Solar Greenhouse is a prototype for "zero kilometre" food production and energy generation

A team of students and researchers at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) has designed a prototype Solar Greenhouse for energy generation and food production with a "zero kilometre" philosophy.

The timber structure, constructed in Barcelona's Serra de Collserola Natural Park, is intended to demonstrate how our most basic needs could be met in a more ecological way, in response to the EU's aims to be net-zero by 2050.

Solar Greenhouse is an energy and food production prototype that was designed by students and researchers at IAAC

Led by Vicente Guallard and Daniel Ibañez, directors of the Masters programme in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities, the students worked with a variety of experts in cultivation, energy and water.

While the prototype sits in a natural landscape, it is intended it to be scalable and adaptable to a variety of settings, such as on the rooftops of inner-city buildings.

It was constructed using timber

"The aim was to design and build a system that could be replicated in both rural and urban areas," said the designers.

"[It] represents the next step towards a more ecological agricultural transformation and progress in tackling food and energy poverty," they continued.

The structure comprises two levels and features solar panels on its roof

The greenhouse is a simple, timber-framed structure with two levels, topped by glass panels and solar panels and wrapped in glass louvres that provide light and ventilation.

Germination takes place on the greenhouse's lower level, while the upper level contains cultivation spaces, with a glass, diamond-shaped roof maximising its exposure to sunlight.

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A network of pipes carrying nutrients and lighting for growth cycles is integrated into the structure. Hydroponics allow for plants to be grown without agricultural soil and LED strip lighting aids growth cycles.

The "zero kilometre" concept is normally used to describe food that is produced and eaten locally, and thus has travelled zero kilometres.

Here, the philosophy was applied not only to the greenhouse's food production but also its construction, with materials being locally and sustainable sourced.

The prototype will be used to grow plants without soil

The pine for the timber was processed in the IAAC's nearby Vallduara Labs, and the substrate materials in the planting beds consists of recycled sawdust — a waste product of the Green Fab Lab also on the university campus.

"The water, substrate and building materials are obtained from the surroundings, allowing the food grown to jump directly from production to consumption, without the need of a supply chain," explained the designers.

"The ultimate goal is for the knowledge and the locally achieved systems to be applied at a global scale and, in this respect, the Solar Greenhouse is a valuable step forward," they continued.

Materials used in the construction were sustainably sourced

Students from IAAC also designed and built a cabin for self-isolation using wood harvested from within one kilometre of the site.

In Belgium, Meta Architectuurbureau and Van Bergen Kolpa Architecten recently completed a greenhouse in Belgium atop an agricultural market to create an urban food production centre.

The photography is byAdrià Goula.

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Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems opens at the Design Museum

An exhibition highlighting London-based designer Bethany Williams' waste-combating, social-driven vision for the fashion industry has opened at the Design Museum.

Exhibited in the atrium of London's Design Museum, Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems is a celebration of Williams' work which explores and responds to social issues through the use of community-led enrichment initiatives.

Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems is a free display in the atrium of the Design Museum

A number of key works by the designer were exhibited across the four walls of the atrium's balcony gallery, which is free to entry.

Mannequins are displayed among textiles samples, photography and raw waste materials in efforts to highlight the studio's commitment to sustainable fashion.

The display was chosen to be shown in a free entry space in the museum

"I decided to organise the display thematically rather than by collection," said Design Museum's head of curatorial and interpretation Priya Khanchandani.

"It opens with a section about the studio specifically and then there's a part about creative process, intellectual references and the way in which they propose alternative infrastructures of working, followed by a section about reuse and another about community collaborations," she told Dezeen.

"Bethany's work not only tackles the question of the environmental impact of design, but it also has an amazing social purpose."

The exhibition design was completed by Edit

Williams is a fashion designer, humanitarian and artist. She graduated from Brighton University with a degree in Critical Fine Art before receiving a master's from the London College of Fashion in Menswear.

She launched her namesake brand in 2017 and has strived to spotlight and respond to social and environmental issues, her works see her partnering with local grassroots programs and manufacturing collections using waste materials.

