Brown, Grey or Green, New Homes Will be Built

The UK prime minister said providing homes for people must be the ‘top priority’ over nature and the environment as government reforms are set to allow more building on the green belt.

A shake-up of planning rules means councils have been given mandatory targets to deliver a total of 370,000 homes a year in England.

Keir Starmer said local plans to reach targets were the starting point, but that the government would ‘absolutely’ push development through if the plans do not work.

Starmer said he wanted to ‘get the balance right with nature and the environment’ but that ‘a human being wanting to have a house’ has to be top priority.

The prime minister and his deputy Angela Rayner have pledged to build 1.5 million homes and take decisions on 150 major infrastructure projects this parliament.

The updated national planning policy framework commits to a ‘brownfield first’ strategy, with disused sites that have already been developed in the past prioritised for new building.

The default answer when a developer seeks to build on brownfield sites will be ‘yes’ but the government says these sites will not be enough for the number of homes needed.

Councils will therefore also be ordered to review their greenbelt boundaries to meet targets by identifying lower quality ‘grey belt’ land that could be built on.

The framework defines the grey belt for the first time as green belt land that ‘does not strongly contribute to green belt purposes’.

Those purposes include limiting urban sprawl, stopping neighbouring towns merging into each other and preserving the special character of historic towns.

Safeguarding the countryside from encroachment and assisting in urban regeneration are no longer included as green belt purposes.

‘For years, we have had not enough houses being built. That means that individuals and families don’t have the security that they want,’ Sir Keir said during a visit to a construction site in Cambridge.

‘We are determined to break through that, to do what’s necessary.

‘Of course we want to get the balance right with nature and the environment, but if it comes to a human being wanting to have a house for them and their family, that has to be the top priority.

More specific guidance on how local authorities can assess their green belt land is due to come in January.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook gave examples of grey belt sites as ’disused petrol stations, abandoned car parks, but also just low-value scrub land‘, in comments to Times Radio.

Councils are expected to look at releasing higher-quality green belt land for development if they exhaust their supply of brownfield and grey belt.

They can also bring forward higher performing green belt land for development before brownfield and grey belt if they are on ’more sustainable‘ sites, such as around train stations because they promote sustainable transport.

Local authorities will be tasked with drafting plans to meet the targets they have been given and can face consequences if they fail to.

If environmental or infrastructure constraints mean they cannot meet the target, they would need to provide evidence which will then be examined by an independent public inquiry led by a planning inspector acting for the Housing Secretary.

Councils that fail to show plans that can meet targets looking back over the last few years or going forward could also face having a ’presumption in favour of development‘ applied.

Just under one-third of local authorities have adopted a local plan – a document setting out where future homes and infrastructure could be built – within the last five years.

Central Government will also be able to intervene and take over planning if local authorities do not move ahead with making plans.

‘The starting point is local plans, and that’s really important for councils to develop the plan according to the target, taking into account local need and working with developers,’ Starmer said.

‘But are we going to push it through if those plans don’t work? Yes we absolutely are.

‘Are we going to push away the planning rules and make them clearer, as we have done today, get away the blockers that are stopping the houses being built? Yes, we are absolutely intent.’

 

Any development on green belt land must comply with new ‘golden rules’, which require developers to provide infrastructure for local communities, such as nurseries, GP surgeries and transport, as well as a higher level of social and affordable housing.

The government announced £100 million of additional cash for councils, along with 300 additional planning officers, to speed up decision-making processes.

The extra money can be used to hire more staff or consultants and to carry out technical studies and site assessments.

The NPPF reforms are just one element of the government’s plans to rewrite the planning rules to make it easier to build homes and major infrastructure projects.

The forthcoming planning & infrastructure bill is intended to rip up red tape and make it faster for projects to be approved.

 

Source:  A J Bell

/0 Comments/by

Renewable Power to Overtake Fossil Fuel

,

UK low-carbon renewable power is on course for a major milestone in 2024, overtaking fossil fuel generation for the first full year.

