We can design better, together

 

This year, we’re celebrating our milestone ten year anniversary by sharing ten lessons we've learned since our inception. For our fifth piece, we’re reflecting on collaborative design, and the power it has in helping us to create more sustainable spaces.

When Goldfinger was founded almost a decade ago, with a mission to use design as a force for good, sustainability was far from prevalent in the luxury interiors industry, and aesthetics and trends were often prioritised over environmental impact. We were determined to make a change. As designers and makers of furniture, we have pushed ourselves to be as sustainable as possible within our field, becoming experts in circular design processes, sustainable wood sourcing and traditional craftsmanship methods. We’ve also used our platform to share our knowledge with our community, passing on our skills to young people through our teaching academy. Yet as a small business, with a single specialism, our impact could only go so far.

Thankfully, in recent years, we have seen a seismic shift throughout the interiors industry, as designers and home-owners across the globe are waking up to the need to protect the environment. We’ve had the privilege of joining forces with partners from diverse disciplines who share our values, resulting in the creation of harmonious, sustainable solutions through the sharing of ideas, skills and resources.

The role of interior designers and architects is crucial - their influence extending far beyond aesthetics, with the potential to shape the future of our built environment by bringing together suppliers who are working with the planet in mind, and specifying sustainable materials. We’re grateful to have worked with like-minded architects and interior designers who are prioritising sustainability and pioneering innovative design solutions, from finding new ways to repurpose waste, to pledging money in support of environmental causes.

Holland Harvey Architects are a practice who have led the way in their longstanding commitment to putting the planet first, having continually orchestrated innovative design collaborations to drive sustainability forward, creating spaces that not only feel good, but do good too.

 

The Tate Modern

Our TATE + Goldfinger bench, photographed outside the Tate Modern, housed in the iconic former Bankside Power Station.

 

Holland Harvey’s latest project to design Tate Modern’s newly-opened riverside café and bar, Corner, was no exception. Circular economy was at the heart of this project, which saw the practice bring together a range of values-led suppliers to showcase sustainable design in one of the country’s most celebrated cultural institutions.

We created a range of bespoke furniture pieces for the project, made from ash trees felled near London to control the spread of ash dieback. Each piece proudly bears the GPS coordinates of where the original trees once stood, celebrating the material’s natural heritage. In giving these beautiful trees a second life as furniture, we saved them from a fate of incineration, sequestered carbon, and reduced the need to cut down our forests.

 

Bespoke tables, benches, and stools, handcrafted by Goldfinger artisans for Tate’s Corner project.

 

Holland Harvey also brought us together with Spared, a Brighton-based business turning waste into beautiful objects, to co-create a set of round tables for the space. The tables, designed by Holland Harvey, feature panels made by Spared from repurposed waste coffee grinds mixed with landfill material, creating a one-of-a-kind, planet-positive aggregate tabletop. Once delivered to our workshop, we completed the tables with steam-bent edges and bases crafted from repurposed felled trees.

"The best design comes from the layering and texturing of ideas, expertise and outside knowledge."

- Richard Holland, Holland Harvey

The café and bar, which is now open to the public, also features bespoke lighting designed by There’s Light, crafted with raw aluminium for ease of recycling.

 

Inhabit Hotels

 

We also collaborated with Holland Harvey on Inhabit, a pair of hotels in West London, creating a range of bespoke furniture pieces for each hotel. Led by Holland Harvey in collaboration with Caitlin Henderson and design agency Culture A, the hotels were designed to benefit the wellbeing of both guests and the planet, filled with natural, locally-sourced materials and objects. Supporting a range of sustainable suppliers, the projects paved the way for exciting collaborative design opportunities.

The second of the two hotels to open, Inhabit Queen’s Gardens, features carpets crafted from recycled plastic, cork flooring, and non-toxic finishes throughout. A bespoke terrazzo fireplace, crafted by Granby Workshop, was made entirely from repurposed waste generated in the building’s retrofit, bringing the legacy of the old Victorian townhouses into a new era.

 

A bespoke terrazzo fireplace, crafted by Granby Workshop, sits in front of the hotel’s reception desk.

 

Working alongside the team at Holland Harvey, we designed a collection of furniture for the hotel’s public spaces, showcasing the beauty of Britain’s timbers. Our partnership continues with the Goldfinger x Inhabit collection available made-to-order as part of our retail collection

 

L-R: Takiyah Daly from Granby Workshop, Richard Holland of Holland Harvey, Goldfinger’s Marie Carlisle, and Anne Rogers from Culture A. Credit: Inhabit Hotels.

 

The sustainability revolution is rapidly reshaping our industry. We are thrilled to be a part of that movement. We can’t wait to continue collaborating with our fellow designers and artisans to create lasting change, working together to create a positive impact on our planet and pave the way for a future that’s designed for everyone.

 

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Author: Goldfinger