Garments are exhibited alongside research, drawings and materials

A section of the display exhibits Willliams' work as part of the Emergency Designer Network. The initiative is a collaboration between herself and designers Phoebe English, Cozette McCreery and Holly Fulton.

The group of creatives, with their textile manufacturing knowledge and teams of volunteers, produced 12,000 scrubs, 100,000 masks and 4,000 gowns for frontline healthcare workers during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

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](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/10/23/waste-age-design-museum-exhibition/)

Waste from packaging tape sourced from Rimini, Italy was handwoven and constructed into functional items and garments as part of Williams's Autumn Winter 2018 collection, which was on display.

"I felt it was very important to show not just the finished garments, which you would see in a retail fashion context; being a museum display I wanted to add other layers of information," explained Khanchandani.

Williams' work merges streetwear and craft

"There are process materials like drawings and sketches, and also source material," said Khanchandani. "For instance, a jacket made of waste newspaper is shown alongside some of the waste material, the Liverpool Echo, which is dangling next to the garment."

"You're able to see the journey of the objects from inception, to finished product."

Williams has collaborated with San Patrignano, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme

Each season, the fashion studio collaborates with different local charities and grassroots programs and donates a percentage of its profits to its causes.

"With our work, we hope to continue to reach new audiences, encourage inclusivity and positive change for the fashion industry," said Williams. "The Design Museum continues to be aligned with this via the exhibitions curated, including their Waste Age exhibition, which we featured in last year."

"We are so proud to showcase our new exhibition: Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems, a celebration of the new way of working proposed for the fashion industry by the studio's work."

Dresses and corsetry feature boning constructed from waste materials

The opening of Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems was timed to coincide with Williams' Autumn Winter 2022 collection, titled The Hands that Heal Us, which was presented at the museum.

The collection included a cactus leather jacket, and garments made from recycled and organic-based denim with detachable metal hardware that aid the recycling process at the end of its life.

A skeleton suit was informed by a 19th-century children's playsuit

In 2016, Williams graduated from London College of Fashion and showed her MA graduate collection in the university's show as part of London Fashion Week.

Last year's Waste Age exhibition at the Design Museum, which featured Williams' work, explored how design has contributed to the increasing throwaway culture and how people can create an alternative circular economy that doesn't exploit the planet.

Photography is byFelix Speller.

Bethany Williams: Alternative Systems is on display at the Design Museum from 22 February 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for all the latest architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Notpla salvages seaweed by-product to make paper

Sustainable packaging brand Notpla has used seaweed leftover from its own production processes to create paper that can be turned into envelopes and boxes.

Notpla introduced its eponymous product Notpla Paper in collaboration with Canopy, a nonprofit organisation that aims to protect forests and animal species threatened by climate change.

Notpla Paper is made from 30 per cent seaweed by-product

According to its creators, Notpla Paper is made from 30 per cent seaweed by-product, which refers to any secondary product that is made as a result of a production process and is often thrown away and wasted.

Notpla – which is a shortening of "not plastic" – uses pure seaweed to create all of its existing products, which include biodegradable condiment sachets and coating for food containers.

The brand explained that it wanted to find a use for the seaweed leftover from its production processes "to make sure nothing is wasted".

The material can be used as packaging

"Each of our products uses different extracts of seaweed, leaving the fibrous part of it behind," Notpla design director Karlijn Sibbel told Dezeen.

"This by-product represents a significant amount of pure raw seaweed. From our desire to utilise every part of the seaweed, the idea to upcycle this material came naturally."

The paper can create containers for various products

Notpla claimed that using one tonne of seaweed by-product could save up to four tonnes of trees being felled, preventing deforestation.

"From a circular mindset in which waste doesn't exist, we aim to reduce the need for virgin materials as much as possible and therefore prefer the use of by-products," said Sibbel.

"With the need for seaweed extracts in our other product lines, we want to make sure every part of the seaweed is fully valued and used to the best extent."

A minimal wine label made from Notpla Paper

The brand said that the remaining 70 per cent of Notpla Paper is composed of a mixture of mainly other recycled materials and a small portion of traditional virgin wood pulp.

