On wednesday september 16th, 2020, Studio Flex visited the Architect@work fair in Rotterdam. There were exhibitors that displayed various products. In this blog we will write about what stood out to us on the fair.
Judith
What struck me at the fair was that many companies were very concerned with sustainability. Many products were recycled, or could be recycled! For example, there was a company called Interface who told us a bit about their carpet tiles. The carpet tiles were called NY + LON streets. It was inspired by the two world cities of New York and London. These tiles were recycled nylon, even the slab the carpet was mounted on was recycled.
We also saw many companies specializing in acoustic products. This went in all directions, from moss walls to spraying. Also this was often made from recycled material. There was a company called Soundless Acoustics, which had mummy moss made up of moss and layers of old jeans. The old jeans dampened the sound. I found that very interesting and a great way of recycling!
Kiki
Architect @ work is a fair where I had never been before. I’ve seen many things and listened to different stories. For now I dive into the piece of floors that really appealed to me. A floor in the interior mainly determines the further design. An important aspect!
A few years ago, the urge for different people to bring nature inside began. This is because nature is enormously important for the environment, something that we are very busy with today. The very first booth where I ended up based the floor design on this.
Mafi is known for their three-layer floors. They are available in long, wide planks and are even suitable for underfloor heating. Due to their structure and the fact that the floors are not painted, they are very easy to maintain with water and soap.
Maffi floors are formaldehyde-free and contain no VOCs (volatile organic compounds). This is mainly due to the chemical-free finish with natural oils and the composition of the wood glue for bonding the 3 solid wood layers. The oils with which the wood is processed are based on linseed oil and do not contain any significant drying accelerator.
Rapid drying of the oil on the surface is not the intention of mafi parquet production. Rather, it is intended to allow deep penetration into the wood without leaving a layer on the surface. With sufficient time and careful application of mafi wood floor oils, the wood remains open-pored, breathable and harmonizes with the human skin.
As they show themselves, Mafi offers innovative floors that do not harm the environment. Soaking with sustainable oils preserves the character of the wood as well as the healthy aroma that the wood brings.
Elisa
At the fair there was an exposition of Material District called Fantastic Future, here you could see innovative materials from different countries. All materials that were displayed had sustainability requirements about energy, circularity, and health. The materials were biobased, made of recycled materials such as waste. What stood out to me was that the materials did not look like waste. There were materials you would not have expected to be made from waste.
A material that stood out to me at the exposition was the material called Marwoolus from the designer Marco Guazzini. Marwoolus is a material that looks like marble, because of the stripes that were created using wool. It is a composite material what exists of marble powder, wool, and a binder. Marwoolus can be used only inside and can be applied as a wall application or as a tabletop.