That is according to a new report from global energy think tank Ember, which claims wind power is also close to becoming the single largest source of UK power for the first time.

Rising renewables, low demand and cheaper power imports all helped reduce fossil fuel use in the UK power system to record lows, the report claimed.

For the first full year wind, solar and hydropower will generate more electricity than all fossil fuels combined, it said.

The report reviews power generation statistics for the UK across 2024. Earlier this year, the UK saw the closure of its last coal power station.

Ember claims low-carbon renewable sources will reach a record high in 2024, generating 37% of UK electricity (103TWh), overtaking fossil fuels (97TWh, 35%) for the first time.

Just three years ago, in 2021, fossil fuels generated 46% of UK electricity, while low-carbon renewables generated 27%.

Including biomass, renewables overtook fossil fuels for the first time in 2020. However, Ember’s analysis raises concerns about biomass being categorised as clean power in the UK, given the significant emissions risks.

Ember predicts gas power use is set to decrease by 13% (-13 TWh) in 2024 compared to the previous year, displaced by electricity imports and clean power.

Meanwhile, the think tank said wind is well on the way to becoming the largest single source of UK power. Depending on December’s conditions, wind could overtake gas as the UK’s largest source of electricity in 2024, it said. UK wind power is currently forecast to generate 29% of UK electricity in 2024, totalling 82TWh, which is 3TWh less than fossil gas (85TWh, 30%).

Senior energy and climate analyst for the UK at Ember Frankie Mayo said:

“The renewables future is here. This long-awaited milestone is a testament to how much progress the UK has made.

“It’s time to seize the moment, to cut reliance on expensive gas with new renewables, storage, and grid upgrades.

“With the phase-out of coal power completed this year, reducing gas use is the next big opportunity for the country.”

Source: Renews.biz

/0 Comments/by

‘Tinkering’ and ‘Torpedoing’ the Planning System

 

A Conservative shadow housing minister has suggested the Government is “tinkering” with planning decision-making, instead of “getting developers developing and builders building” new homes.

After ministers unveiled proposals to let some developers swerve town hall committees before they build, David Simmonds said the 4% of applications that elected councillors considered themselves were the ones where “the local democratic voice is so relevant”.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said Mr Simmonds’s party had “torpedoed” housing supply when they were in power.

His department set out plans on Monday to give council employees an “enhanced decision-making role” to implement development policies, so some building proposals “could bypass planning committees entirely to tackle chronic uncertainty, unacceptable delays and unnecessary waste of time and resources”.

Mr Pennycook told the Commons the announcement was “explicitly designed to kick-start engagement” ahead of a more formal consultation, and later warned he would “consider all the powers at our disposal” to intervene if local authorities resisted the changes.

Mr Simmonds said the system

“matters because it impacts the look and feel of our communities” and asked: “Given the huge increase in the housing planning permissions granted under the previous government, when does the Government now intend to start work on getting developers developing and builders building, rather than tinkering with a democratic system that’s already delivered more than a million homes with consent in England already?”

He also said during his question that with 96% of planning applications determined by council staff already, “it is that 4% to which the local democratic voice is so relevant”.The Conservative shadow minister urged Mr Pennycook to set out what powers councillors had to call in controversial decisions, or cases where developers had not stuck to their agreed plans.

Mr Pennycook replied:

“It’s quite rich hearing from (Mr Simmonds) crow about planning permissions in the system. We’re experiencing the lowest planning permission and completions in a decade as a result of the party opposite’s changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) made in December 2023 that have torpedoed supply and hit growth across this country.”

He had earlier said the announcement was “just the latest in a series of working papers on planning reform, and it’s explicitly designed to kick-start engagement before we launch a formal Government consultation on a more detailed proposition”.

The minister described three proposals which he said could “streamline local planning decision-making” across England – a national scheme setting out which types of planning applications should be determined by a committee of elected councillors and which by employed officers, new dedicated committees for strategic development “to dedicate energy to the most significant projects”, and mandatory training for elected decision makers.