"Our design process is firstly driven by an environmental point of view," Sibbel continued. "This means that we use as much seaweed as possible, as little virgin wood as possible and no synthetic additives, which are currently the status quo in papermaking."

The paper has a speckled appearance

Speckled and neutrally-toned in appearance, Notpla Paper can be used to package products such as hand soap and toothbrushes, as well as to create boxes, envelopes and labels on wine bottles.

Sibbel explained that while the paper currently contains some virgin wood, Notpla aims to create entirely wood-free paper by 2024.

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While the brand did not specify which materials will be used to achieve this, its intention is to blend alternative fibres with the seaweed by-product to will support the paper's technical properties.

"Our ambition is to alleviate pressure on forests and decrease the environmental impact of paper manufacturing," concluded Sibbel.

Notpla aims to create entirely wood-free paper by 2024

Notpla Paper is part of Canopy's Pack4Good initiative, a project that is challenging brands to create sustainable alternatives to traditional paper packaging.

Founded in 2014 Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez and Pierre Paslier while the pair were studying Innovation Design Engineering, Notpla also manufactures biodegradable seaweed packaging, which was shortlisted in the sustainable design category at the 2021 Dezeen Awards.

The images are courtesy of Notpla.

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Five designs "to repair our planet" named as Earthshot Prize winners

A restorative ecosystem scheme in Costa Rica and a tool that creates fuel from waste have been named winners of Prince William's sustainable design competition and will each receive a medal designed by Christien Meindertsma.

Five winners from a 15-strong shortlist have received an Earthshot Prize for their solutions to the world's greatest environmental problems.

Launched in October 2020 by The Royal Foundation and Prince William, The Earthshot Prize is an annual awards programme that is "designed to incentivise change and help to repair our planet". It will run up until 2030.

Each winning project considers how our lives could be improved by 2030, in response to five categories. These are Protect and Restore Nature, Clean our Air, Revive our Oceans, Build a Waste-free World and Fix our Climate.

The first five Earthshot Prize winners received medals designed by Meindertsma

Awards were given to governments, schemes, designers and cities. The first winners of the prize are the government of the Republic of Costa Rica, biotechnology company Takachar, coral farming business Coral Vita, the Italian city of Milan and an AEM Electrolyser company called Enapter.

The Republic of Costa Rica government won the Protect and Restore Nature category for its scheme that pays local citizens to restore natural ecosystems in urban areas.

The scheme builds on a similar programme between the Costa Rican Ministry for Environment and locals which protects forests and ecosystems in rural areas.

Winners were selected from a shortlist of 15 finalists

The Clean our Air category was won by Takachar, for its tool that creates fuel from agricultural waste.

In a bid to prevent crop burning and air pollution, Takachar created a cheap, portable tool that can be attached to tractors in remote farms. The machine then converts crop residues into bio-products such as fuel or fertilizer.

A tool that turns waste into fuel by Takachar won the Clean our Air category

The Revive our Oceans category called for solutions that keep oceans healthy. Coral Vita, a company that grows coral on land before replanting it in oceans was awarded first prize. Using this method, corals can grow up to 50 times faster than traditional coral farming methods.

As well as restoring reefs, Coral Vita works with local communities and companies to improve education and source funding into environmental protection to bolster coastal economies.

Coral Vita won the Revive our Oceans category for its coral farming method

The fourth award was for an AEM Electrolyser by Enapter. The green hydrogen generator uses hydrogen in place of fossil fuels, transforming how homes and buildings could be powered.

As winner of the Fix our Climate category, the design meets the brief to combat climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere and helping countries to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Each winner received a unique earth-shaped award designed by Meindertsma at an awards ceremony that took place in London last Monday.

A green hydrogen generator by Enapter won the Fix our Climate category

The final winner was The City of Milan for the Build a Waste-free World award. Its Food Waste Hubs, a city-wide initiative that cuts waste and tackles hunger involves recovering waste food from supermarkets and redistributing it to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that deliver it to those in need.

This category awards efforts that reduce waste, cut single-use packaging and inspire a new generation to reuse, repurpose, and recycle.

