Sustainable Interior Lighting Design

• Sustainability Through Recycling

  • Sustainability through recycling reduces waste and conserve natural resources.
  • Materials are reused instead of being sent to landfills or incinerators, closing the loop in production cycles.
  • Recycling used products into new products reduces the need for raw materials and energy consumption.

  Paper Recycling

  • Reduces the need to cut down more trees.
  • Preserves forests and biodiversity.

  Plastic Recycling

  • Saves energy.
  • Reduces pollution.
  • Reduces plastic waste that enters oceans and landfills.

• Replaces the need for new plastic from petroleum.

Metal Recycling

• Recycling of metals like aluminum and steel saves significant amounts of energy compared to producing new metals from ores.
• Metals can be recycled endlessly without losing quality.

Design for Disassembly (DfD)

• Products are designed to be easily taken apart at the end of their lifecycle.
• Components can be reused, recycled, or repurposed.
• Promotes sustainability, reclaims valuable materials, and reduces waste.

Key Principles of Design for Disassembly

• Easy Separation of Materials: Use fasteners (screws or bolts) over glue or welding to separate parts without damage.
• Modular Design: Create products with easily removable parts or modules that can be swapped out or replaced.
• Recyclable Materials: Choose materials that are recyclable and unmixed with substances complicating recycling.
• Minimal Adhesives/Permanent Fasteners: Avoid materials difficult to disassemble, like permanent adhesives or non-recyclable composites
• Clear Labeling: Label materials and parts to ease disassembly for recyclers and sort components correctly.

Examples of Design for Disassembly

• Electronics: Smartphones and laptops are designed with screws instead of glued parts for easier repair/disassembly for recycling.
• Furniture: Modular furniture pieces, like shelving units or couches, are designed to be disassembled into smaller parts, allowing for easier repair/recycling when no longer useful.

Significance of DfD

• DfD is a step toward a circular economy, where products are kept in use as long as possible.
• Materials are continually recycled or reused shifting away from the traditional "take, make, dispose" model.

IKEA's Circular Design Initiative

• IKEA is a major advocate for sustainability.
• Their commitment to DfD is a strategy used to create modular furniture which can be disassembled for repair, reuse or recycling.
• Key takeaway: Large-scale retailers can incorporate sustainable practices into mass-produced consumer goods with this approach.
• Challenge: Ensure cost-effective and efficient disassembly process is not just easy for consumers, but also for the company to implement.
• Best known examples is their RÅVAROR range which minimises materials used, has easy to disassemble components, and recyclable packaging.
• Aims to make products reusable and recyclable.
• Reduce the environmental impact of its product lifecycle.

Fairphone

• Fairphone is a social enterprise designing smartphones sustainably, making them a leading example of DfD in consumer electronics.
• Fairphone 4 is designed to be recyclable and/or its components reused at end-of-life.
• Designed with modularity at the core.
• Users can easily replace individual parts like the screen, camera and batter instead of replacing the whole phone.
• Ensures users can repair or upgrade their phones, reducing e-waste significantly.
• Challenges for the company include sourcing conflict-free materials and ensuring sustainability of its entire supply chain.

Autodesk and Revit: DfD in Architecture

• Autodesk incorporates DfD principles into its software, particularly through Revit, a Building Information Modeling platform.
• Architects and builders can use Revit to design structures with disassembly in mind.
• Revit also identifies materials and components that can be easily reused or repurposed at the building's end of life.
• DfD principles in architecture leads to buildings that minimise waste during phases of both construction and demolition.
• A great project example is the International House Sydney building which designed modular systems and reused materials from the original structure.

BMW's Car Recycling Program

• BMW has a long-standing sustainability initiative for their 'Design for Recycling' strategy.
• Cars are designed so a high percentage of the vehicles components can be recycled at the end of its life.
• BMW models use recyclable thermoplastics in the interior and exterior that are easier to disassemble and repurpose.
• To design cars with fewer mixed materials, this is challenging to recycle.
• DfD in the automotive industry reduces waste in future production cycles.
• Makes sure valuable materials like metals and plastics reclaimed and reused.
• Auto industry has challenge of durability and meets performance with strict standards.
• Need to balance recyclability for performance and safety standards.

Circular Electronics: The iPhone from Apple

• To reduce e-waste, Apple has explored the Apple Trade-In program in which users return old devices to be recycled, refurbished or reused.
• iPhones's design improved by using modular components and replaceable parts with repair kits to consumers.
• The Apple Daisy robot automated disassembly of phones to recoverable materials such as aluminium, cobalt and other rare metals.
• Apple is an example of how DfD is applied at a large scale in tech and consumer electronics.
• Challenge for tech companies is to balance performance, aesthetics and modularity.

