Why we’re taking the 100R exhibition to London
When we first challenged seven designers to create mono-material design objects using 100 percent post-consumer scrap, the feedback we got from the design community was unprecedented. Now we are bringing the exhibition to the London Design Festival.
The company I work for, Hydro, is a big aluminium company. We’re well known within our industry niche, but honestly: Most people have not heard about us. It’s a type of company with many nerdy engineer-types, like me, who know a lot about the metal and its material properties. It’s definitely not the type of company you’d see getting hype at the Milan Design Week among famous fashion brands. Yet, that’s what happened.
When we first exhibited the 100R design objects in Milan earlier this year, people asked me: “Why is an aluminium company doing this? What are you getting out of it?” My answer is that never have we been able to show off so precisely what we are capable of.
No one is better suited to demonstrate the possibilities of aluminium extrusion than today’s top designers. Collaborating with people like Lars Beller and this exceptional group of creators — who push boundaries with their uncompromised ideas — showed just how much we can achieve together. When designers, engineers, and material experts unite, real innovation happens. That’s why it’s essential for us to work with designers from the very beginning of the process — innovation and sustainability start at the drawing board.
Mono-material thinking
The only challenge we gave the designers was to embrace mono-material thinking when designing their objects with extruded aluminium. And the results were stunning.
By using smart production techniques, you can see great functionality, rational designs and production processes, and even organic forms, which provide a surprising effect. It was liberating to give the designers full freedom to create virtually anything. And even more so to see our engineers help them realize their ideas, making products that are ready to be mass-produced tomorrow.
Hydro is taking part in the third edition of the Material Matters fair, which promises to be one of the highlights of the London Design Festival 2024, celebrating the importance of materials and their ability to shape society. The London exhibition, which will take place at Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf from September 18 - 21, will re-use the exact same building components used for the Milan exhibition, a reflection of Hydro’s commitment to limiting our environmental impact.
