Omuus was contacted to source and validate into production biobased material by Finnish family company Weiste to serve their pioneering Eco Christmas Collection. Weiste history with innovation is extensive with 100 years anniversary in 2024.

The challenge for the project was to serve very different product materiality in the Weiste portfolio, ranging from glass like transparency to more ornamental decorations. The material needed to be suitable for the existing production capabilities, and testing requirements for long lasting product quality.

Omuus material engineer Anne Taitto started the work with Weiste professionals, to analyze the technical requirements and locate the most potential supplier network for the task. The challenge worldwide is that there is much need and interest towards biomaterials, but certain biomaterials are unavailable due to the increase of demand. This was one of the main concerns, to be able to identify material that has longevity and capacity for the future.

The end result: Omuus connected with worldwide supplier network during the few weeks project to identify different material options for test trials. Weiste trials successfully selected a biobased material that met the technical requirements and was visually meeting the product portfolio needs. We are excited for the Weiste for their world’s first biobased Christmas decorations!

Do you want to know more about sustainable materials? Contact us and let’s discuss more of your needs!

Annina Verkkomäki +358 40 7680127

annina.verkkomaki@omuus.com

Elaine examining eggshell quality in the lab.

“We approach circular design not only by optimising the waste material during the production phase but also by optimising the knowledge, technology and skillset.” – Elaine Yan Ling Ng 

OMUUS interviewed Elaine Yan Ling Ng the founder of The Fabrick Lab and also Chief Material Innovator at Nature Squared. In the interview Elaine will talk about alternative waste material, how it can be reused and applied in material design, what is essential in reusing such materials and how Nature Squared plays its part in it.

Sneak peek of Nature Squared marking kit,
Elaine has designed a range of palette that provide pre design tile combination for interior designers to choose from.

The future of material technology has to look towards the type of waste people are producing. Consumption and production inevitably link with each other therefore the focus needs to go into what kind of products we create. It becomes the brands responsibility to produce in a more responsible way. 

For Nature Squared circular design is not only about optimizing the waste material during production but also about understanding the social aspect of using the material. Their factories are located in Cebu, Philippines and for that surrounding eggshell was the obvious material that there is a stable supply off and therefore has a direct impact to its surroundings. Using the eggshell waste benefits the locals through the picking and cleaning process and also improves their environment because the eggshells create both social and health problems when left in landfills.

Go to Omuus IGTV to view the interview.

Moodboard of chlorophyllin tiles.

Do you want to know more about sustainable materials? Contact us and let’s discuss more of your needs!

Annina Verkkomäki +358 40 7680127

annina.verkkomaki@omuus.com

‘Consumers would naturally build a more sustainable futurebecause they would have comfortable options available.’

OMUUS interviewed Elena Amato the founder of Ponto Biodesign “when biology and design meet”. In this article we will talk about Circular Design, why it’s so important, what is happening in the field of Circular Design and what Ponto Biodesign got to do with it.

Can you introduce yourself and your company Ponto Biodesign?

My name is Elena Amato, I’m a Guatemalan designer currently living in Brazil. I’m passionate about circular design, material development using biofabrication and thinking about creative applications for those new materials. I’m the founder of Ponto Biodesign, which is an experimental lab and design studio based on the concept of “when biology and design meet”. Currently I’m researching bacterial cellulose growth using agricultural waste as nutrients for the bacteria. I’m using the bacterial cellulose to make natural, compostable materials for applications in consumer products. Ponto biodesign is still on its early stages but I have a lot of positive engagement from people.

I’m studying for a master’s degree in Design focused on materials and sustainability at the University of the State of Minas Gerais, so I decided to merge Ponto Biodesign with my master’s research for the next year and a half. The aim of the master’s project is to grow bacterial cellulose using banana peel and develop two kinds of materials for fresh fruits and vegetables packaging. The idea is to develop a natural and compostable alternative for plastic trays and PVC films currently used for these types of fresh products.

What is the story behind Ponto?

I started learning about circular economy and biofabrication in 2018 for my graduation project. I designed a more sustainable packaging system for handmade personal care products, manufactured locally with natural ingredients. In order to the packaging’s components flow in integrated and regenerative loops, I decided to use compostable materials. While researching, I started reading about bacterial cellulose and how it was being used in fashion as an experimental alternative for leather. Since the first day I started working with bacterial cellulose I was fascinated by the material and its possibilities. After a lot of experiments, I finally got a great natural, compostable, colorful material that could be used as packaging.

When I finished my graduation project, I just couldn’t stop testing new ideas, so I kept researching and creating new materials. In April 2019 I had the opportunity to be featured in a Design magazine and I was very happy to see that a lot of people were interested in the materials and wanted to buy them for their products. It was then, that I decided to found Ponto Biodesign. I began to work with bacterial cellulose but someday I would like to include fungi biofabrication and grow different kinds of materials.

At the beginning I started with a paper-like material, made purely with cellulose and natural pigments. Then I made biocomposites using food waste like orange peel, eggshell and coffee and after that I began growing the cellulose using food waste as nutrients to feed the bacteria. Every material has its own characteristic some are more flexible, translucent, brittle, smooth and even transparent.

Even though people are interested in buying the materials, we are still on a prototype stage and we still have a long way to go in order to be commercially viable. In the future, we hope they can be used for wallcovering, lampshades, toys, packaging, etc. Thinking about their application is one of the things I like the most about the process. I can’t wait to see Ponto Biodesign’s materials being produced in a wider scale and available for everyone to use.

I like to use the terminology Growing Design, created by the researchers Camere and Karana, to describe my work’s approach. In Growing Design, the materials are grown by living organisms without changing their genetic structure; designers are actively involved in material production even using DIY processes and the materials developed are intended to be used in products today or in a provable future.

What was the gamechanger in your life that motivated you to specialize in circular design?

Sometimes we blame consumers for not taking an action into building a sustainable future, but I think that if designers create thoughtful solutions, using healthy materials for the environment, building smart services, connecting stakeholders in a wider system, and thinking a lot on their experience, consumers would naturally build a more sustainable future because they would have comfortable options available.

According to research conducted by the Design Council, approximately 80% of a product’s environmental impact is defined at the initial design stage. It’s exciting to think the potential design has to reshape the future. It is very important because it has the ability to make changes from the internal business structure to the services and products that they offer to users. Knowing that, as a designer, I felt like there was no other option than to take responsibility for what I created. I wanted to actively design more sustainable options for consumers, thinking in the entire product’s life cycle starting from the material composition.

A lot of the waste we produce comes from packaging, so I want to create healthy and practical options to people and show that it’s ok to use single-use packaging when they are made with the right material. A lot of materials in nature have a short life cycle. The thing is that those materials are meant to return safety to the biological cycle in a short period of time.

Why do you think circular design is so important today?

We were born in the linear economy system, where we feel it’s natural to extract materials, manufacture products and then throw them away. But where is that “away”? We are just making huge piles of mixed materials, wasting and contaminating the resources of the planet.  The whole universe works with circular flows: our lives, energy, the climate… everything flows and one thing feeds the other. We were trying to force a linear system that obviously isn’t working.

I think that circular design is very important because if we only take resources but don’t feed them back into the system, eventually we won’t have resources anymore. We have a limited amount of resources that are meant to continuously transform into new formats, but those huge piles of mixed materials that we are making are disabling that transformation that we need in order to renew the resources.

I am thrilled to see so many initiatives around the world working to create alternative materials that can help the transition towards a more Circular Economy. For too long, we’ve been ignoring the fact that products are made with elements that are not safe for humans and nature. It’s time to start cleaning our products and processes and start working like nature does, where nothing is waste and materials flow on integrated and regenerative systems, returning safely to nature as nutrients to be a part of the material cycle again. I believe biomaterials are a great tool to promote transparency, local collaboration, fair trade, social and environmental responsibility.  In the near future, biomaterials are going to be everywhere, in medicine, fashion, packaging, toys, furniture, buildings, etc. People are asking for safe and sustainable products.

What are the greatest challenges for circular design?

For me, the greatest challenge for circular design is education and awareness. We as a community need to work together as a system and be conscious about the importance of making the shift towards a more circular economy. The easiest thing to do is to continue doing things the way we’ve been doing them. It’s easier to ignore the problem than to re-organize and re-think about material source, manufacturing process, consumer behavior and how we discard the products we buy.

