Circularity ‘embedded’ in office project
The interior and lighting of a co-working office project have been designed with the circular economy at its heart.
Impact Hub Berlin is a community and working space in the German capital which has been created as an incubator for entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in the sustainability, circular economy, diversity, inclusion and green technology sectors.
The lighting design practice Studio De Shutter worked with the architects LXSY to put their collective vision of sustainability and circularity throughout the building process.
All the building materials used in the 3,500 square metre office are either reused or reusable, unless legal regulations prohibit this. Similarly, the interior fittings including the lighting can be largely dismantled and reassembled in the event of a change of use.
‘Together with architects we took on this challenge and had to rethink the entire design process into a circular design process,’ says De Shutter.
‘Designing a circular lighting project brought a variety of new challenges and made us realise how the market is not set up for circular buildings.
‘To work circular in an industry that focuses on selling and producing, posed a challenge.’
The lighting scheme is a combination of sourced lighting fixtures and custom-designed elements because the practice do not want to compromise on elements of its design.
The custom-design lighting fixture is built with partially recycled, partially new components and composed in a way that it is easy to dismantle.
‘The result is a mixture of several approaches, from planning with sourced lighting equipment to developing a bespoke lighting fixture out of circular wood that is easy to dismantle components.’
Studio De Schutter is an independent lighting consultancy based in Berlin and Antwerp whose projects include workplaces, hotels and light art installations for public spaces.
Impact Hub has evolved into a rapidly expanding global network of over 24,000 members across 60 countries. There are today seven Impact Hubs in Germany alone.
• Recolight offers special one-day training workshops on ‘Lighting product design for a Circular Economy’. Hosted by industrial designer Simon Fisher of F Mark, the CPD-accredited event explores the design criteria, regulations and standards to help lighting manufacturers apply and demonstrate circular economy principles in product development. More HERE.
