Smart Sustainable Materials

Aircleaning tiles for kitchens and bathrooms, light-transmissive wood for home use or concrete surfaces with touchscreen function: the complexity of the performance criteria which nowadays are required of materials and products for the design of furniture or interior fittings require more and more frequently material solutions which apart from the qualities of a traditional mechanical comprehension can offer additional functions, additional functional benefits and a reactive quality. This group of materials are nowadays called “smart materials” and/or “multifunctional materials”. In particular their development is possible thanks to the progress made in the field of nanotechnology or bionics research. By this way the new functional materials are replacing well-tried solutions in a multitude of applications and offering enormous potentials in particular for the furniture industry and the building sector.

Add to this the current trend towards a stronger sustainability and efficiency of materials and production technologies applied in the furniture industry. Synthetics with plant fibers, wood substitute made of wheat straw or lightweight plates made from bamboo rings are only a few examples of a development which shall gain an enormous importance in the forthcoming years. Because of the running short resources, the manufacturers are compelled to look for alternatives. Therefore the materials which are essential for the furniture industry will become lighter in the future, stem from closed circuits or produced from renewable resources.

On behalf of Messe Köln, Dr. Sascha Peters organized an exhibition presenting smart and sustainable materials. The show was centered within the “Innovation of Interior” area of the exhibition which thematized the latest innovations for the furniture industry. The exhibition showed more than 70 materials. Among others the following developments were represented:

ALGAE VASE – Shaping by means of algae fibers
ALPHAMESH – Light reflecting ring and scurf meshwork
AUXETICS – Auxetic structures
BALANCE BOARD – Lightweight plate with biomass granulate
CONBOU – Bamboo lightweight plate
DASCANOVA – Tightness variable fiber board
DECAFE – Coffee grounds lamps
DEEPMELLO – Rhabarb leather
DENDROLIGHT – Lightweight plate
DYSCrete – Concrete-integrated dyestuff solar cell
ECO HPL – Formaldehyde-free laminated plastic plate based on bagasse
ELEGANT Embellishments – Air cleaning design modules
ETTLIN Lux | Decolux – Fabric with effective light-display
GRAVITY STOOL – Shaping in a magnetic field
KAMI SPIN – Lamp shade made of paper pulp
LUMINOSO – Translucent wood
MEMORY TPU – Shape memory polyurethane
NAPORO Biological chipboard – Wood material with soja glue
TOUCHBETON – Touch-sensitive concrete surface
TURURI – Seadhead biological mass
VEIO – textile shells

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