What does sustainability actually mean? In my view, it means looking at the world differently, thinking outside the box. How can something be used in a different way while also adding value? I believe we can and should make the world a better place, without forgetting the word ‘comfortable’. And sometimes, every now and then, accepting that simply ‘liking something’ is good enough.

For me, and certainly for STUDIO &lotte, telling a story is always at the heart of a design. At the same time, I enjoy the challenge of finding the most sustainable way to tell that story. I believe that applying sustainable principles should not come at the expense of other ambitions, wishes or requirements. Sustainable production may sound very beneficial, but it also needs to remain efficient when considering factors such as time and finances. I believe it is important that things are not thrown away prematurely. Throwing things away just because you want to produce something new and sustainable now feels like a waste, not only for the planet, but also for your story.

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly broad and catch-all term. And if we are going to use it that way, I would like to advocate for sustainability as the creation of a closed loop. A loop in which adding new raw materials is no longer necessary. But one in which we also create room for ourselves to develop new forms. Back to the present: we are not there yet. We are in a transition phase. A phase in which we make choices from different perspectives, so that we can learn and work towards a stable, sustainable future.

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The reason I am writing about this is because five years ago I came across a beautiful initiative: material passports. This was the starting point for building a database containing the basic information about materials, giving materials an identity, just like a passport does for people.A material passport contains information that is valuable when materials are reused. This allows you to understand how a material can be given a second life and what possibilities it offers. At the time, I created a travelling exhibition about this for BAMB2020, Buildings As Material Banks. The exhibition demonstrates the principle of material passports and is also part of the Reversible Building Design principle.

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This latter term is still relatively unknown within the philosophy of sustainability, but no less interesting. The aim is to start thinking about alternative future uses for a building from the very beginning of the design process.Imagine designing a school building. From the outset, you could already consider, from a technical and installation perspective, how the building could later function as an apartment complex. Pretty cool, right?Personally, I love this idea so much that I now realise that sustainability goes much further than simply telling a story. It is an ambition, and the story helps to turn that ambition into reality.

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Curious about the BAMB2020 exhibition? Click here.

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Lotte de Jong