Rematerialise – Database for Eco-Smart Materials.
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 01. 7.06
Darn it! Just when we thought we’d found something really useful, i.e. a current database for eco-materials, we then discover it hasn’t been updated since 2002! This article was going to be all about how great it is to have a website keeping up to date with all the new eco-materials out there, now it’s about how sad it is that something like that exists, but is no longer being worked on. All is not lost, however, the important thing is that the Rematerialise website is still accessible and all the hard work that was done up to 2002 is still available on-line: www.rematerialise.org. Rematerialise is a database of eco-smart materials created by the Design Department at Kingston University, London.
You can search materials by type (glass, metal, rubber, etc.), process (cast, woven, etc.), character (bendy, squashy, etc.) or application (board, textiles, tiles, etc.). Information such as features, eco friendliness, photos and small videos of the materials pop up as well as the contact details of the material providers such as Smile Plastics or Interface. We’re not sure why work on this project was halted, whether it ran out of funding or if in fact it is continuing under another name, but the website is still an extremely useful resource for designers. There are lots of materials being developed as sustainable alternatives to “resource hungry materials”, but for some reason there are very few collective information points. Rematerialise is one of the few, so we hope very much that the folk at Kingston University might get it going again. ::Rematerialise
[Leonora & Petz]
While Rematerialise is quite excellent there are some other good resources out there. Perhaps one of these organisations can pick up the slack that Kingston University has left.
www.letsrecycle.com
www.londonremade.com/recycling_product_focus.asp
www.recycledproducts.org.uk
ok it's not nearly as big a product range; (it's "biobased" products only) and it's not as user-friendly, but it is new and will be updated regularly.. so hmmm maybe we can get these two together? USDA now has a great thing, the FB4P, the Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program!
Rematerialise is one facet of the Creative Resource project. The initial project was to establish a Recycled Materials Library begun in 1994 - pre internet. In 1996 an exhibition of the materials collected was staged in London, it was called Rematerialise. The website came much later and has not yet been updated. Funding is the main issue as this is a free service.
I have worked on the project @ Kingston University for the last year.
I read the posting on Treehugger.com initially with interest but sadly I ended up being a little disapointed as the article seemed almost critical of our work.
I would also like to point out that the article was probably well intended although not strictly factual:
"but is no longer being worked on" - At this point in time the project employs 4 dedicated qualified designers albeit part time (again due to funding).
"all the hard work that was done up to 2002" - As above, the project is still ongoing and I can assure you that we work very hard.
"created by the Design Department at Kingston University, London" - This is not correct at all and I am embarassed that credit has not been given to the person responsible. The project was and is the brainchild of Ms. Jakki Dehn who initiated and established the project and has worked tirelessly on the project since 1994. Jakki is a Senior Lecturer in Furniture and Product Design @ Kingston University, so the project is based there but is not part of the Design Department. Jakki is an award winning designer in her own right, she has also judged many International Design competitions.
Kingston University is not situated in London, it is situated in Surrey.