Occasionally a product comes to market that makes an actual difference to people’s lives and, when it happens, it is to be celebrated. Take the company Ecolution Design for example.

Rising above the noise and sustainability greenwash, Ecolution Design’s products have been conceived with passion and a moral compass that sets them apart from their peers.

We are all now familiar with the realities of the working pod – the little room that helps people find a place of their own within the work space, that is comfortable but most importantly quiet. While there are many on the market, there are few that deliver what is promised.

With the introduction of Ecolution Design to Australia through HOW Group showrooms nationwide, get ready for a new way of working that is a gamechanger. With the products from this Netherlands-based company there is now the opportunity to not only to enjoy pods of various sizes and configurations but a circular designed modular meeting room system allowing individual focused work online or face-to-face team meeting that sets the bar high in the realm of sustainability and recyclability.

As landfill becomes a limited resource there is a need for products that are re-usable, flexible and adaptable and can grow with a business. The reality of designing workplaces today is to create for the moment but still have the future in sight, and Ecolution Design has the solution to the myriad challenges facing architects, designers and businesses today.

Ecolution Design was established six years ago by Dirk Rutten who has worked as a designer of workplace furnishings since 1988. During the pandemic Rutten realised the value of the pod and saw a bright future for the rapidly evolving product. With time to research, he decided to make something different – a product that would have the highest sustainability credentials and become the last word in flexibility.

To date there are 56 models available within nine ranges and four lengths and the products are kinder to the planet and serve every need for working. Sustainability is not an afterthought but embedded throughout the design and manufacturing process. Using timber that is 100 per cent recycled wood, 100 per cent recycled fabric, wall insulation that is made from 100 per cent recycled jeans and 75 per cent recycled aluminium – the statistics are impressive.

All pods meet, and some exceed, the 30db, ISO 23351 requirements and a new, clever ventilation system ensures there is air movement that makes for a comfortable stay. The pods are also wheelchair accessible as they sit directly on the floor.

There are manufacturing plants in The Netherlands, Europe and Michigan in the US, however, once Ecolution Design is established in our part of the globe there are plans to open a more local operation in Australia or South-East Asia.

While Ecolution Design is focused on materiality sustainability it also works to support social sustainability, employing, training and mentoring those with disabilities to participate in much of the manufacturing process.

To some, a pod maybe just a pod, however, the difference with products from Ecolution Design is that they are actually a system not an individual component. This means that a series of pods can be installed, joined together within an empty building shell and dismantled if required, leaving nothing behind. An entire interior can be packed up and then reconfigured in a new space with no waste.

There is also the opportunity for refurbishment and reuse as many of the components can be updated – fabrics or furnishings can be changed, chosen from the vast range on offer when desired – or clients can supply their own products that meet sustainability thresholds.

With the rise of reusing furniture in new fit outs already happening, solutions from Ecolution Design allow reuse of small and medium meeting rooms, reducing the waste, the carbon and the cost of hard fit out. 

As for the aesthetic, it is refined and contemporary. With the addition of a large variety of furniture – desks, tables, sofas, shelving and whiteboards for the inside, and the outside, every pod can be customised. Green walls are also an option for exterior walls. Extra meeting or breakout spaces can be added between pods and, introducing a slatted timber façade on the outside, means that privacy is assured.

Ecolution Design products offer so much more than simply a place to sit and work. With excellent sustainability credentials, the ability to reconfigure and refurbish at will, the opportunity to pack up and take away, an enormous variety of sizes and styling plus genuine acoustic quietness, these modular workspaces are leaders in the field.

Ecolution Design is also striving to connect with like-minded collaborators who can supply recycled or re-used products, sourcing locally and investing more into circularity. Through this process, products are enhanced and the sustainability of its pods increased.

To introduce Ecolution Design to architects and designers, the HOW Group held an informal discussion at its Melbourne showroom with experts, James Calder, Founder of Placing, Cameron Kaufman, Senior Circularity Specialist at Coreo, and Dirk Rutten, Founder of Ecolution Design. All matters workplace and sustainability were discussed, and the Ecolution Design system was the definite star of the show.

We no longer live in a throw away society and architects and designers are at the vanguard of finding ways to use and re-use. With products from Ecolution Design, there is now a way for workspaces to be sustainable, comfortable and beautifully designed, wherever that workplace may be.

ecolutiondesign.com

howgroup.com.au

Photography
Courtesy of HOW Group and Ecolution Design