Four tonnes of post-consumer wood, or waste material, make up the façade of the installation entitled "Wood You Believe?" at the Mauro Saviola Group's stand at the Salone del Mobile in Milan.
 

Created in collaboration with the design and innovation studio CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and architect Italo Rota, the installation aims to give strength to the objectives of the circular economy.

The project also features an immersive room that highlights the full potential of digital printing in the realisation of impactful and sustainable bespoke projects that meet the needs of architects and designers.
 

Saviola Group and its commitment to sustainability

The Saviola Group, which celebrates 60 years in business this year, was ahead of its time when, in the 1990s, it converted its production to ecological panels using recycled wood. Its commitment is made visible through this installation that proposes future scenarios in interior design.

"Our production has become a benchmark for design through its advanced technology and quality. The ecological panels are highly versatile, and include 70,000 decors and textures," comments Alessandro Saviola, President of the Saviola Group. "At the core of our products is a commitment to sustainability. Using post-consumer wood avoids cutting down trees; we save ten thousand trees every day through this process."

"The pattern of consumption, use and disposal is one of the main causes of the environmental problems we are facing now," says Carlo Ratti, founding partner of CRA and director of the MIT Senseable City Lab. "Wood You Believe? draws on a huge pool of resources that has always been available to us. With the support of digital technologies, what is waste becomes valuable raw material".

 

Respect for the principles of the circular economy

The installation "Wood You Believe?", which attracted the attention of the many visitors to the exhibition, is a cubic structure in which each façade presents a series of modular claddings, derived from post-consumer wood such as desks, chairs, pallets, fruit boxes, and other wooden objects that have been attached to the walls. The aim is to recall what can be seen in a wood recycling plant. This three-dimensional collage serves to highlight the enormous amount of waste produced by the furniture industry and beyond. By reintegrating everyday objects into our living spaces, design respects the principles of the circular economy to extend their life cycle and functionality.

The interior space of the pavilion reveals Saviola's use of advanced manufacturing technologies in the production of customised panels. Passing through a steel-effect portal, visitors enter an immersive space constructed from over one hundred panels branded 'Ecological Panel'. Composed of 100 per cent recycled wood, these panels are digitally treated and represent the effect of a wide range of finishes that complement different designs. Using artificial intelligence tools, CRA and Rota generated an abstract landscape that emphasises the design potential of the product.