He said that although just 4% of applications came before councillors’ committees, these represented some of the largest plans and therefore a “substantial portion of total units in the planning process”.

Asked by Conservative MP Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) about Government interventions into local-level decision-making, Mr Pennycook replied:

“We haven’t outlined any proposals in this working paper that relate to call-ins or the takeover of local plans from the centre.

“But he’s absolutely right, ministers already have existing powers to take over a local plan in extremis, it hasn’t been used before.

“We are more than willing to use all the powers at our disposal to ensure we have up-to-date local planning coverage, if there are local authorities out there and I say this very candidly and openly to the House, if there are local authorities out there that resist the changes we are trying to make, that take no steps to put an up-to-date local plan in place, we will consider all the powers at our disposal.”

Source: The Herald

/0 Comments/by

The UK’s Floating Energy Relic

 

Twenty miles off the Yorkshire coast, organized into a vast L-shape in the North Sea, is the U.K.’s biggest offshore gas storage facility.

You can reach it only by helicopter — and not at all when the weather is bad. Its three platforms, each fixed to the seabed, stretch over hundreds of meters and are navigated via narrow walkways. Grates expose the stormy waters below.

This is Rough, managed by the energy giant Centrica, the company which owns British Gas. The rig is four decades old, already running around 15 years beyond its planned sell-by-date. What happens to it next gets to the heart of the U.K.’s sweeping climate ambitions.

The British government has promised to remove gas almost entirely from the British power grid by 2030, swapping in green electricity sources like wind and solar. That means assets like Rough, which have been serving the U.K.’s dirtier energy needs since the days of Margaret Thatcher, have started to resemble relics from a fast-disappearing age — even if its owners spy a chance at rebirth.

“This platform’s served its purpose,” admitted Martin Scargill, managing director of Centrica Storage.

The company reckons it has a solution: A multi-billion pound pivot from gas to hydrogen, shifting from storing a planet-polluting fossil fuel to a source of clean energy.

But their plan is not without controversy among climate experts. And it all hinges on major help from politicians in Westminster.

 

A North Sea safety net

For now, Rough is still where the U.K. tries to stave off the threat each winter of fuel shortages and blackouts.

Called on for emergency supplies when all other energy sources are running short, it is gas stored under the sea at Rough — originating in the U.K., Europe and elsewhere in the world — that keeps the lights on in homes across the country.

“We’ve got a massive sponge underneath the seabed,” explained Scargill. “You can pump it up to enormously high pressures … and the gas will sit there under very high pressure. You can hold an awful lot of gas volume in that rock structure. And it’s a field that’s never been replicated in terms of its ability to store.”

Then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho visited before the U.K.’s election wiped out the Tories. Kwasi Kwarteng, when he was energy secretary, came to see it, too. Current PM Keir Starmer was supposed to chopper in earlier this year — but his plans were scuppered by poor weather.

Starmer, for all his green ambitions, still sees a role for gas in the energy mix. The 2030 plan will keep approximately five percent gas as a reserve in case of crises.

The whole issue has had added urgency since Russia weaponized oil and gas supplies in 2022.

Rough, denied government subsidies by then Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017, wound down to become a distribution hub, with plans to restore storage capacity in an emergency. When Putin delivered that emergency, Kwarteng scrambled to negotiate Rough’s partial reopening and claw back U.K. energy security.

That storage is now at 40 percent. Rough is home to 54 billion cubic feet of gas, equivalent to about six days’ use in the U.K. At its 1990s peak, it stored over 150 billion cubic feet.

 

Source: Polictico

 

/0 Comments/by

Sovini Construction Brings Festive Cheer to Wrenbury Primary School

Sovini Construction, a leading construction company based in Liverpool, is proud to announce its contribution to the local community through its Big Community Christmas initiative.

