We’ve taken a look at various surfaces made from unusual materials – notably tiles from salt created by Chilean architect Mále Uribe Forés, sunflower surfaces from Thomas Vailly, and algae infused tiles from the Bio-Integrated Design Lab – and today we’re sharing something that utilises all three – Frank Gehry’s tower for the Luma Foundation in Arles. The project’s innovative material use is designed to … Continue reading Sunflowers, Salt, and Seaweed
A curious contraption aims to reduce plastic waste by eliminating complexity. Two units (one 40ft container housing the processing line and one 20ft solar cell unit) make up a recycling line capable of upcyling up to 50kg of waste each hour. This system, known as Trashpresso, takes three simple steps to transform plastic bottles into tiles: size-reduction, purification, and reshaping. Firstly the machine shreds plastic … Continue reading Trashpresso
We have an exciting recycled waste materital to share today. Montreal-based Dear Human, a visual arts and design collaborative formed by Jasna Sokolovic and Noel O’Connell in 2010, has a few unique creations up its sleeve, one in particular is exactly the kind of thing that Tile Addict’s love. They’re tiles, but made from paper. Using 100% post-consumer paper collected from local businesses, these tiles … Continue reading Paper Tiles from Dear Human
A few years ago we first covered Durat. Finding such a versatile, eco material that was as beautiful and customisable as the multicoloured, terrazzo flecked, recycled plastic Durat gave us a fresh burst of enthusiasm for the future of surface design. And now they’ve added even more to their range. Durat Palace, developed in collaboration with Dutch design agency MOST Collective has added four new … Continue reading A few shades more
An unexpected source of sustainable building materials is being explored by Eindhoven-based designer and founder of Studio Thomas Vailly Thomas Vailly. Collaborating with scientists from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Ingénieurs en Arts Chimiques Et Technologiques (ENSIACET) laboratory, Vailly has focused his efforts on transforming bio-waste from sunflowers into design solutions. It’s extremely exciting to see a trend towards designers, architects, engineers, artists, and manufacturers … Continue reading Sunflower Surfaces
Mushrooms are helping to create a huge range of eco materials due to their unique properties – such as Muskin (a leather replacement), Mycoprotein (a fungi-derived meat replacement), Pestalotiopsis microspora (a plastic-consuming mushroom), manipulated mycelium (which makes up mushroom root networks) walls, and bio-bricks. But the miraculous use of this natural material doesn’t stop there. A partnership between architect Dirk Hebel and engineer Philippe Block … Continue reading Functional Fungi
It’s important to recognise the waste produced by modern living, in issue prevalent in all industries including construction, architecture, and interior design. Although large strides are being made in the way products are created, be it through using sustinable materials, circular production models, recycling and repurposing, or through innovations that seek to reduce emissions, we’re not close to solving the problem. Something to get us … Continue reading Claiming Time with Reclaimed Tiles
Last year we explored three of Surface Matter‘s offerings – Bencore, Durat, and Richlite – demonstrating the unique properties found in each, and highlighting the value they add to the world of construction and design. And now we have the pleasure of sharing their newest addition – Stratum – a continuation of Richlite with the added durability of birch. Their other Richlite products found success … Continue reading Surface Matter’s Stratum Selection
For tile design studio Elisa Passino the most important thing is that beauty goes hand-in-hand with sustainability. Founded just last year (by Elisa Passino), the studio creates collections designed to be timeless, finding inspiration in heritage whilst looking to the future for innovation. The products are durable, offering ranges that are futureproof, not only in their materials, but in their decorative merits and focus on … Continue reading Sustainable Beauty from Elisa Passino
We’re all about the weird and wonderful here at Tile Addict, in fact we’ve got a whole section dedicated to the fantastical things the creatives of the world do with tile. But there are some items far beyond the reach of the aesthetic that deserve praise all on their own for pioneering change in the building industry. So we’ve gathered seven incredible creations that mark … Continue reading Seven sustainble surface solutions
Surfaces and materials are really what we’re about here. Sharing whats new, interesting, and innovative is one of the ways we broaden our definition of ’tile’, hoping to inspire artists, designers and manufacturers to incorporate fantastical materials and methods, or to develop their own. Continue reading Shelling out for seafood waste
Design turning its attention to waste products is the way of the future. More and more frequently we are seeing the incredible creations that can be made with a huge range of previously overlooked materials. Continue reading Copper Furniture
We last took a look at this Rotterdam-based company in September, taking special interest in their materials Blizzard, Nova, Greyish, and Chocolate Factory. But since then Plasticiet has introduced a few more members to their family – Rhinestone Black and White – both made from Dutch post-production cutoffs and Belgian household waste. Continue reading Antwerp’s Ace & Tate Terrazzo
German designer Julia Lohmann has brought a global issue to the fore with and awesomely weird and wonderful pavillion. Showcased at the World Economic Forum in Davos, ‘Hidaka Ohmu’ is a small thought-inducing creation composed of stretched seaweed. Continue reading Say it with Seaweed
Despite our love for sustainable design and product innovation, there is one building material we haven’t previously covered – the humble potato. But the creations by Chip[s]Board cannot go unnoticed. Continue reading Chip[s]Board Covering
Surface Matter are making a tasty statement at this year’s Surface Design Show. Their concept is to show off various innovative materials in a sweet shop pop-up. We have covered each of their surfaces previously on Tile Addict- the memorable Bencore, Richlite, and Durat, and those visiting the show will have the chance to thoroughly explore their many properties. Bowls of miature samples encourage visitors … Continue reading Surface Matter Sweet Shop
Ceramic products can be certified as complying with the main international green building assessment protocols (LEED, BREEAM, etc.). Ceramic products may be compliant because they possess many of the characteristics required to earn credits, such as: a content of at least 20% by weight of post-consumer recycled material or the equivalent percentage of pre-consumer recycled material, the absence of VOC emissions, sector or product EPD certification, and optimised energy performance. Continue reading Exploring the sustainability of ceramic surfaces
It is always exciting to learn about new surface materials, and it’s even better when a new product produces a real opportunity to protect or revitalise a community. Totomoxtle is doing just this. Continue reading Transformative Totomoxtle
