Make Work Feel Like Play: Harnessing Renewable Resources

Can seaweed redefine our workspaces? ?? Discover the power of green design! #SustainableFuture

We’re probably all familiar with “biodegradable” plastic and styrofoam, made from corn and other plant products. But did you know that the latest hype in carbon capture is seaweed farms and, as a bonus, seaweed can be used to make edible cups and kelp burgers? Seaweed generates half the earth’s oxygen and currently absorbs as much carbon as the Amazon rainforest. It’s also one of the fast-growing plants on earth, which means its super-power is renewability. Maybe seaweed is the sustainable material of the future, a prime agent in both material and food security.

Or maybe we take some tips from our colleagues down-under? Today Design, a creative agency in Melbourne, occupies a zero-waste workspace, located on a single floor of a more traditional building. The space was entirely built with available and recycled materials and designed in a way that allows for a flexible layout, with walls and seating that can be moved and disassembled, and circulation pathways that encourage interaction.?

A few years ago, zero-waste advocate Joost Bakker designed a two-bedroom, one-bath zero-waste house, also in Melbourne. Organic waste is turned into gas and fertilizer, rainwater is used for irrigation, the roof is a garden — with the weight of the soil providing added protection against elements — and edible mushrooms grow on the bathroom walls.?

At PLASTARC, we believe that being inside a building shouldn’t feel like being inside a hermetically-sealed submarine. The best buildings incorporate natural elements and forms, a process called biophilic design. For the vast majority of our time as a species, we’ve lived in nature. Now we spend most of our lives indoors, but we still crave the benefits of the natural world — among them, ventilation, sunlight (vitamin D!), and greenery (plus the accompanying oxygen output).?

To learn more, our latest newsletter features several ideas on how you can seamlessly integrate nature into a more inspired – and inspiring – workplace.