Circular Design with Soma Studio Milano
Talking Circular Design with Soma Studio Milano - advisors, trend forecasters and content producers focused on the circular economy
a conversation on circular design for the Green & Healthy Places podcast
“sustainability alone is no longer enough - besides not doing harm to the planet, we also need to do good. We can’t only sustain the current system, we need to regenerate”
Matt Morley
This week we're in Milan, Italy, talking to Ana Luiza Magalhaes the Brazilian co-founder of Soma Studio, a company engaged in the circular design sector as b2b advisors, trend forecasters, content producers and all round expert guides for those seeking to improve their knowledge of this relatively new industry that we call the circular economy.
We talk about the key principles of this new interior design concept, the product categories in real estate and interiors that are excelling in circular design terms, take-back programs for used furniture, surfaces made of bio materials, waste as a design flaw, the importance of collaboration between brands, how nature offers guidance for circular designers, the endless potential of mycelium to replace plastic in future, the Eco wellbeing interior trend in homes as well as the role of biophilic design within circular economy.
Ana Luiza Magalhaes
So Soma is a Milan based studio working to help professionals and companies to take action and shift from a linear to circular economy. And to do so we strive to raise awareness, provide relevant information to strategies within the circular economy and circular design. And then in terms of services, always under this umbrella of circular economy in design, we offer strategic consultancy for product development, which includes transfer testing, transporting and material research.
We also create content such as ebooks, reports, webinars to help organizations raise awareness around the superior economy and superior products and services. And we also create short courses, lectures or workshops in collaborations with companies and educational institutions.
Matt Morley
So in a way, you're providing a series of consultancy services that are intended to push the industry forward by making it easier to integrate and understand circular design circular economy principles, would that be a fair description?
Ana Luiza Magalhaes
Yes, this would be a very good description because we try to raise awareness, educate, educate people and professionals and make it easier for them to apply the similar principles within their organizations and work in projects.
what is circular design?
Matt Morley
And how do you define circular design and would you consider it in some ways to be different to let's say, sustainable design or environmentally friendly design.
Ana Luiza Magalhaes
So, I think when we talk about circular design, we need to think about the three main principles of the circular economy which are designing waste out of products, systems, keeping materials and products in use in regenerating natural systems.
So, when we talk about structural design, we are dealing with a whole system from production to disposal and therefore with production in consumer waste. And above all, we are talking about restoring natural systems, when it comes to sustainable design or eco friendly design, which are definitely important concepts, we are talking more about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future of the planet in the next generations.
So we are talking more about minimizing our impact. However, we believe that with climate change sustainability alone is no longer enough - besides not doing harm to the planet, we also need to do good. We can't only sustain the current system we need to regenerate. And I guess this is the biggest difference between circular and sustainable design. Circular is more about the system as I mentioned in regeneration.
Matt Morley
Effectively you're encouraging businesses to take full responsibility for the products that they create. Rather than produce something, sell it to a client and perhaps offer some customer service during the in-use phase but the relationship effectively ending there, taking no responsibility for what happens at the end of use phase, the circular approach includes what happens and how you reintegrate something back into the system.
the role of waste in circular design
So companies, they need to be held accountable for the waste they produce, they need to allow consumers to return materials and products, which is not really the case. For example, when we think about computers, phones, so they need to think about the whole system, you know, doesn't matter if they do something with a sustainable material. But in the end, the consumer doesn't know what to do with that when they don't need any more than that product.
Circular design in real estate and interiors
We see that furniture design is taking important steps towards circularity with different approaches. So for example, we see some brands launching take-back programs to allow their clients to return their used furniture, IKEA is doing that in the US. So their clients for example, can return IKEA furniture get a discount on new purchases, while the brand turns those used materials into new resources.
Another approach that some brands are using is modular design, which allows for repair remanufacture and recycling. For instance, we see that with sofas in his leaping systems.
A very good example that we spotted at the London design festival in 2019 is from a Scottish design company that's a modular sofa that you can repair so you can extend the lifecycle of this piece.
And also recently at the Milan Design Week, we saw the customm modular sofa by matches with the same idea of modular design.