Specifically, in material development using biofabrication, there are many initiatives with awesome ideas, but it is still a challenge to get the production into a wider scale because a lot of them are still researching, and in early development stages. I find companies like Ecovative, Malai, Make Grow Lab and Boltthreads an inspiration. I hope researchers and startups that are working in this field persevere so biofabricated materials can be available in wider scales and available for more people in the near future.

Another challenge is to change the impression that circular design is a utopic ideal, which only non-profit organizations work on in order to save the planet. Actually, circular design is about financially sustainable solutions. Circular design, besides being necessary in order to continue living in this planet it, has to be lucrative.

Where do you see circular design in the next 5 years?

I believe we will be more aware of the responsibility each of us as members of the community and as professionals have. There will be more regulations that benefit companies that are working towards a more circular operation and penalize those that aren’t. We will see a lot more sharing services in consumer products, more reusable and refillable products, more options of energy from renewable sources for the community, more healthy materials available, people demanding less plastic and pesticides and an increase in the demand of locally source products.

I think that in the next few years, circular design will be more a requirement than an extra feature. Circular design will be essential in every level, since the early stages of the conception of products, the materials used, the manufacturing process, how it’s delivered and the services that will help connect the product with the users and with other companies. Transparency will be a must; there will be more brands and products with tracking codes that will give the information of the whole production chain to the consumers.

Of course, I also like to think that the future will be a lot more bio. Our buildings, energy, clothes, nutrition, health, etc. will be more connected with nature and we will operate in a more symbiotic way with our environment. That means that we will have to design our physical surroundings with and for the specific characteristics of our local environment. The intersection of biology, technology and design will be a powerful tool for creating more sustainable solutions. In five years, we will see a more consolidated platform of what will drive the circular bio-economy in the future.

How would you describe your materials to an alien with 4 adjectives?

Natural, microbe-made, colorful, waste-based.

We want to thank Elena Amato for sharing her insights about Circular Design and wish the best of luck with Ponto Biodesign. We recommend to keep an eye on this future proof company here!

Do you want to know more about sustainable packaging materials? Contact us and let’s discuss more of your needs!

Annina Verkkomäki +358 40 7680127

annina.verkkomaki@omuus.com

What’s new this year in Clerkenwell design week 21-23 May 2019 in London? Per Boicel visited the venue and gives us a brief of the latest trends in office design.

Last year at Clerkenwell there were a lot of hubs where people could enclose themselves for a private conversation or simply concentrate in the midst of an open busy office landscape. However, this year there were approximately 60-70% less hubs on the show than previously. Colours continue to play an important role, and the love for plants is clearly growing.

Biophilia in office design

Many of the Design companies highlighted the importance of biophilia this year. Per had a talk with some of their representatives why they thought it was important for office design:

Vantage Spaces

Is an interior design company that produce and sell green walls with ordinary green indoor plants like Philodendron scandensplanted in wall frames with pot- pockets of growing substrate.

Plant Design

This company designs with plants and strive to bring biophilia to office spaces. (Biophilia is the human need to connect with nature and their plants bring a living piece of nature indoors).

Their main points about the benefits of indoor planting in offices are:

It Boosts Productivity: Workers who can see greenery from their desks complete work up to 12% faster and are less stressed than those in a ‘lean’ office environment. A link with natural living plants means happier people with better output and an improved bottom line. (Research by leading universities, including Washington State and Exeter)

Improves Indoor Air Quality: Indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air. Every person in the office needs around 5 liters of oxygen a minute, so the more fresher air available the better. Plants release oxygen, and according to NASA, they can remove up to 87% of indoor air toxins in just 24 hours, making the air we breath much healthier.

Reduces Noise: Plants can be used to create barriers in modern open plan offices. This helps to reduce noise by around 5 decibels. By stopping the distraction of surrounding noise, you enable people to focus on their task, helping them to be more efficient.

Improves Health: The presence of live indoor planting can reduce self-reported sick days. Plants can lower cases of minor respiratory conditions and headaches caused by indoor air pollution. The use ofbiophilia can also reduce stress and fatigue, lessen absenteeism and therefore lower company sick leave costs.

Reduces Bills: Plants can reduce energy bills. By providing insulation and shade, it regulates temperatures without the need for constant air conditioning and heating. Studies have shown energy costs can be reduced by up to 20%, meaning the investment in planting will more than pay for itself.

https://www.plantdesigns.co.uk/why-plants

Spacestor

Spacestor is creating workspace furniture that combines “California cool” with London design and improving workspaces.