 

As part of this initiative, The Sovini Group Stakeholder Engagement Team collaborated with Wrenbury Primary School to deliver 150 selection boxes to the school’s children. The boxes were personally delivered by Ryan Jones, Contracts Manager at Sovini Construction.

 

Sovini Construction’s Director, James Flannery said:

 

 “We’re delighted to bring some festive cheer to the children of Wrenbury Primary School. As a company, we’re committed to supporting the communities where we work, and this is just one way we’re doing that. We’re also proud to be delivering much-needed affordable housing to the area with our new development in Nantwich.”

 

Sovini Construction is also currently developing a new affordable housing scheme in Nantwich, Cheshire. This development, located in Wrenbury, is set for completion in June 2025 and will provide 45 much-needed affordable homes to the local community.

 

This gesture is a testament to Sovini Construction’s commitment to giving back to the community and spreading joy during the festive season. By partnering with local schools and organisations, and by delivering high-quality, affordable housing, they aim to make a positive impact on the lives of young people and strengthen their connection with the community.

 

Wrenbury Primary School’s headteacher said:

 

“Thank you for Sovini Construction’s gift of selection boxes for the children this year. These will be handed out to them by Father Christmas and I am sure they will bring a little extra joy to their Christmas. We thank The Sovini Group for this donation and look forward to their continued support and investment in their local community. “

 

/0 Comments/by

‘Unblocking the Clogged-up’ Planning System

The UK government will deliver a ‘sweeping overhaul’ of council planning committees aimed at ‘unblocking the clogged-up’ system, Angela Rayner is expected to announce.

Reforms proposed by the deputy prime minister would see planning applications which meet local development plan requirements bypass council committees.

This would be aimed at ending delays to new homes, cutting the time and resources spent on individual schemes and providing more certainty to housebuilders.

Rayner, who is also the housing secretary, said:

‘Building more homes and infrastructure across the country means unblocking the clogged-up planning system that serves as a chokehold on growth.

‘The government will deliver a sweeping overhaul of the creaking local planning committee system.

‘Streamlining the approvals process by modernising local planning committees means tackling the chronic uncertainty and damaging delays that act as a drag anchor on building the homes people desperately need.’

The deputy PM said the government was ‘tackling the housing crisis we inherited head-on with bold action’ as it worked towards building 1.5 million homes over five years.

The housebuilding commitment was one of the six ‘milestones’ the prime minister set out in a wide-ranging speech on Thursday, against which the public can measure the government’s performance.

Under Rayner’s proposals, council officials would have a strengthened role in decision-making about planning while the councillors who sit on the committees will get new mandatory training.

Alongside the reforms, the government is this week expected to confirm sweeping changes to the national planning policy framework – the document which sets out national priorities for building – following a consultation.

This is expected to see increased housing targets which will be mandatory for the first time, with the aim of reaching the government’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes this Parliament.

Rayner said:

‘Through our planning & infrastructure bill, alongside new national planning policy Framework and mandatory housing targets, we are taking decisive steps to accelerate building, get spades in the ground and deliver the change communities need.’

The Conservatives said Labour had set a house-building target that the Office for Budget Responsibility ‘has already said they can’t achieve — because of their own budget’.

A Tory spokesman added:

‘Following the Labour Mayor of London’s lead they will almost certainly fail to meet their house-building commitments.

‘These measures are nothing more than a list of empty promises which will do nothing to ensure that Britain has the housing it needs where it needs it.’

Source: A J Bell

 

/0 Comments/by

The Fight to Save London Markets

Mayor must fight to save Billingsgate and Smithfield Markets

 

The London Assembly has called for the Mayor of London to fight the planned closure of Billingsgate and Smithfield Markets.

 

In a letter published today by the Planning and Regeneration Committee, the Mayor was warned that businesses who use the Markets, and the associated social, cultural and economic benefits they bring to the capital, could be permanently lost.

