Sustainable design is “lovable”: Trent Jansen

Sustainable design means being conscious of what you use, where the materials have come from, and of how long they will live on in the form of your product. Sustainable thinking is by it’s nature creatively challenging — and aren’t challenges and limitations often the best fuel for innovative thinking?  In this series we meet designers from around East Asia who approach their work with the triple bottom line in mind.

“Sign Stool” by Trent Jansen I Photography: Trent Jansen

Trent Jansen is a hard working Australian object/industrial designer who has become known for his considered, sustainable approach to his design practice. A perfect example of this is Jansen’s first project. which captured the attention of the Australian design scene when it was awarded the Object New Design Award in 2004 – the limited edition Sign Stool series. The Sign Stool pieces are constructed from re-used road signs found around Sydney. I had the opportunity to speak to Trent about this project and his approach to sustainability as part of his design practice.

Jansen says “… the most sustainable way to use a material is to re-use that material.” He goes on to explain that even new recycled materials (such as recycled woods and plastics) still use up energy and raw material to begin with.  So Jansen’s ideal was to not use any new material in the manufacture of the Sign Stools, but he admitted that he inevitably had to use rivets (a non-recycled metal fixture) to assemble the re-used road sign panels to form a stool.

“Pregnant Chair” by Trent Jansen I photography: Moooi

I ask Trent how he continues to integrate an ethos of sustainability in his design practice.  He explains that he considers sustainability as the starting point for every project. Jansen is interested in the way that contemporary society consumes objects. He touches on the fact that we now have the opportunity to buy very cheaply and it has created a “disposable culture”. With this in mind, one of his approaches to sustainable design is to design objects that “people could fall in love with” so that the object would be treated with respect, rather than becoming a disposable item. This approach has resulted in a series of projects that Jansen likes to call “objects that remind us of ourselves.” For example, his Pregnant Chair, produced by Moooi, symbolizes the universal relationship of a mother and child. It is the preciousness of the concept that makes it non-disposable.

Jansen has cited the accomplished Dutch designer, Jurgen Bey, as one of his major influences.  Check out Jurgen Bey’s approach to “green design” through his work with Droog Design.