Each medal is unique and made from recycled materials

Called Precious Matter, the award is made from recycled materials, in line with The Earthshot Prize's goal to reach a zero-waste world.

The Dutch designer drew on Earthrise, a renowned photograph of Earth by astronaut Major General William Anders for the design. Each award depicts a slightly different rotation of the Earth's surface.

Together, the 50 awards – five awarded each year for ten years – will combine to create a whole planet Earth, mirroring how the 50 future solutions of the Earthshot Prize will "repair the planet".

Dutch designer Meindertsma said the medals were a celebration of "the preciousness of matter on earth and the fact that we all share this matter."

"The design of the award is based on that very special first moment when the three astronauts of the Apollo 8 mission first saw the earth as a tiny beautiful precious marble of matter," she said.

The recycled brass, which forms the core of the medal was sourced from water pipe fittings, household waste such as keys and small metal elements filtered from wastewater sludge.

The Earthshot Prize medal is housed in a recycled linoleum box which Meindertsma made from material found in factory waste.

The case is made from recycled linoleum

The winners received £1 million prize money each and access to a global network of professional and technical support to scale these cutting-edge environmental solutions.

The prize is accompanied by a five-part documentary called The Earthshot Prize: Repairing our Planet, which explores the challenges facing our planet and the ground-breaking solutions being developed to repair it.

The next Earthshot Prize award ceremony will take place in the US. Nominations for the 2022 Prize will open in January 2022.

This year, a series of high-profile sustainable summits to tackle climate change will take place. In November, the COP26 Climate Change Conference by the United Nations will take place in Glasgow.

A RIBA Built Environment Summit which will explore ways to decarbonise architecture will take place online and at RIBA London from 28 to 29 October 2021.

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Ten tactile interiors that make use of biomaterials

In our latest lookbook, we take a look at 10 earthy interiors from the Dezeen archive that are fitted out with biomaterials such as cork, hemp and mycelium.

Biomaterials or biobased materials are made from biodegradable living matter. Other examples include wood, paper and bioplastics made from plants such as algae.

They are increasingly being used to help create earthy, natural-looking interiors, but they also offer a number of healthy and environmental benefits including natural cooling, breathability and carbon storage.

This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for interiors. Previous articles feature loft conversions, L-shaped kitchens and Scandi living rooms.

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Hemp

The walls of the off-grid Flat House by Practice Architecture are made from large panels of hempcrete – a combination of lime binder and hemp.

Hemp is a fast-growing strain of the cannabis plant, often used as an eco-friendly building material as it is able to sequester carbon. For this project, it was grown at Margent Farm in Cambridgeshire, England and used to ensure the house has low embodied carbon.

The panels have been left exposed throughout the interior to offer a warm and tactile interior finish, which is complemented by timber elements.

Find out more about Flat House ›

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Cork

Cork is a renewable, resistant and insulating material that is harvested from the bark of the cork oak tree. In architecture, it is typically used in the form of solid blocks made by heating and combining cork granules, such as in Cork House by Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton.

In this project, the blocks are left uncovered throughout the building's interior for a textured, natural look. This also ensures the structure is recyclable after the dwelling's useful life.

According to the architects, using cork also means the house has negative embodied carbon, as it absorbed more carbon dioxide than it emitted during construction.

Find out more about Cork House ›

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Bamboo

Bamboo is a fast-growing grass described by architect Simón Vélez as "vegetable steel" due to its strength and flexibility.

Architecture studio Brio used the material to support the roof of the Mumbai Artist Retreat in India. It is used in tandem with steel to create an easily demountable and rebuildable structure. The bamboo was left exposed internally but arranged in a zig-zag pattern to disguise its "natural irregularity".

Find out more about Mumbai Artist Retreat ›

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Papier-mache

Papier-mache is a composite material made of paper or pulp bound with adhesives. In 2020, design-build studio I/thee used it to create a prototype home named Agg Hab. The structure combines nearly 300 pounds of recycled paper with 200 litres of non-toxic glues that were handmade by the studio.

