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Copper & Brass: A key material trend seen
at Milan Design Week was the abundant use
of copper and brass for furniture, accessories
and lighting. Both rich and warm metallic
hues, these familiar materials are becoming
increasingly more popular and a welcome
alternative to the ubiquitous use of chrome
and aluminium.
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About 30% of natural stones are crushed for
industrial use as the underlayer for tarmac
roads. Design Academy Eindhoven graduate
Luuk Van den Broek has made use of this
waste stone for his lighting collection.
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Canadian designer Philippe Malouin’s
Functional Shapes are a range of storage
and lighting made of black MDF composite.
Malouin explores the practical and aesthetic
qualities of polished or roughened surfaces.
Polishing or keeping certain parts of the
layered material rough can increase its
functionality. One example is a lamp where
the polishing process has been used inside
the lampshade to enhance the reflection of
the light.
Honest & Familiar Materials
Designing products out of humble materials is on
the increase, with an emphasis on practical design
solutions using familiar time-honoured materials or
even waste matter.
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Swine Studio: Sea Chair by Swine Studio is a
stool created by melting down and moulding
marine plastic captured from the ocean. An
exercise in sustainable design, reusing waste
materials. Co-founder Peter Thiel’s San-
Francisco-based science and technology
research facility Breakout Labs, this start-
up is fusing 3D printing with in-vitro meat
cultivation to eventually enable the print of
‘steak’ from biological materials.
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Seen at this year’s Milan Furniture Fair was
the Earthquake 5.9 Collection by renowned
designer Patricia Urquiola for Budri, an
Italian marble inlay company. The collection
of furniture, floor panels and decorative
accessories plays tribute to the Emilia
earthquake of May 2012, which affected many
businesses in the area, including Budri’s. The
collection utilises the broken slabs of marble
waste and onyx which are now too small or
irregular to be used for larger applications.
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The Federal: This Ottawa-based design
consultancy has produced a prototype set
of kitchen knives almost entirely made from
maple. The warmth and versatility of the
wood is a key feature of the design.
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Redefine
Consumer Product
Philippe Malouin
© SMG 2013