Another interesting take on circular furniture is the emergence of companies renting office furniture instead of selling. So furniture becomes a service with companies have the possibility to rent and then return them after some time. And then these pieces can be used by other companies, or can be remanufactured or recycled into new materials. So this is very relevant nowadays for the circular economy because we are talking about services in ownership.
And we also see some remarkable innovations with come when it comes to surface design. We have now stunning tiles made of plastic waste coming from our oceans or from textile waste from the fashion industry.
We also see surfaces using biomaterials, like mycelium and innovative technologies to recycle vinyl floors. So yeah, we see a lot of steps forwards into secularity, we think different products.
Matt Morley
If we look at it from the other side, then where do you identify the problem areas? So what are the sectors or the products within interior design as an industry where you're seeing the most work still to be done?
Waste is a resource in design
There is much more to do to transition to a circular economy. But in our opinion, what is really missing overall is more collaboration between different players. Because when we talk about the circular future, this future is only possible when we consider the whole system from production to disposal. So brands must collaborate with each other, with designers, with consumers.
So for instance, one company's waste can be another company's resource. And as we were mentioning earlier, a company must be held accountable for their waste, what is really not happening with computers, phones and smart appliances for homes. So I think we need to work further to collaborate because collaboration is key for this circular economy. And it's not so easy to do that between brains or brains and consumers and designers.
Matt Morley
So it's an optimistic message and that you can see the solution. And we have a way through and a circular approach is really the way to resolve the issue of creating all this waste. But do you think perceptions of waste are changing now even that word, waste?
Closed loop cycles in design
Yes, definitely. So with the rise of the circular economy in interior design, we are turning our attention to nature and in nature, there aren't linked fields. So nature basically doesn't generate waste - it turns everything into resources.
So materials flow in circles - one species wast is another species food, so more and more designers and architects are seeing waste as a design flaw.
So this is changing their approach to waste from organic waste to industrial waste. Everything now can be repurposed. All this waste is becoming a valuable resource. And this is happening not only with plastic, but with all kinds of industrial waste.
Matt Morley
Do you see a strong potential for biomaterials as an alternative? So just moving away completely from plastics or even recycled plastics and finding more bio based materials as an alternative route forward?
Recycled plastics and bio-based materials
I think biomaterials have a lot of potential, of course, it's something that we still need to explore more and manage to produce in large scale, because with some materials there are not enough support to make them more scalable. But I think that's the future because again, it's looking at nature to find solutions for our problems. And I believe this is the best way to to deal with climate change and all the environment crisis and waste.
And one of the materials the bio materials that is really a great material and it has been explored a lot lately is mycelium, which forms the root system of fungi. It's really amazing because it's fire retardant, has excellent insulation and acoustic properties, can sequester carbon, and it's biodegradable and non toxic.
So we see mycelium used in lamp shades, acoustic wall panels, furniture packaging, often replacing plastic. Yeah, so I think there is a lot of potential for biomaterials.
Wellbeing interior design trend
In the past years, we have seen wellbeing becoming one of our highest values, even in Major Design festivals like Milan Design Week, London design festival, Dutch Design Week that designers and architects are starting to pay much more attention on how spaces can affect our creativity, efficiency, and overall wellbeing.
We see a lot of professionals and brands exploring neuro-aesthetics, biophilic design and how to create spaces for cocooning. So within this context, we see for example, soft and tactile materials becoming important in helping to integrate technology in our homes and also workspaces in a more natural and human way. And the pandemic has greatly accelerate this trend.
Now we have a new sort of wellbeing that we call eco wellbeing, which is about living a more sustainable and circular lifestyle. It's about welcoming the imperfect and impermanent state of things inspired by the Japanese Wabi Sabi philosophy that's really strong now as well. And finally, it's about feeling physically safe, while we face pandemics.
So we need to work we need to entertain ourselves, you know, we need to do everything at home and yet feel safe in your shirt. So wellbeing is very strong that homes also workspaces, hotels and public shared spaces. The idea is really to provide people with places to feel safe and reassured to cope with their very fast speed digital lives in all the multiple crises we are living through, like climate change, the health crisis, recession, and so on. So people really need spaces to feel reassured, to recharge in. So that's why I think wellbeing is something that will only evolve and improve.
