producing to pass on” is the concept Riva 1920 is taking to “supersalone.” The company is bringing not just a display of furnishing to the fair, but also a chance to explore the brand’s DNA, a story of design, respect for nature and a passion for furniture. The articles on show summarised the essence of material as a mix of tradition, creativity, craftsmanship, innovation and uniqueness.

RaDa Reviva

From plastic to textile: Reviva is a brand of textiles produced and marketed by Ra.Da. Conceived and produced entirely in Italy, these fabrics are the upshot of a traceable and certified supply chain. Reviva products are made by recycling post-consumption plastic bottles which, through a unique mechanical process, the only one of its kind in the world, are turned into yarn and then into textile collections.

Through a mechanical process, the plastic bottles are transformed into polymers and then into recycled PET yarn, without the use of chemicals that could be dangerous for the environment.

The use of recycled polyester, which requires fewer processing steps, means that we use less energy and water during the production process, resulting in a considerable reduction of carbon emissions.

The yarn that composes REVIVA is fully traceable: apart from institutional certifications (Global Recycled Standard, Oekotex Class 1 – Annex 6) it contains an inside marker put during the spinning process, that allows to detect the Reviva yarn ’till the finished garment. Reviva is also Flame Retardant worldwide certified.