/ Minimalist design and sustainable craftsmanship | Urselmann Interior in an interview with WYE

/ Minimalistisches Design und nachhaltiges Handwerk | Urselmann Interior im Interview mit WYE

Our environment affects us as human beings. It influences how we move and feel, our focus or tiredness, and whether we tense or relax. One's home is the most intimate space we've spent more time in than ever in recent years due to a global pandemic. This has sharpened our view of everyday life by making new demands on our home and at the same time giving each individual room more time. In any case, in addition to banana bread baking sessions and wardrobe clearance campaigns, we have developed wishes for changes in our home in order to make the most intimate room that surrounds us even more of a perfect feel-good place for us. It is precisely this redesign and realization of wishes in commercial or private interiors that Urselmann interior makes possible. You are a holistic planning office in which not only do design and craftsmanship go hand in hand for the designers and carpenters, but the cradle-to-cradle principle also plays a decisive role in the implementation of their projects. In an interview, they tell us how they manage to implement holistic projects under everyday cost pressure and how they stay up to date with sustainable design options:

You have been working as designers and carpenters in the interior design industry for more than 15 years and are absolute pioneers when it comes to integrating sustainability. Do you see an increasing relevance of sustainability in interior design in recent years? Is it becoming more important to consider sustainability in general?

The fact that 60% of all waste is produced by the construction industry shows in itself the relevance of sustainability in the construction industry. So far, the reuse of materials has not been integrated into the design process. In our drafts we avoid the "design error garbage" - our goal is a recyclable interior without compromising on modern aesthetics. The entire interior consists of healthy materials which can be dismantled by type and are permanently recyclable.

Who makes the decision for more sustainability? Customer request or planning suggestion?

Due to our growing position in the market, we are receiving more and more targeted inquiries for recyclable interior design. We're really glad. In "more conventional" projects, however, we always mix in circular materials and products, so there was often clay paint instead of conventional emulsion paint.

How do you manage to implement sustainability despite the high cost and time pressure? Is sustainable planning and design more expensive than conventional materials?

There is one big difference. If we work with conventional materials, they will inevitably become waste due to their inferior quality. Someone then has to pay for the disposal, be it the company, the private individual, the disposal center or the city. These prices are never priced in. High quality materials like the ones we use will always be raw materials for new products. The raw value is retained permanently.

How do you stay up to date with material, planning or construction innovations?

Basically, it is always important to keep your eyes and ears open - not only in the city area but also online. We do a lot of research on various platforms and podcasts, but we are also in close contact with many manufacturers and companies. In addition, we are always happy to work with new materials and simply try them out.

Where do you see the greatest challenge in combining sustainability with design and craftsmanship in projects?

We would like to see more courage from everyone involved, such as builders and craftsmen, to try out new things. In some cases, however, we also have to go back to older craft techniques and leave the "common path".

Which project do you consider a pilot project in which, in your opinion, Cradle to Cradle, design and craftsmanship ideally mesh?

The Circular Office, Dusseldorf.

Our own office, so to speak. All materials and products used are either biodegradable, upcyclable in the technical cycle or building products that have already been used. The joints on the furniture are mechanical to avoid the use of glue. Following the idea of urban mining, all materials used were listed in a material pass and published for future use.

End: What convinced you to integrate a WYE piece into your planning? Is there a product you would like to see in the next WYE collection?

The WYE Design team has the same goal as us; circular facilities. The incredibly exciting material Neolign was created for this and also used for the stools. In addition to the great designs and colors, we have been fans from the very beginning primarily because of the recyclability ;)

In the next collection, we are looking forward, quite unselfishly, to adding wall shelves to our plant kingdom in the office.