Matt Morley
You mentioned biophilic design, as well. I've noticed obviously a huge increase in interest in in the topic over the last 18 months really in the COVID era. But it was already happening before then - do you think that's something that will completely change the way we think of buildings and interiors in years to come or is just another trend?
Biophilic design in buildings and interiors
No, I don't think biophilic design is just a trend that will fade away, we see biophilic design As part of our journey to reconnect with nature and restore our broken ties with it, we believe that biophilic design can help us realize that we are part of nature that we have this innate connection and affinity towards the natural world. And above all, that we are responsible, we have responsibilities towards it.
So and in fact, scientists have proved that nature does have a positive impact on us, both psychological and physiological. So we believe architects and designers will continue to improve their take on biophilic design, providing us with new shapes, forms, materials, and technologies that bring nature closer to us.
So I think this will only evolve, not fade away. And recently, we saw again at the Milan Design Week, very interesting options for outdoor kitchens and outdoor furniture, especially the ones designed for public urban spaces.
So we also see not only interior spaces, but cities trying to promote more their public spaces, like parks where people can interact and be in contact with nature. So we really believe believe there is no turn turning back when it comes to biophilic design.
Matt Morley
I wonder how you see that connecting with and integrating an element of technology? I think there is perhaps a misunderstanding of biophilic design that it's trying to return us to some state of primordial nature and therefore, technology is not a part of that vision. What potential do you see for wellbeing design and biophilic design to integrate elements of tech?
Wellness tech in eco wellbeing interiors
Well, I think technology is really key for our eco wellbeing and in many ways for biophilic design as well. We see new technologies, for example, that allows for sofa fabrics to purify the indoor air, improving its quality and also improving our wellbeing our health.
There are also technologies that make surfaces much easier to clean, which have become top priority to reduce the spread of germs indoor and make us feel safer. So again, we will impact our wellbeing.
We also see multi purpose and easily assembled furniture that accommodates different needs either at work or at home and make our routines more flexible, lighting technology that is evolving to set different moods in the same space, smart gardens becoming very popular in allowing us to grow our our own vegetables and spices, regardless of our home natural lighting conditions, we also see that technology can improve the planet's wellbeing because it helps us manage our waste either at home or at work spaces. Technology can turn surplus into new resources, decreasing pollution and so on. So technology is definitely key to to help us with our wellbeing and to improve the ways we work with biophilic design I believe.
Matt Morley
You do talks, workshops, trend memberships, how can the industry typically engage with you?
Yes, so we have different approaches. So for example, we can work with manufacturers, product manufacturers, to help them identify future trends or also doing material research. We recently did that we for example an American tire company. We also provide circular consultancy, to help organizations on how to implement circular design principles within their products. Source services. We also work a lot with education.
So you know, because for us, the first step towards this transition to the circular economy is really to educate yourself. So we provide content that's relevant within the circular economy and circular design, to companies or educational organizations, and so on.
We also collaborate with media outlets. And we have this product, as you mentioned, our train membership and some ebooks and webinars that we do in partnership with an Italian blogger and architect Italian bark.
And we provide people with the latest news innovations and trends in interior design, which always includes regular news and innovations. So we can we have many different services, but always within this, bro. Bigger topic, the supply point, I mean, supply design
Matt Morley
That makes complete sense. You know, I think there's there's so much movement happening in this industry that not everyone can stay up to date. And there's a lot of confusion. I think still there's a lot of these the terms and a lot of we don't necessarily know how, how to go about making things better. What you do is effectively like you're an educator, you're there to help fill in the gaps and, and boost understanding increased understanding of why this matters.
Ana Luiza
Yes, we also like to build bridges between two companies in order to manage their waste. For example, we also do reports on events, you know, if a company wants to see what's happening in a particular design fair festival, and they cannot go or even if they go but they want our insights. We also do that. We consider ourselves researchers and educators and content creators, a bit of everything really.