Post by mebl | Transforming Furniture

The Symbio collection represents a promising step toward regenerative design in practice. As a series of 3D-printed benches, Symbio – by Joris Laarman Lab – explores the role of  furniture in actively contributing to ecological regeneration rather than simply reducing harm. Joris Laarman Lab produced the collection using an experimental concrete mixture engineered to permanently store carbon, transforming one of the construction industry’s most emissions-intensive materials into a potential carbon sink. But the project goes even further. Bio-active substrates embedded within the benches encourage the growth of mosses and lichens over time, allowing their evolution over time in direct relationship to their surrounding environment. Rather than remaining static, the benches become living structures shaped by climate, moisture and biological growth. “We need to move from ‘doing less bad’ to ‘doing more good,” wrote the authors of Cradle to Cradle. But how many furniture projects are truly moving in that direction? Symbio challenges the conventional role of furniture within the circular economy. Instead of merely minimising waste, it proposes a regenerative future in which objects can store carbon, support biodiversity and participate actively within natural systems. #mebltransformingfurniture #sustainablefurniture #sustainabledesign #circulardesign #circulareconomy #regenerativedesign