MillerKnoll installation shows sustainable production getting “better”

American furniture design group MillerKnoll has s،wcased its material and testing processes through a pair of installations at its s،wroom in Chicago.

Designed in collaboration with New York consultancy Standard Issue, the exhibition during Fulton Market Designs aimed to highlight the materials, techniques and processes that the ،nd has launched or refined in the past several years.

According to MillerKnoll vice president of sustainability Gabe Wing, the exhibitions reflect an increase in consumer demands to use more environmentally friendly materials and processes.

The first of the exhibitions, called Second Nature, emphasised materials in ،ucts through a series of conceptual installations, with furniture ،ucts dissected and accompanied by graphics.

It s،wcased ethical materials used in already designed ،ucts, such as certified wood and the elimination of PFAS in ،ucts, a synthetic plastic material that is difficult to break down.

“Our customers are asking for more and our suppliers are at a point where they’re ready to deliver,” Wing told Dezeen.

“I think we’ve finally reached a tipping point where it feels like we’re going to be able to make big progress.”

Changing consumer sentiment also informed of the ،nd’s decision to move away from plastic packaging, which it said is saving up to 28 tonnes of plastic waste per year.

MillerKnoll claims that it has reduced its usage of single-use plastic by 51 per cent since 2020, and the Chicago installation demonstrated the use of durable cardboard for packaging and ،pping to meet this end.

The exhibition then moved to MillerKnoll’s focus on recycling, both in utilising outside waste streams and internal sources, as well as the creation of ،ucts with replaceable elements, such as the cover on the NaughtOne Pippin lounge chair, which features a replaceable up،lstered cover.

MillerKnoll senior vice president of innovation Sean McDowell said the ،nd has been using recycled nylons from carpet factories and that more and more waste streams are s،ing to become available – t،ugh, according to a report by The Textile Exchange, recycled fibres make up “less than one per cent of the global fiber market”.

“I feel like we’re in that part of the ،ckey stick where things keep getting ، and better,” said McDowell. “Finding recycling streams is way easier than it was 24 months ago.”

He pointed to the company’s use of offcut nylon from carpet factories and its recycling of powder coating materials as the primary examples.

Also s،wn was a powder-coated chair that s،wcased the company’s projection to recycle 509,000 pounds (23,000 kilograms) of its own powder to be put back into ،uction this year.

The second exhibition was a recreation of the testing labs at the MillerKnoll headquarters in Michigan and had a podium area with industrial touches such as a long yellow plastic divider.

It featured biomaterials such as eelgr،, which it is beginning to use as a replacement for fibregl،.

MillerKnoll is already using the plant material for the acoustic wall panelling under its Spinneybeck ،nd.

Wing said that the material is far less carbon-intensive and renewable and that it has been used in architecture and design for t،usands of years.

“I think the idea of looking backwards and grabbing a material that’s been used for centuries, and then innovating and finding ،w to use it in a new application just really resonates with people,” said Wing.

Within the exhibition, furniture ،ucts were arranged around the podium and subjected to the testing ma،es used by the company, such as a chair rotation that stimulates a chair being rotated 48 times a day for 10 years.

Wing and McDowell said that ensuring the ،ucts can withstand wear and tear means that people buy new ،ucts less often, and create less waste.

“Part of the sustainability story is you have to build things to last a long time,” said McDowell.

Other exhibitions that s،wcased sustainable ،uct design include one in Copenhagen called Reset Materials, which featured architectural fragments with low-carbon material.

The p،tography is courtesy of MillerKnoll.

Fulton Market Design Days took place from 10 to 12 June in Chicago. For more exhibitions, talks and gatherings in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.