Openings in the surfaces of the dwelling introduce light and accentuate its glossy finish. It was designed by the studio as an example of an environmentally low-impact home and to offer occupants "a primordial experience".

Find out more about Agg Hab ›

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Mycelium

This pendant lamp is among several furnishings made from mycelium – the vegetative part of fungi – used to decorate the zero-waste restaurant Silo in London.

It was fitted out by Nina+Co to reflect the restaurant's sustainable ethos. Alongside the light shades, there are mycelium tables and pouffes, chosen as they are soft to touch, strong and biodegradable.

Mycelium is also able to sequester carbon and is cited by sustainability expert David Cheshire as "part of the solution" to creating carbon-negative buildings.

Find out more about Silo ›

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Raffia

The Kaikaya sushi restaurant in Valencia, Spain, features large circular panels of raffia across its walls, which Masquespacio designed as a nod to the hats worn by rice field workers in Japan.

Raffia is a durable, renewable and biodegradable fibre obtained from the raffia palm tree that is typically used to make woven textiles, baskets and hats. In this restaurant, it is teamed with wooden furniture, colourful tiles and cascading plants to offer a tropical aesthetic.

Find out more about Kaikaya ›

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Cane

Cane is one of several natural materials used in the pared-back RÖ Skin store by O'Sullivan Skoufoglou Architects. It is sourced from the outer part of the naturally renewable rattan tree and is typically woven to create webbed patterns.

Here it has been mounted within an ash framework to create transparent display units and screens for treatment rooms, offering privacy while maintaining an open, light, earthy interior.

Find out more about RÖ Skin ›

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Paper

The cosy cave-like atmosphere of the pop-up Yorunoma bar in Japan was achieved by Naoya Matsumoto Design using swathes of crinkly tracing paper.

The paper was crumpled by the studio in collaboration with local residents, giving rise to a textured, rocky appearance. As the bar was created as a pop-up venue, the use of paper ensured the fit-out could be easily recycled after its closure.

Find out more about Yorunoma ›

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Wood

Wood is the most common biomaterial of all. There are hundreds of examples of how different types of timber have been used by architects and designers in our guide to wood.

In this example, US architecture studio Hannah used ash damaged by an invasive beetle to create elements of this tiny Ashen Cabin in Upstate New York. The aim was to demonstrate the potential of infested material that would usually be rejected.

"The advantage to using compromised ash for construction is that it both binds the carbon to the earth and offsets the harvesting of more commonly used wood species," the studio told Dezeen.

Find out more about Ashen Cabin ›

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Algae

Thousands of injection-moulded algae tiles line the bathrooms in Frank Gehry's tower for Luma Foundation in Arles, France.

They were made by Atelier Luma in 20 colours by harvesting waterborne algae from salt flats in the nearby Camargue nature reserve. As algae consume and store CO2 as they grow, the tiles help lower the carbon footprint of the building's interior fit-out. The project also makes use of tiles made from salt and acoustic panels made from sunflowers.

Find out more about Atelier Luma's interiors ›

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This is the latest in our series oflookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen's image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing L-shaped kitchens, calm living rooms and colourful kitchens.

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Natural materials "lack investment and focused innovation" says Allbirds sustainability head

Plant-based materials need the same amount of funding as fossil materials in order to tackle carbon emissions, according to Hana Kajimura of Allbirds, which has launched a low-carbon trainer with Adidas.

"We lament how natural materials maybe don't perform as well as synthetics," said Kajimura, head of sustainability at the New Zealand footwear brand.

"But this is just because of the lack of investment and innovation in this space."

The new collaboration with Adidas, called Futurecraft.Footprint, is the latest in a series of moves by the sneaker industry to reduce the carbon footprint of its products. The two brands believe it is the lowest-carbon trainer ever made.

Last year, Belgian brand Norm managed to whittle the footprint of its unisex 1L11 shoe down to 6.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) by using recycled plastic while Nike's lowest-carbon trainer to date, the 2020 Space Hippie, weights in at 3.7 kilograms of CO2e.

