10 : 04 : 20 : Weekly Debrief

1. Carlo Ratti creates ICUs from shipping containers

Italy – Architecture studio Carlo Ratti Associati has turned shipping containers into intensive care pods that can be quickly added to hospitals fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

Measuring 6.1m each, the pods, dubbed Connected Units for Respiratory Ailments (CURA), can be delivered on the back of lorries and contain two beds. The first prototype unit is now being built at a hospital in Milan, one of the cities in Italy with the most coronavirus cases.

Aiming to replicate the environment of hospital rooms, the units feature ventilation systems that generate negative pressure inside and prevent contaminated air from escaping. According to the team behind CURA: ‘The aim is that they can be quickly deployed in cities around the world, promptly responding to the shortage of ICU space in hospitals and the spread of the disease.’

In Wellness Architecture, we explore how organisations are using their skills to provide solution-based design to support the health and wellness sector, something architects are now demonstrating by making use of abundant materials as hospitals struggle to meet the space demands required to treat coronavirus patients.

3. Puma and CSM consider fashion’s waterless future

UK – Puma is working with Central Saint Martins' BA Fashion students to explore future textile manufacturing for a more sustainable sportswear industry.

The collaboration has led to a garment collection entitled Day Zero – in reference to the day the planet runs out of water – while drawing attention to water shortages being experienced in Cape Town, South Africa. The range prioritises sustainable, waterless practices from materials to marketing, including a campaign featuring digitally rendered versions of its pieces. Visually, the collection also highlights South Africa’s drought, with phrases such as Water Runs Dry and No Habitat featured as decorative details on clothing, shoes and accessories.

By working with Central Saint Martins and its students for the project, Puma has been able to experiment with new technologies in textile production, implementing state-of-the-art dyeing methods and digital print techniques that reduce the standard chemical and water consumption needed for clothes manufacturing.

In light of the fashion industry’s existential questions about supply chain and overconsumption, brands are innovating to provide collections created from eco-friendly fabrics and embracing Immaterial Fashion to provide digital solutions.

5. Luxury hotel bed linen is being re-invented as clothing

Berlin – Archivist Studio is using upcycled fabric from luxury hotel bed linen to create simple white shirts that meet sustainable needs.

Founded by Dutch designers Eugenie Haitsma and Johannes Offerhaus, the studio focuses on sourcing fabric from luxury hotels, after discovering that a lot of bed linen is discarded once it has very small holes or stains. Since starting the initiative, Archivist has teamed up with a number of European hotels and arranged for fabric to be sent to the brand’s atelier in Bucharest to be cleaned, cut and manufactured into shirts. The studio says: ‘The brand name Archivist naturally evolved through our mission to preserve high-quality textiles and creating archival pieces.’

Focusing on simplicity and timelessness, the shirts are the first iteration of what the brand hopes will be a growing line of clothing. As part of a wider push towards upcycling in the luxury industry, the design team also hosts talks in hotels about circular waste management and how companies can get involved.

As luxury brands step into the circular economy and try their hand at upcycling, they’re innovating to transform waste materials into covetable creations.

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