How do sustainable materials impact the longevity of your designs?

Sustainable design begins with specific understanding of your clients goals , and aesthetic for their space. Once identified from their perspective , you blend in new technology and education. Concepts connecting innovative sustainable industry products that benefit them from the product design ,performance, visual, maintenance, longevity , and future recyclable ease . Full circle understanding and building on their project needs and visuals , builds confidence and allows them a deeper feeling of pride and success in their space . This success then transfers to all who enter the space , a domino affect allowing all to share in sustainability as shared commitment , more than standard responsibility.

Most of the materials used in construction nowadays are chosen firstly for its aesthetic aspects and not so much for its durability. It is important to choose wisely in the era we are living so much considering as disposable and rapidly replaced!

With years of experience in Life Cycle Assessment studies, we know that the Maintenance phase can be highly significant when considering the total impacts of a building. Therefore, paying attention to the maintenance format and the replacement period of relevant materials is an effective way to reduce these impacts. ### Com anos de experiência em estudos de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida, sabemos que a etapa de Manutenção pode ser extremamente representativa quando consideramos os impactos totais de uma construção. Portanto, prestar atenção ao formato da manutenção e ao período de substituição dos materiais relevantes é uma maneira eficaz de reduzir esses impactos.

When selecting "sustainable materials" it is paramount to assess and match the lifecycle of the material to the lifecycle of the component. ❌It is wasteful to assign a long-life material to a short-life component, (the obvious example is plastic packaging). ❌It is not recommended to overuse "recyclable" labels. It might be recyclabe, but not necessarily recycled. This is just another trend that "eco-conscious" brands are following (and aunfortunatly also the EU Packaging regulations)

Limited resources have pushed the boundaries of designing with a forethought to adapt to the changing needs of the space. Designing for disassembly using modular tools and standard sizes along with design for repair is the most sustainable way to keep the product functioning for the longest periods without consuming large amounts of fresh material. It also works out economical for the client with minimal maintenance of the product. The most common products are modular furniture (ex, IKEA) and prefabricated buildings which are designed in layers to allow swift changes to the interiors as and when required in the future.

🛑"Sustainable materials" aren't the only factor concurring into the longevity of a product. Obsolescence (especially within the consumer electornic field) depends on both hardware and software. Design is another factor: materials can "age with beauty", perish (biodegradable) or wear, but if the design doesn't follow the performance of the material (e.g. component subjected to wear can be "easily" disassembled and replaced/repaired), the whole product can be considered unsuccessully sustainable