So we all know that we need to recycle. “Greening” your office is also important and some companies already have their employees printing on both sides of the paper. But is it really enough? And what are we meant to do with things like old computer mice or keyboards or the reels of cable flex lying around?
This is exactly the dilemma Bloomberg news agency were having at their London offices. So they commissioned Art Co. consultancy to employ artists and designers to create lighting, furniture and other installations using the waste in the office.
The Waste Not, Want It project challenged creatives to use cable flex, cardboard boxes, keyboards and loads of other (now) useless objects to create new, desirable objects for Bloomberg’s office.
Matthew Plummer-Fernandez turned computer mice into a gorgeous chandelier that mimics a plant's behaviour, "infructescence", where clusters of LEDs represent fruit ripening together. Nina Tolstrup transformed 250 used pallets into a round conference table and a set of chairs, by taking them apart and kiln drying them. “The Pond” is Raw Edge’s “bucolic seating environment” made from wooden pallets and keys from keyboards arranged around old computer monitors.
For the “Dog Balls” David Batchelow used more than 10km of cable flex to create large balls, similar to the ones that idle office workers often make from rubber bands.
Waste Not, Want It could set a new standard for offices and public spaces designed entirely from waste products.