The carbon footprint of the Futurecraft.Footprint trainer (top) is labelled on its midsole (above)

The new Futurecraft.Footprint pushes this even lower to 2.94 kilograms of CO2e.

By contrast, the average sneaker emits around 13.6 kilograms of CO2e throughout its life and is constructed from 65 distinct components – most of them plastics.

But to create a zero-emission trainer, Kajimura believes the industry needs to invest in developing plant-based materials that are capable of storing carbon while rivalling the performance of petroleum-based plastics.

"We've been innovating on synthetics for decades, since the 1800s when we discovered and started drilling for oil," she said.

"And we just haven't placed that same amount of investment on natural materials and really figuring out how to increase their performance."

Sneakers responsible for 1.4 per cent of all global emissions

Sneaker production is singularly responsible for 1.4 per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions compared to the 2.5 per cent that is contributed by air travel.

To mitigate this, Adidas has committed itself to going climate neutral by 2050 in line with the targets set out in the Paris Agreement.

So far, the brand has created an endlessly recyclable trainer and one made from recycled ocean plastic but has not declared the footprint of these products.

Now, the company has teamed up with footwear brand Allbirds, which has created its own carbon footprint calculator and has been declaring the emissions associated with all of its shoes since last April.

The brand was also among the initial signatories of the B Corp Net Zero 2030 pledge, committing itself to reaching net-zero emissions 20 years ahead of the Paris targets.

Created by Allbirds and Adidas, the trainers emit 2.94 kilograms of CO2e throughout their whole life

Adidas and Allbirds worked together over the course of a year to develop the Futurecraft.Footprint trainer, which will be available in limited quantities from the end of 2021.

According to the brands, the sneaker emits 63 per cent less carbon throughout its life than a comparable running shoe such as the Adizero RC3, which emits 7.86 kilograms of CO2e.

"What's really exciting about this project is that we were able to get from 7.86 to 2.94 kilograms in 12 months with stuff that's completely available today," Kajimura said.

"It basically proves that maybe we can't get to zero with what exists today but we can get the majority of the way there. And if we can do that with this one shoe, imagine what that could do for the industry."

Simplifying construction drives down footprint

According to Kajimura, simplifying the trainer as much as possible and reducing its components down to seven had the single biggest impact on its carbon footprint.

Among other things, the design cuts out the many layers of polyurethane (PU) foam that are normally used in trainers to support the runner's foot and replaces them with a strategic embroidery pattern on the shoe's upper.

The final Futurecraft.Footprint trainers weigh only 154 grams, around as much as a bar of soap.

"That really plays out across every element of the carbon footprint," she said. "It doesn't just help with the materials aspect but it means fewer transportation emissions and less energy use."

The lining, laces, embroidery and 70 per cent of the upper are made from recycled polyester and a portion of the shoe is already made from natural and plant-based materials.

Tencel, a type of cellulose fibre derived from wood pulp, was used to form the remaining part of the upper, while 10 per cent of the outsole is made from natural rubber and the midsole, sock liner and tongue consists of between 18 and 28 per cent of a sugarcane-based bioplastic called SweetFoam.

Natural materials can act as carbon sinks

But a significant part of the shoe is still made from virgin, petroleum-based plastics, such as the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) used to form more than 80 per cent of the midsole.

Senior Adidas designer Florence Rohart says this is currently still necessary to guarantee the performance of the running shoe.

Parts of the shoe are constructed from recycled and plant-based materials

"We want to have a shoe that allows runners to perform to their highest level," she said.

"So having good durability, good responsiveness, [a structure that is] lightweight but strong enough – these are elements of designing for performance that define how low we can go."

In the future, to get all the way to zero and beyond, Kajimura says more money needs to be poured into ensuring that natural, plant-based materials can fulfil these same performance requirements.

"It really requires innovation and it requires really focused investment in natural materials," she said.

"To balance out whatever emissions are created in other parts of the shoe, the materials have to be carbon negative and act as carbon sinks."

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Carbon revolution

This article is part of Dezeen'scarbon revolution series, which explores how this miracle material could be removed from the atmosphere and put to use on earth. Read all the content at: www.dezeen.com/carbon.

