22nd May 2019

Alusid: building a more sustainable future

Through the actions of movements like Youth Strike 4 Climate and Extinction Rebellion there has been a monumental shift in the conversation around climate change in the past six months, with more and more of us eager to make greener choices about what we buy and consume. But when building or renovating, this can be a challenge. Alusid is a company already thinking about how a growing world can become more sustainable, making beautiful and 98% recycled architectural surfaces from factory second sinks destined for landfill.

Based in Preston, Alusid is the brainchild of Professor David Binns and Dr Alasdair Bremner, who developed the material during their research at the University of Central Lancashire. Their process takes “problematic” waste materials like low-value recycled glass, ceramic and mineral excess, smashes up and binds it and creates a beautiful architectural material that can be used for interior tiling, cladding, surfaces, sinks, furniture, chess boards – pretty much anything you can think of.

Whereas previously Alusid produced this wonder material by commission, it’s now launching an off-the-peg tile range, available to architects, interior designers and keen DIY-ers alike. Called Sequel, a new range of the material made using the same innovative process. The tiles are available in three stylish shades – Greenwich Green, Shoreditch Blue and Paddington Pink – and three sizes. It’s Alusid’s first commercially available product and will launch at tile specialist Parkside during Clerkenwell Design Week on 21 May.

“As our environment and its resources are so fragile and finite, I feel very strongly that we need to find every way possible to respect them and reduce our reliance on them,” David tells us about his drive to set up Alusid. “While I acknowledge the inevitability of our need to continue advancing and therefore consuming, it is crucial we develop ways that have less impact on our environment.”

This, David explains, is particularly relevant to the building and construction industry, which relies heavily on raw materials that are non-replenishable. By offering architects and designers a genuinely sustainable alternative to natural stone, traditional ceramic surfaces or newer synthetic, polymer-based surfaces, Alusid hopes to reduce landfill, avoid the environmental damage commonly associated with quarrying and the high levels of carbon emissions it takes to lug Carrara marble all the way from Italy, for example. It’s win, win, win.

Sequel Tiles by Alusid in Shoreditch Blue, available at Parkside

The tiles themselves are made by crushing industrial waste from the ceramic industry like sanitary ware, tableware and glaze waste and mixing it with crushed soda-lime glass, water and any colour required. The mixture is packed into handmade wooden moulds, glazed using glazes hand-blended by David, then fired in a furnace at a lower temperature than conventional ceramics require. The unusual combination of ingredients and human involvement at every stage means that each tile has a hand-crafted quality and retains the characterful imperfection of natural stone. No two tiles are quite the same.

“We live increasingly in a world where almost everything is made to be as perfect as possible,” says David. “I love the natural, subtle and beautiful imperfections that occur in our products – derived from using recycled waste as our raw material. We must remind ourselves that Alusid’s products will always have some level of natural imperfection, as they are made from waste that nobody else wants.”

Co-Founder Professor David Binns and Zoe Williamson in Alusid's Preston factory

As well as launching off-the-peg range Sequel, Alusid is still keen to collaborate with architects and designers to bring whatever they can imagine into reality. “This design and testing process is ongoing and offers almost limitless possibilities in terms of finish. So far we have only skimmed the surface in terms of what might be possible,” says David. “We have even considered gravestones!”

We first heard about Alusid after Sabine met the team at Surface Design Show (thanks for the tip off Will Yates-Johnson!), and we’ve been low-level stalking them ever since. First we invited them to exhibit as part of Design Undefined at Clerkenwell Design Week in 2017, an exhibition of designers and brands that were shaking up the norms of our industry. Since then we’ve found every excuse to get them involved, including working with design studio M-L-XL on their Blanco e Nero games table for 2018’s Ready Made Go at Ace Hotel during LDF. Now we’re super-excited to see them take a huge next step with Sequel.

Sequel Tiles by Alusid in Paddington Pink, available at Parkside

Find out more about what we do for Alusid, check out their client page.