Spacestor Industry Trends for 2019:

Designers have super powers

Tackling loneliness and designing for meaningful social connections also means designing for a stronger immune system and brain protection (Ann Kim, Portfolio Director of Ideo Cambridge). “More and more designers will realize their superpowers. You don’t have to be a doctor or nurse to help people, designers can be healers too.”

A big holistic trend for 2019 will be the combination of wellness culture with sustainable design: eco-friendly offices full of natural light, and healthy biophilia will cater to both trends.

https://spacestor.com

Biophilia in the Workplace

Steve Dobson, Head of Workplace Consultancy at Overbury, talked about bringing nature into the office and the associated benefits of biophilia (in Greek it means “love of living things”).

Humans have a deep engrained love of nature imprinted into our DNA.

Exposure to nature has become increasingly important as we are spending more time indoors than ever and away from the natural world.

The pressure on business in attracting and retention of staff is crucial for their future (of 500 top companies in London 40% are at risk of staff loss and struggle of attracting new). The cost of hiring a new employee is equivalent to an annual salary.

Work health facts 2016/17 in UK:

12.5 million working days are lost every year due to work related stress, anxiety and depression (526.000 workers).

Costs UK businesses £28.8 billion a year due to sick days (BCO& Savills 2016).

Happy workers are on average 10-12% more productive (Warwick University Study 2014).

Stress related illness are predicted to be the largest contributors to disease by 2020 (WHO).

https://secondhome.io/lisbon

Why Biophilia?

Incorporating direct or indirect elements of nature into the built environment is proven to reduces stress, lower blood pressure level and heart rate. It increases the creativity, productivity and wellbeing.

Biophilic design is about creating good habitat for people as biological organisms in modern buildings and constructions that benefit people’s health, fitness and wellbeing.

Benefits of Biophilic design:

Reduce stress levels, fatigue and absence due to health issues.

Improve health, mood, wellbeing, engagement and productivity.

Natural light boosts the creation of melatonin the hormone that regulates the sleep cycle with extra energy (WHO).

Indoor plants in the room improve workers concentration and show 12% faster work speed (Washington State University). Blood pressure decreased and stressed reduced with indoor plants (University of Vermont).

https://www.overbury.com

In January and February 2019, we attended two shows in London – Surface Design and Architect@Work. What links them together is that they present future, contemporary, advanced and innovative materials for all areas of design. The strong influence of Biophilia and Bio-Design is visible when creating new design, materials and production techniques.

We attended a talk by Oliver Heath Design – an architectural and interior design practice. They use the science and style of biophilic design by improving the human connection with nature. The benefits of optimising daylight in classrooms can increase the speed of learning by 25%, improve attendance by an average of 3.5% per year and improve test results up to 14% – Analysis of The Performance of Students In Day-lit Schools (Niklas Bailey 1996). Biophilic design in hospitals reduced stays by 8.5% and reduced post-operative medication by 22% Oliver Heath human spaces.

Future material inspiration

MaterialDriven was invited by the international trade show Architect@Work to curate the theme ‘Future-Proof Materials’ – showcasing new vegan leathers, to responsive facade-skins, to carbon-sequestering paint, and advanced bioplastics. The show spanned from premature idealistic design work to realistic projects already out on the market, tested with documented assessments. https://www.materialdriven.com/future-proof

Future Proof gives a bright light in the era of post industrialism issues we are experiencing in the world right now. Today’s problems become tomorrow’s possibilities. Turning air pollution into design products for everyday use.

Made of Air is a radical new biochar-based material designed to combat climate change made of 90% atmospheric carbon. The material is a sustainable alternative to use in construction, interiors, furniture and more. http://www.madeofair.com/

The company Graviky Labs use harmful air pollution particles filtered from exhaust pipes of vehicles to create ink for pens, markers or spray ink http://www.graviky.com

Future trends predict less conservatism and a more flexible approach for next year in colour and material wise. Is this something that we will see in politics and economics with lightness and sense of community? At Surface Design show trend magazine Colour Hive presented The Trend Cluster future trends for Spring and Summer 2020 Kinship Care & Share, examining ideas about flexibility and the importance of community. Kinship rejects traditional values in favour of freedom and sharing.

