What to do with captured pollution? This is the question that Tejas Sidnal, founder of Carbon Craft Design had when he got thinking of the excess carbon emissions in the world. He was keen to create an architectural intervention to upcycle pollution, one that can be achieved through technology and craft – enter Carbon Tiles.
Following his masters from the AA School of Architecture in London, architect, biomimetic designer and researcher Sidnal was on a mission to explore sustainable innovative strategies – ‘anything you build should be able to be reused or upcycled in some way or another,’ he muses. With this mission, the start-up was born, with a drive towards a circular economy – and aim to solve 'the invisible problem’ of air pollution that he believes this ‘cannot be done just through technology.’
‘Our design thinking is to communicate climate change issues. For us, Tile was a great way to start. Inspired by the unique identities of the cities and the natural elements that define these cities, we created an exciting new range of flooring patterns.’
A start-up with big ambitions, Carbon Craft Design essentially harvests carbon emissions – it does this with AIR-INK, a company pioneering recycling pollution. The method starts with crafting the tile, shaping and cutting, then carefully, the processed pollution is mixed with the cement or marble.
Sidnal and his team of architects and designers chose cement, to invest in craftsmen working with this material, and empower the artisan community, while ensuring it was a sustainable source. ‘The whole process consumes least amount of energy compared to the conventional ceramic tiles.’ After various prototypes, they arrived at tiles that are scalable.
Like any good start-up, Carbon Craft Design is offering the patterned products in a sample kit via Instagram that will send you the tile to test, plus more information on their mission of innovation and craft.
INFORMATION
-
'Now, the world is waking up': Vikram Goyal on bringing Indian craftsmanship to the global stageWe talk to Indian craft entrepreneur Vikram Goyal about redefining heritage, innovating with repoussé, and putting Indian craftsmanship on the global map.
-
‘The Indian market has come of age’: Inside Nilaya Anthology, India’s new design destinationNilaya Anthology – a global design showroom with a distinctly Indian perspective – has opened in Mumbai
-
This ethereal Chennai home is a celebration of Indian craft and cultureDesigned by Multitude of Sins, this Chennai home is an artisanal trove of rich texture and secret garden-like design. Wallpaper* speaks with design principal Smita Thomas on crafting the space
-
We feel a growing passion for MycoWorks, the company inspiring beauty with fungal-based biomaterialReishi is a Wallpaper* Design Award winner, a new self-growing, biodegradable material by MycoWorks presented in a series of exquisite expressions of earthy and ethereal furniture, lighting and artworks
-
Indian furniture brand SĀR Studio is putting Pune on the map with a new flagship and residency programmeSĀR Residence, a multi-use concept space, acts as an extension of the Indian furniture brand
-
Pierre Jeanneret and Edward Armitage: tracing design inspiration in ChandigarhBritish designer Joe Armitage set off for Chandigarh, India, to trace his grandfather Edward’s footsteps and recreate a photograph of the latter’s ‘Armitage’ lamp. A trail of intrigue around its inspiration lay in wait, as he reveals
-
It’s the first-ever Design Mumbai: here’s what to seeAt least 100 international and Indian brands will showcase at Design Mumbai, referencing India’s rich and storied heritage of craftsmanship and highly specialised craft clusters (6-9 November 2024)
-
Pierre Jeanneret’s Chandigarh furniture meets South Asian diasporic art in an unusual London exhibitionRajan Bijlani opens a show combining Pierre Jeanneret furniture for the Indian city of Chandigarh with works for sale by six artists of South Asian origin – in his own London townhouse
