Imperial College London
Alternate

Dr Marco Aurisicchio

Faculty of Engineering, Dyson School of Design Engineering

Reader in Engineering Design
 
 
 
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Contact

 

m.aurisicchio

 
 
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Location

 

Office 1 (104)Dyson BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@inproceedings{Bahrudin:2017,
author = {Bahrudin, F and Aurisicchio, MARCO and Baxter, WESTON},
publisher = {TU Delft Open},
title = {Sustainable materials in design projects},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/45862},
year = {2017}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - New types of sustainable materials are introduced in our markets every year to minimise the environmental impact of products. The search for more environmentally benign materials is crucial in reducing the depletion of non-renewable material resources. Recent literature indicates that there is a growing interest and rapid technological progression from various industry stakeholders on this matter. Nevertheless, the sustainability issues pursued by designers and other material developers are still ambiguous. The overall aim of this research is to develop new understanding of the sustainable materials being developed and applied in product design. Seventy-two material-centred design projects are analysed in terms of resource renewability and resource origin. The data obtained are further classified according to the material group and products produced with such materials. Renewable materials make up half of the materials used. Moreover, waste materials comprise up to half of the materials used. Three materials groups were found to be more frequently used, namely natural composites, synthetic polymers and organic materials. Most of these materials are being made into furniture, household objects and clothing and accessories. Within the natural composites and organic materials, various extraordinary materials were used, reflecting the dynamicity of designers’ work and experimentation with materials. As for synthetic polymers, recycled plastics are the main materials used and this is not surprising given their abundance in the environment. In general, the application of sustainable materials seems to be at its infancy but explorations are vibrant and progressive. The impact of these materials in the mainstream market is unknown and other sustainability factors need further evaluation. As such, design as a discipline is yet to facilitate the uptake of these materials.
AU  - Bahrudin,F
AU  - Aurisicchio,MARCO
AU  - Baxter,WESTON
PB  - TU Delft Open
PY  - 2017///
TI  - Sustainable materials in design projects
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/45862
ER  -
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