The Greek company PHEE is using the dead leaf of the vascular sea plants that are annually washed up in abundance on the Mediterranean shores and disposed as waste. PHEE-board is a flat panel made from the leaves of seagrass Posidonia Oceanica and biological resin.

Dutch product SEA gives a new life to plastic litter that’s collected from ocean beaches. LockTiles is a carpet tile shape with laser cut edges – this means that the edges interlock around each other and always will fit together in all directions. A material driven design that is healthy for the environment and humankind.

Wildspitze Organoid is a good example of materials that engage with our senses. It is naturally scented alpine-hay and herbs from the Tyrolean Alps. Hand-cut, customised for smell, touch and vision.

What does this mean for us today?

We see a shift from industrial age to the ecological age. (M.Pawlyn 2016 Biomimicry in Architecture p1.) “We are entering an age in which knowledge is the prime substitute for matter”

If you are interested in the big players of the field and want to know what to expect in the next 10 years, please see previous blog – Bio Design Nov 08, 2018

The big challenge is not to elaborate alone in field of expertise, Penicillin was mould that became a lifesaving medicine, while blue mould became a delicious cheese. (Kinship rejects traditional values in favour of freedom and sharing). The second challenge is implementing a brilliant biomimicry into a reality, from small scale in the lab or design studio into large scale production.

Omuus will keep following these areas of design in future blogs.

We want to thank Per Boicel for his report from Future Proof and Material Driven Design at Surface design and Architect@Work.

Bio Design or Synthetic biology, also called bio-engineering, is an expanding market. It is expected to exceed $13.4 billion by 2019.

This field is increasingly relevant to designers and everyone working in the field of design today should at least be aware of what it is.

Bio design is an emerging design movement involving scientists, artists, and designers that integrate organic processes and materials into the creation of buildings, products, as well as clothing.

The integration of design with biological systems incorporates or imitates living organisms into design as material sources. In this sense biologists become a new type of designer, working with a very powerful substrate: life.

Image Omuus from BIO-ID

The integration of design with biological systems can mean usage of living materia, such as fungi, algae, yeast and bacteria. This can mean for example; growing a chair out of mycelium, the mushroom fungus that makes for a surprisingly durable material for furniture.

Images by Eric Klarenbeek and Omuus from Chemarts and Biohm.

The idea is to create a product whose natural functions are enhanced as a result of the use of (these) living materials.

For centuries, people have been designing, controlling, and altering microorganisms—think pasteurization, selective breeding, and the history of Penicillin is a great example.

WHAT IS NOT BIO-DESIGN?

Biomimicry looks to nature as a source of inspiration for engineering but design without nature integration. To give a clearer example: Imitating a design from nature but not using environmentally friendly material in its production.

First Image Omuus: Jun Kamei Amphibio Gill Garment Biomimmicry. Second image Jun Kamei Amphibio.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN FOR DESIGNERS?

The rise of bio design puts designers in a unique position. Industrial designers will be swapping plastic, metal and other materials that take energy to produce with living materials, like fungi or bacteria.

Artists and designers need the scientific know-how of biologists, while biologists benefit from the big-picture thinking and outside perspective of artists and designers.

WHO ARE SOME OF THE BIG PLAYERS?

The Biofabricate conference is coming up with pioneering companies like Nike and Microsoft getting involved.

Ginkgo Bioworks working with French perfumer Robertet to make a rose-scented perfume from genetically modified baker’s yeast.

New Harvest pioneers in the cultured meat movement, the company is best known for growing a hamburger in a petri dish.

Modern Meadow grows leather in a lab.

Suzanne Lee is the chief creative officer for Modern Meadow and a fashion designer by training. She is best known for making clothing out of a kombucha-like bacterium.

Terreform One: Terreform is a leader in building with living, self-generating, and sustainable materials.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS?

At this point, we haven’t seen bio-designed materials make a significant impact on buildings or industrial design so far – we believe that will change in the next 10 years.

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS?

Growing meat in a lab brings up its own set of moral dilemmas, like the ethics of eating it as a vegetarian. Biological weapons are also another concern that shouldn’t be overlooked.

We want to thank Per Boicel for his time and opening the door into the fascinating world of Bio Design.