Circular by Design: Tino Seubert Turns Air Pollution into Art + Usable Products

German-born London-based product designer Tino Seubert attracts upon historical past and up to date artwork in addition to science and materials analysis to make merchandise that make statements. For The Color of Air, he took air air pollution and turned it into ink and dye, with which he made screen-printed artworks, pencils, and garments, to reveal the truth that even invisible, airborne waste could possibly be become one thing much less damaging and extra significant. We caught up with him to seek out out extra.

Inform me just a little bit about your childhood, schooling, and background by way of the way you first turned fascinated by creativity, design and sustainability.

I grew up in a small village within the north of Bavaria. My neighbors had been farmers and I used to choose up recent milk from them as a child – life then was positively very completely different from my life in London as of late! My mother and father each labored in technical professions, however they made certain that my inventive aspect was nourished from a really younger age. I’ve been drawing, portray, and making issues continuous since my earliest reminiscences. My mum despatched me to a further artwork class twice per week after college within the subsequent city and my dad helped me to develop my technical expertise – he was at all times repairing TVs, radios, and different digital gadgets within the storage and I might usually assist him out. I grew up with the concept issues could possibly be fastened as an alternative of changed, which is crucial to sustainability. After I was about 13, I discovered what design was and that it was what I needed to do in life. At 19, I moved to Bolzano, Italy, the place I did my Bachelor in Design, spending a yr in Paris as a part of an change. After graduating, I moved to Berlin and labored there for a yr earlier than shifting to London to do a Masters in Design Merchandise on the Royal School of Artwork. And that’s the place I’ve been residing since.

How would you describe your Color of Air undertaking?

Carbon black is the principle part of positive Particulate Matter (PM), produced by the unfinished combustion of fossil fuels throughout properties, business, and transport. As smog, it obscures visibility and is the principle explanation for air air pollution. Current research counsel it’s the quantity two contributor to local weather change. Drawing on the thought of historical Egyptians, who used carbon black from candles to supply ink, The Color of Air filters PM from automobile exhausts to supply for pencils (PM-LEAD), and ink for display screen printing posters (PM-Ok), and for completely dying out of doors sportswear (PM-DYE). Smog turns into wearable, touchable, and visual to the very individuals who, unwittingly, inhale it daily.

What impressed this undertaking?

The undertaking was really initiated by a short we obtained within the first yr of my research on the RCA. I can’t keep in mind the precise phrases, but it surely was about waste and sustainability. I needed to consider unconventional or invisible waste, slightly than the issues we put into our bins and see daily. So I began researching subjects like gentle air pollution and issues which might be within the air. My analysis introduced me to particulate matter and the truth that the most important a part of it’s carbon black. Combining this with what I knew in regards to the historical Egyptians utilizing carbon black from candles to supply ink, I made a decision to show the carbon black from our air into pigment.

What waste (and different) supplies are you utilizing, how did you choose that individual materials and the way do you supply it?

This undertaking is definitely a really particular one in my portfolio and I wouldn’t say that I at all times, and even normally, work with waste. Or at the very least not in the obvious means. What I do is figure with supplies that most individuals would think about ugly, as a result of they’re industrial, tough, or not in vogue. I see a magnificence in them and I take pleasure in serving to others see this magnificence too. One instance is Regalvanize, the place I developed a floor therapy for hot-dip-galvanized metal materials, which normally solely used for out of doors and industrial purposes like fences or freeway guard rails.

When did you first change into fascinated by utilizing waste as uncooked materials and what motivated this resolution?

I believe consciously the primary time was really through the temporary at school, which made me develop The Color of Air. However subconsciously it has been an enormous half in my upbringing and the schooling I obtained. Greater than a single undertaking, sustainability needs to be an underlying philosophy for any undertaking we conceptualize, design, or produce.

What processes does the fabric must endure to change into the completed product?

Initially the fabric must be collected. One choice for that’s to place up energetic air filters to get the particulate matter out of the air. Nevertheless, it’s a really pricey and power consuming course of, which, for me, defeats the aim. Why ought to extra electrical energy be used to gather dust from the air, which had been brought on by different machines? So I checked out present filter programs for automobiles. Some diesel automobiles do have filters in place already, others don’t, which creates an enormous drawback. Those that do, burn the collected carbon into extra carbon dioxide. So to gather the fabric, I opened up present ceramic filters on diesel automobiles, emptied them and put them again in place. To then I course of the fabric into display screen printing ink, pencil leads, and cloth dye, generally including small quantities of brokers. Making the ink and the pencil leads is fairly simple and straight ahead – the material dye turned out to be just a little bit extra sophisticated, so I received some assist from the school’s textile division.

What occurs to your merchandise on the finish of their life – can they return into the round financial system?

They’ll, if the service materials permits it. For instance, display screen prints will be recycled like every other paper. The pencil hopefully by the top of its life doesn’t exist anymore or is simply a stump. The paper that it has written on will be recycled like every other. With the material, it is a little more sophisticated and it will depend on how recyclable the material itself is. What’s essential to say is that particulate matter and carbon black isn’t usually dangerous if it’s sure onto a floor – it’s when it’s within the air and we inhale it.

How did you are feeling the primary time you noticed the transformation from waste materials to product/prototype?

I used to be fairly impressed and stunned how simply and effectively it really labored and that the colour of the ink appeared to be a really particular gray.

How have folks reacted to this undertaking?

Usually, the reactions have been very optimistic. Individuals are impressed by the truth that one thing invisible has been become one thing tangible. Some folks criticized that it wasn’t possible or scalable, however that was by no means my intention – my level was to showcase what’s within the air, what we’re inhaling, and that even that type of waste will be reused.

How do you are feeling opinions in direction of waste as a uncooked materials are altering?

I believe a change is going down. In our social circles, it is vitally a lot appreciated and nearly trending. However that’s not essentially reflective of a change in actuality. As a result of it’s trending, much more beauty sustainability and greenwashing is occurring. Additionally, exterior of our bubble, issues nonetheless have an extended technique to go or are even worsening.

What do you suppose the long run holds for waste as a uncooked materials?

It’s exhausting to generalize as a result of waste covers a lot. It will depend on the precise materials, however with dwindling sources, I hope we shall be pressured to look extra carefully, and use present issues now we have already extracted from the earth.