Furniture for the circular economy and ecodesign: things are starting to move faster
Published on 15 April 2020
Les Canaux is an association that helps ecodesign furniture manufacturers to take things to the next level. Don’t miss their exciting exhibition at Paris Design Week.
Sustainable consumption and the circular economy are notions that the design and building industries must soon take on board. This question is one of the key points addressed by (Re) Generation, a survey carried out by the consultants from NellyRodi for the 25th anniversary of Maison&Objet, certain aspects of which we will be exploring every month. During Paris Design Week, Les Canaux will be exhibiting creations by the companies it helps as part of its show “Le Booster circulaire”.
Les Canaux is an association that targets projects that will have a positive impact on both the planet and society and helps get them off the ground. Impetus comes from Paris City Council, however the organisation also boasts a variety of public and private partners including banks, the ADEME and the French Ministry of the Environment, as well as prestigious patrons such as the Bangladeshi pioneer of microcredit Muhammad Yunus. Les Canaux identifies, trains and helps give structure to companies that demonstrate innovation in this field. The September exhibition will focus on 9 remarkable furniture projects. The association is located in the former headquarters of the Parisian canals administration on Quai de la Seine in Paris, hence the name. The building’s restoration was exemplary: 95% of the building waste was either recycled or upcycled for use in different renovation and decoration projects.
70% of waste in France originates from the construction and public works sectors and 30% of the objects that end up as landfill are furnishings. Les Canaux aims to reorganise the sector which provides an outlet for this scrap; today such activities are all too often carried out by small craft firms making one-off pieces. By choosing as a starting point materials that were originally mass produced, it is possible to imagine ways of fashioning new upcycled articles that can be produced in much larger quantities as there is a regularly available source of raw materials.
One example is the fenêtres sur pieds (windows on legs), a range of tables produced by Atelier R-ARE, from recycled window frames to which they add a marquetry tabletop made from salvaged wood. Whether its re-using scrap wood and foam or finding a new use for old office tables, the ways in which upcycling and reusing objects in innovative ways can contribute to economic growth is the key message you’ll take home from “Le Booster circulaire”. Thanks to the mobilisation of public and private stakeholders, Les Canaux gives designers the means to change both the scale of their operation and their ambitions. These start-ups are coached by Studio 5.5, which has been aware of the importance of these issues since its creation and which also designed the exhibition.
To help you bide your time until September, you can start looking into the subject by watching the free MOOC produced by Les Canaux that explains how circular economy concepts can be applied to building, design and furniture. Available from April 23rd: