download the article to read later
1 sqft of Carbon Tile is equivalent to preventing 30,000 litres of air from being polluted. Carbon Craft Design is on a path to address Climate Change issues through craft and design. To achieve it – they build products by upcycling carbon emissions.
What is the project about?
Among the toxins present in the polluted air, Particulate Matter (PM particles) are the most dangerous. Presently, 9 out of 10 people live in places where air quality exceeds WHO limits. Zooming in towards the causes, it can be found that the building & construction industry is the largest consumer of raw materials and responsible for 39% of total energy-related carbon emissions according to the World Green Building Council.
We are very likely to reach 9 billion of us by 2050. This imposes tremendous dependency on the construction sector to accommodate the increasing population. To sustain, it is important for us to shift towards a circular economy. Conventional building materials are all around us due to their modularity and repeatability. So, we asked ourselves what if we infused this carbon in building material to innovate scalable solutions.
One such material is Tile.
Tiles have been of historical significance in decorative spaces and artistic exhibitions. With the present-day context, we designed Carbon Tiles to use its significance in commercialising environmental solutions. This is at the intersection of Craft, Design and Technology with the sole aim of building scalable solutions.
Carbon emissions are harvested from the factories, and the extracted carbon is converted to the slurry and dry mixes with industrial byproducts and binder. The mix is precisely poured into the mould by our craftsmen and compressed into a tile, later cured and then shipped to our customers.
Every Carbon Tile is handcrafted right from the start. The process begins with Cutting, Shaping, Joining, Filling and lastly, Forming the tile. The whole process consumes only one-fifth the energy consumed by the conventional vitrified tiles while production.
Our design thinking is to communicate Climate Change issues. For us, Tile was a great way to start with. Inspired by the unique identities of the cities and the natural elements that define these cities, we created an exciting new range of flooring patterns.
It is applicable from a living space to a lobby area of an office.
We are on a path to address Climate Change issues through craft and design.
To achieve it – we build products by upcycling carbon emissions.
Project Funded by
This is a self-funded project.
Stakeholders Involved
Carbon Tile is a byproduct of creative perspective and support given by the local community of tile craftsmen in Gujarat.
What is the impact?
Social Impact:
The close association with tile craftsmen has been a key driver in developing Carbon Tile. Hence, we are continuously looking for ways to help them transfer their knowledge to their younger generation and local population by generating employment through the means of Carbon Tile production. We aim to showcase their craftsmanship to a broader audience by empowering the local craftsmen to solve the global problem of Climate Change through upskilling training.
Environmental Impact:
1 sqft of Carbon Tile is equivalent to preventing 30,000 litres of air from being polluted. That is how much a person breathes in a day.
A small tweak in a widely-consumed product can potentially result in a phenomenal global impact, especially in the construction industry. By tweaking one of its elements, the consumers will be able to mitigate air pollution at scale.
What we lack now are conventional & commercial tools to take climate change action. Hence, a simple off-the-shelf, plug&play environment-conscious product for architects (who are the drivers of the construction industry) and end consumers is developed.
Gallery:
Images by Carbon Craft Design | © all rights reserved
Links to read more:
About Carbon Craft Design:
Carbon Craft Design is a Mumbai based design and material innovation startup building architectural and interior products by upcycling carbon emissions. In January 2020, we launched Carbon Tile, the first tile to be made with carbon emissions. We’re into carbon upcycling solutions for architects, businesses and end customers. Addressing Climate Change issues through Craft and Design.
It all started with this question: Is Air Pollution only a Technological Challenge?
It then dawned us that it required an Architectural intervention.
Tejas Sidnal, Founder & Principal Architect of Carbon Craft Design observed that there were methods to capture pollution but the resulting question – what to do with the captured pollution – intrigued him to find a way to upcycle this into a new form. He envisioned an Architectural intervention that it cannot be only through technology but with the help of design & architecture, we can make a collective impact at a visible scale in solving this problem. Since 2016, the company has been designing, prototyping using local craft to figure a way to use carbon emissions as a resource in building material.
