Necessity is the mother of invention, and sometimes these necessities lead to very interesting design. A case in point is Nick Rebeck’s Decorated Shade. Rebeck, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan Architecture programme, needed an inexpensive window covering for his flat, and thus made the Decorated Shade.
The Decorated Shade is made using repurposed vinyl billboard fabric. Rebeck explains that billboards are a ubiquitous part of the built environment that generate around 10 000 tons of fabric waste in the USA every year. Since its not economically feasible to recycle the PVC-polyester composite fabric, the majority goes to waste.
Using the available colour blocks from a single billboard, Rebeck assembled his first Decorated Shade but later used different swatches for various, custom-made designs. The materials are semi-translucent which makes it ideal for insulating drafty window. It also works to produce a spatial effect that adapts to natural light conditions, the time of day and specific weather conditions.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and sometimes these necessities lead to very interesting design. A case in point is Nick Rebeck’s Decorated Shade. Rebeck, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan Architecture programme, needed an inexpensive window covering for his flat.
The Decorated Shade is made using repurposed vinyl billboard fabric. Rebeck explains that billboards are a ubiquitous part of the built environment that generate around 10 000 tons of fabric waste in the USA every year. Since its not economically feasible to recycle the PVC-polyester composite fabric, the majority goes to waste.
Using the available colour blocks from a single billboard, Rebeck assembled his first Decorated Shade but later uses different swatches for various, custom-made designs. The materials are semi-translucent which makes it ideal for insulating drafty window. It also works to produce a spatial effect that adapts to natural light conditions, the time of day and specific weather conditions.
