Bio-based brilliance: five innovative uses of natural materials

Nina+Co designs zero waste restaurant Silo

On the upper floor of The White Building in Stratford, Silo encompasses innovative materials that showcase natural elements fused with technology. Guests are greeted by a contrasting minimalist interior featuring a cast-iron staircase next to a graffiti-covered bridge and a host stand formed from timber offcuts which have been laminated together and sculpted back to resemble a tree stump. Lights above from Tŷ Syml have been moulded from seaweed and combined with paper waste to create study and organic looking pendants. 

The flooring is created from natural cork – a carbon negative product harvested by hand, of course, from the bark of the cork oak without harming the tree. Cork oak forests capture five times more CO2 than is used in the manufacture of the flooring. Perhaps most interesting of all is the cocktail lounge furniture; round mushroom-like seats with simple cylindrical tables topped with glass – all grown to order for the project from mycelium, a renewable raw material that is fully compostable at the end of usefulness. 

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Eve Waldron Design sets the standard for sustainable workplace interiors 

Bamboo kitchenettes, hemp-board lockers and flooring made of linoleum – of which 97% is composed of natural materials, chiefly linseed oil extracted from flax plant seeds – are just some of the natural features in Entopia. Punctuating different parts of the interior, such as the lobby, toilets and tea points, the linoleum is in various aesthetically pleasing shades, including jewel-bright lapis lazuli and moodier indigo. 

Innovative uses of renewable materials have been deployed throughout the six-storey building by Cambridge-based architectural design consultancy, Eve Waldron Design. The name Entopia references a concept developed by Envision Group – a green technology company and donor to the project – to shape a future in which access to clean, affordable energy is available to all. 

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Oliver Heath and Fred Rigby bring wood back to life at L’Estrange

Working alongside biophilic design specialist Oliver Heath, designer Fred Rigby adopted a regenerative approach, combining natural textures with locally sourced and repurposed materials, subtle colour accents, sensory elements and abundant biophilia in L’Estrange. Rigby cocooned and partitioned the menswear store using repurposed wood from London planes trees sourced from Fallen & Felled, who transform storm-stricken and diseased trees into hardwood timber. 

At the heart of L’Estrange sits The Meadow, a special curation of natural dried blooms and grasses conceived by award-winning garden designer Lottie Delamain. The fauna was carefully chosen for its rooted connections to the fibre and flax used in apparel, with cues taken from iconic Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf’s ‘New Perennial’ movement in which compositions are crafted in symbiosis with nature – using drifts of herbaceous perennials and grasses chosen for their structures rather than aesthetics.   

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The Black & White Building is a mass-timber masterpiece

A Mixology23 winner, The Black and White Building shows off natural timber from exterior to interior. A lesson in mass-timber as an alternative to carbon-radiating concrete and steel – using 37% less embodied carbon than comparable structures and powered by 100% renewable energy sources, the project is a collaboration of TOG and Waugh Thistleton Architects, with interiors designed by Daytrip. Thanks to its structure built from the ground up using cross-laminated timber (CLT) and laminated veneer lumber (LVL), the building minimises carbon in both its construction and operations.

Inside, the honest and functional approach found throughout this project brims with personality and nostalgia, set against natural materials. Striped cushions and a rich material mix fill the ground floor space and lower coworking spaces, contrasting with exposed timber walls that could scream ‘sauna’ anywhere else, but here blend seamlessly with the rest of the space for a light, warm feel. Louvres shaped from tulipwood maximise energy efficiency and natural light throughout the spaces, and a lightwell runs the full height of the building – from a rooftop terrace down to a courtyard.

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MAWD designs a next-gen coworking space for EGG Tokyo

Applying a research-based and experience-centric design philosophy, global design practice MAWD has worked with Mitsubishi Estate to deliver a highly flexible and innovative design solution for EGG, driven by the next generation of tenants. The desire of future tenants to make positive environmental and social impact on the world led MAWD’s focus on five key design drivers – collaboration, community, conscious design, connection and customisation.

The overall design is hospitality-led, sophisticated and relaxed, with warm tones and lighting to generate a feeling of residential home and comfort. Raw materials blend with warmer finishes, with recycled materials have been used with innovation throughout the design. Foresso, a material derived from timber waste, is incorporated into the reception desk, seashell waste materials have been integrated into the kitchen design, and acoustic panelling made from recycled plastic bottles is used in meeting booths.

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