Tangible circularity

Sustainable construction, when it comes to houses as well as furniture, requires creative thinking to find new solutions. Hyllie Terrace in Malmö is a climate-neutral office building, where Swedese has initiated an innovative collaboration with constructors Skanska and furniture designer Louise Hederström. Together we create furniture for the building's atrium from construction waste.

The idea for the project came from designer Louise Hederström and Linus Davidsson at Swedese. Their thoughts about the furniture industry and how to work more with waste and recycled materials led them to find Skanska's Hyllie Terrace in Malmö, an office building with the ambition to be climate neutral in large and small. When contacted, Åsa Johansson who is a project developer at Skanska, was immediately interested.

- Louise is a prominent furniture designer who has long used recycled materials in her design. Her focus is design which also has a functional value for humans. That’s why she is the right designer for this project, explains Linus.

According to Linus Davidsson, the material Louise Hederström has had at her disposal consisted of plywood and wooden joists from the construction, but also discarded materials from the production at Swedese and several other companies in the industry.

- Sustainability is often talked about in vague terms, Åsa Johansson poits out. But for those using Hyllie Terrace, it will be something very tangible. When seated in the atrium, you will be able to see just how wood has been recycled and used again. It is a physical example of sustainability rather than just an intellectual statement.

The result of the collaboration is a completely unique furniture group with tables and bar stools made from only waste material.