C2C (Cradle to Cradle)

• C2C is an international standard for products designed to be fully recyclable or compostable.
• Companies like 'Steelcase' and 'Herman Miller' in the furniture industry used C2C principles in their designs.
• Steelcase chair 'Aeron' is designed with separable parts, making it easy to recycle when no longer in use.
• Highlights how C2C is pushing companies to rethink product design from production to disposal .

The ReCYCLE Project (Furniture)

• In the furniture industry, ReCYCLE are developing innovative designs that are:
  • Modular
  • Disassemblable
  • Focused on reusing materials.
• They've have produced large-scale projects with office furniture and they encourage upcycling.
• Underlines how the DfD principles can be applied to long-lasting designs.
• Can reduce need for new materials, creating a more sustainable circular economy.
• Has challenge maintain affordability ensuring high-quality materials and easy disassembly.

Recycled, Upcycled, and Reclaimed Materials

• Interior design reduces the need for virgin resources.
• Materials otherwise go to waste and is the beginning of new life.
• Recycled: glass, metal, paper is sourced from new waste.
  • Recycled glass used countertops.
  • Recycled metals used for furniture/light features.
• Upcycling: Instead of discarding Old furniture materials turns into new pieces, with old Pallets used as furniture.
  • Turns wood into flooring or vintage furniture new life.
• Reclaimed: Wood used with old buildings , barns and factories uses floors , walls , furniture.
  • Preserves forests Adds character interior.

Zero-Waste and Sustainable Furniture Production

• Eliminates waste.
• Production of furniture/ decor ensures materials either reused, recycled or repurposed.
• Efficient Manufacturing: interior designs reduces waste during the optimising cutting techniques ensures minimal materials uses.
• Upcycling furniture: offers service to repair repurposed, include sofas antique, vintage.
• Iconic for durability /easy repair.

Closure and Key strategies

• Closing the loop refers to creating circular economy and minimises waste.
• In the context of closing the loop the focus is on material use recycling ,using in natural systems.
• Minimises materials need for environmental waste.

Key Strategies to closing the loop:

• Design for the disassembly = easy.
• materials recovery = reused prevents valuable resources not lost landfills.
• material transformed in products transforming, upcycling waste into new material , plastic fibers etc.
• Take back trades - customers return products for refurbishment recycle repurpose.
• The program worn is wear Patagonia customers trade gear company resells re-purpose.
• Extended products responsibility = lifecycle , taking back products end of life electronic etc.
• Industrial collaboration industries products Raw materials. industrial Denmark interchange resources.
• Real world loop closing interface sustain program = collect, re-cycle turning carpets.

Electronics

• Sustainable Fairphone - design products close loops Apples automated down of materials re- use robots.
• Created community recycle lands prevent waste.

Challenges

• Loops sustain hurdles economic = feasible return program or recycle. return products cost. product circular etc.
• Consumers new educate proper reuse. support system separate difficult complexity in materials

Future Considerations

• Sustainable practices more loops = mainstream to make it recycle new recycling.
• new economics and job creation and circular economy - create materials .

Durability and longevity is important

• Furniture materials built withstand damage of replace high metal and stone and help with long use and style.
• Furniture repair extend life.
• Furniture reconfigured less need

Circular Business Models

• Creates reused material for lifecycle.
• Design can be leases and re-decor and reduced waste.
• Some companies take back products and recycle rather and landfill

Case Study 1: The Edge, Deloitte's Smart Office, Amsterdam

• Has an Ultra-efficient office recognised as greenest and integrating lighting Daylight Savings
  • Enhances building well being
  • Energy savings and employee wellbeing

Other Lighting Design Features:

• The network lights can be adjusted using embedded sensors
• monitors build usage
• Harvest - design floor windows increase natural
• Light senses adjust lightning with daylight.
• Lighting - employees customize waste lighting with a mobile app

Case Study 2: Singapore Airport 4

• Lightning the design emphasizes comfort reduce costs
  • Lighting Features Technology brightness
• warmer lighting

Integrations

• Skylight reflects lightning amplifies
• Skylight offers lighting offers great control

Other Details

• Lightning checks security improve visibility
• Feature lights retail excessive wastage

Case Study 3: Apple Park Headquarters

• Apple Park integrates adaptive for workspace

Daylight Architectural Design

• Structure has light workspaces canopies balance

Rhythm Lighting:

• Lightning enhances well-being
• Cool in morning = warmth and alertness

Study 4: The V&A Museum

• Balances aesthetic sustainability enhanced by lights

Lighting

• Intensity protected
• concealed glare minimal. skies allow nighttime. materials operational - Shadows.

Key Design Takeaways

• The Edge integrates the energy effect 70% savings
• Park the needs 30% lights employee lighting materials costs

Final Thoughts

• User technology effective combine LEDs
• A key to combine well being productivity etc