The sky photograph used in the carbon revolution graphic is byTaylor van Riper via Unsplash.

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Papilio is a wind-powered street lamp that reduces light pollution

Berlin design student Tobias Trübenbacher has developed a lamp post with an integrated wind turbine that produces its own renewable energy and only lights up when needed.

Papilio was designed to slash the light pollution and emissions associated with street lighting and mitigate its impact on both humans and animals as well as the environment.

The motion-activated design uses wind – a natural, renewable energy source – to power its turbines.

Above and top image: the Papilio light can be wall-mounted or freestanding

"If we want to maintain a future worth living in, we urgently need to transform our cities into climate-neutral, sustainable and less harmful places," Trübenbacher told Dezeen.

"We urgently need to tackle light pollution and the loss of biodiversity coming along with it. This can only happen if cities generate energy themselves – through locally embedded, decentralised systems and 'prosumer' products in huge quantities spread all over urban spaces. In this context, wind represents an often underestimated yet constantly growing potential."

Its matt black body is designed to reflect as little light as possible

Papilio can be mounted to walls or set up as a freestanding lantern. The lamp should ideally be placed between three to six metres above ground, where ground-level winds are the strongest.

These winds are harnessed by a turquoise, pinwheel-shaped wind turbine with four aerodynamic rotor blades made of folded sheet metal.

The turquoise wind turbine is propelled by urban airstreams

Angled diagonally, the rotor can reportedly make use of complex airflows in urban environments including natural currents, wind tunnels created by tall buildings and smaller airstreams caused by passing vehicles.

The turbine then converts the wind's kinetic energy into mechanical power, before an integrated 300-watt generator turns it into electricity and stores it in a rechargeable battery.

Its shape resembles a pinwheel

"I have already tested the lights at several locations in Berlin and under normal wind conditions, the generator generated an average of up to 12 volts of electricity at any given time," Trübenbacher explained.

"Since today's LED technology is becoming more and more efficient, this amount of energy is easily enough to charge the integrated battery and operate bright light."

Applied at scale, he says the light could help to illuminate our cities without generating carbon emissions along the way.

"The world's population continues to spend nearly a fifth of the total global electricity consumption on public lighting and thereby releases a significant amount of greenhouse gases," Trübenbacher said.

"In Germany alone, street lightning emits at the moment around 2.5 million tons of CO2 per year."

Each turbine has four rotor blades made of folded sheet metal

Papilio is completely self-sufficient and could operate without the need for an "expensive underground electricity infrastructure", Trübenbacher explained.

Alternatively, the lights could be hooked up to the local power grid and divert any surplus energy to the city.

The light is a full cutoff fixture, meaning its head is pointed directly downward to minimise light pollution

To mitigate the effects of light pollution on both people and animals, Papilio is equipped with an infrared motion sensor that only switches on the light when someone is passing by.

Its head is a so-called full cutoff fixture, meaning it is angled straight down towards the floor and does not emit any light upwards, while the light itself has an extra-warm, insect-friendly colour temperature of 2,800 Kelvin.

Trübenbacher tested the light in various locations in Berlin

Trübenbacher fine-tuned the light spectrum in collaboration with a group of scientists and researchers to be less appealing to insects, whose attraction to conventional blue-toned street lights makes them vulnerable to predators as well as collisions, overheating and dehydration.

"Light pollution not only has bad health effects on humans – like causing sleep disorders, depression, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer – but has also a serious impact on flora and fauna," Trübenbacher explained.

"It is estimated that currently in Germany alone, in one single summer night around 1.2 billion insects die because of street lighting."

It can be assembled from simple components

In a bid to illuminate our cities in a more sustainable way, other designers have instead drawn on the energy of the sun to create self-sufficient street lights.

Mathieu Lehanneur created petal-shaped outdoor lamps with integrated photovoltaic panels and spindly wooden stems for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, while Ross Lovegrove worked with Artemide to set up his Solar Tree in cities around the world.

The post Papilio is a wind-powered street lamp that reduces light pollution appeared first on Dezeen.

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