ForestOne and EGGER collaborated to showcase sustainable building materials at the Melbourne Knowledge Week through IGNITE’s low-carbon concept apartment. The innovative display and workshops helped designers and architects to create an apartment using augmented reality, while sustainable building materials were used to replicate the interior space.

Melbourne Knowledge Week (MKW) is an annual festival, bringing Melburnians together in conversation with the goal of sharing ideas, championing innovation and challenging the status quo. During MKW 2022, the IGNITE project team (consisting of ForestOne, EGGER, Samma Property Group, Schiavello, City of Melbourne, IMERSIAN AR, JG, Alannah Higgins, Living Edge, The University of Melbourne, John Staff, and NBRS Architecture) debuted the low-carbon concept apartment. The speculative apartment gave architects and designers the chance to use augmented reality in a co-designing workshop. Asking how participants would design their own apartment, IGNITE utilised augmented reality to pick up missed design opportunities. ForestOne and EGGER proudly supported the project by supplying sustainable building materials – EGGER Pro Design Flooring, EGGER Worktop, EGGER Eurodekor® and EGGER Eurolight® – all of which combined to help remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Offering a robust, waterproof and stain-resistant surface through EGGER Pro Design Flooring, GreenTec combines functionality and comfort. Completely free of PVC, the wood of Pro Design Flooring GreenTec comes from regional, certified forestry. Additionally, the sound barrier mat is made of recycled cork – manufactured from 69 per cent post-industrial content. At Melbourne Knowledge Week, the chosen flooring décor of Natural Almington Oak perfectly fit together layer by layer, from the hardwearing and water-resistant wear layer, authentic décor layer, to the GreenTec board and the final layer of integrated soundboard cork. Moving through to the joinery, Eurodekor Melamine Faced Particle Board in Feelwood Natural Halifax Oak was used to match with EGGER Eurolight Melamine Faced Panelling for the walls. Finishing off the concept design was the EGGER Worktop in White Carrara Marble, made of 66 per cent recycled content. Offering the considerable sustainability advantages of being low carbon or negative carbon, consisting of recycled content and providing larger than normal joinery sheets (2.8 x 2.07 metres), which can minimise cutting waste, these materials empower designers in contributing to a more sustainable built environment.

As such, EGGER’s range combines an emphasis on style with a respect for the environment, and the IGNITE conceptual low-carbon apartment, crafted entirely from EGGER products, highlighted this focus. Speaking at MKW, John Dalla Via from EGGER explained the company’s sustainability ethos. “One of the big things for EGGER, is our sustainability and circular economy,” he said. “We go at it to do a lot of post-consumer recycling in our products. But also, it’s about the sustainable and ethical sourcing as well. […] the best thing between EGGER and ForestOne […] we can help with the decorative side, but also the sustainability side.”

“EGGER is third party certified across the whole board, so we are one of the world leading designers in the wood products area – getting the latest European trends but with all the latest sustainability in the global market!”

The concept apartment attracted both design students and architecture and design industry insiders. With official tours run by IGNITE and lead architect Derek Huynh of NBRS Architecture on hand, the concept apartment was supported with information appearing on EGGER’s sustainable products. Finishing off MKW, an industry network evening was held with over 200 guests. Derek spoke of how the concept apartment helped architects and designers bridge the gap in conversation when designing. “A big focus of our research is understanding how people currently experience space versus how we design for space,” he said. “We all experience the world in 3D as part of our lived experience. But a lot of the co-design that happens when we design buildings for other people happens in 2D. We think that augmented reality can really bridge that gap and the communication barrier […] and that all can be empowered to contribute to the conversation when designing buildings in the future.”

Utilising EGGER’s low carbon, high-recycled content materials and offering designers the chance to explore the potential of augmented reality, the concept apartment delivered a comprehensive vision of sustainable design and construction. Helping designers think not only about how they design but what they design with, ForestOne and EGGER continue their support for both Melbourne Knowledge Week and innovation and sustainability more broadly.

Authored by Brett Winchester

Credits

Architecture: NBRS Architecture

Build: HYPE WORKSHOP

Branding: SHIFT Partners

Artwork: NBRS Architecture

Photographer: IGNITE Lab