 

Throughout its ongoing investigation into social value in London’s markets and arches, the Committee has heard repeatedly that social and community value are too often not taken into account in planning decisions.

 

The Committee recommends:

 

  • The Mayor of London should urgently seek a meeting with the Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, Chris Hayward, and use it to call for the Corporation to reconsider and reverse this decision.

 

  • If the decision is not reversed, the Mayor should work with partners across London and urgently seek suitable alternative locations for these two iconic London markets. 

 

Chair of the London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee, Andrew Boff AM, said:

 

“Smithfield and Billingsgate markets are London’s oldest markets and are of huge importance not just to the businesses who rely on them, but to London’s rich culture and heritage.

 “The Committee has heard from businesses, industry bodies, and other experts how complex markets are – and how important it is to minimise moving businesses if you do not want to lose them for good.

 “Traders now face an uncertain future, with the closure of the markets compounded by the cancellation of the proposed new site at Dagenham. It is vital that the Mayor plays his part to rescue these markets and protect the value their businesses bring to London.”

/0 Comments/by

Northern Construction Skills Venture

A groundbreaking new partnership that will unlock career pathways in the built environment and develop cutting-edge skills to power the North East economy has been announced.

Education Partnership North East (EPNE) and Northumbria University have unveiled a new partnership that will strengthen links between the two organisations, something that will come to life at the Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy (HICSA), a state-of-the-art facility that will educate, train, and upskill local people in housebuilding, commercial construction, modern methods and green construction techniques, including home retrofit.

In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Ellen Thinnesen OBE, Chief Executive of EPNE, and Professor Andy Long, Vice Chancellor of Northumbria University, the organisations have laid out plans to work together to create a cohesive strategic approach to education and skills, joining up further and higher education systems, and aligning with the priorities of the North East Combined Authority, Skills England and government’s Missions and Industrial Strategy.

In practice, the organisations will collaborate in a range of ways, including providing clear and aligned educational pathways for learners who will have guaranteed progression routes into further and higher education, recognising their hard work, commitment, and achievements.

In addition, Northumbria University and EPNE will also work on a range of projects – delivered in partnership – to highlight outstanding pedagogy, undertake research, and identify international best practice.

One key aspect of the partnership is a collaboration around EPNE’s £20m HICSA, creating a unique regional Technical Centre of Excellence, with Northumbria University supplying on-site graduate researchers and expertise in technologies and innovation.

The aim of the partnership is to ensure there are clear and visible routes for progression for people studying at HICSA, who will benefit from exceptional teaching and facilities, underpinned by this growing partnership.

To mark this milestone occasion, key stakeholders from Homes England, Sunderland City Council, Brims Construction and Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust joined EPNE and Northumbria University at the site of HICSA to provide their support for the partnership.

Ellen Thinnesen OBE, Chief Executive at Education Partnership North East, said:

“We are thrilled to have agreed a partnership with Northumbria University that will ensure every person who studies with us at EPNE has access to a seamless ladder of opportunity to higher level study and employment.

“This partnership will be particularly visible at HICSA, where there is such strong synergy between the outstanding technical study routes we offer and the excellent under and post graduate opportunities that Northumbria University offers.

“As a regional Centre of Excellence, HICSA’s strategic connection with Northumbria University will see the systems of further and higher education brought closer together, supporting the priorities of government, widening opportunities, and enabling growth for the construction industries, now and into the future.”

Located in the heart of one of the UK’s most ambitious regeneration sites – Riverside Sunderland – HICSA will see a former-goods-shed fully restored and renovated, and connected to an aspirational new building that will be large enough to accommodate house height buildings, immersive tech and Business Information Modelling (BIM) suites, technical workshops and classrooms – learning environments that will mirror the challenges of the real world.

Professor Andy Long said:

“HICSA is a magnificent facility and a brilliant place for EPNE and Northumbria University to launch a high-profile and productive new partnership that will support hundreds of young people to realise their potential, as well as delivering for industry and for the region’s economy”.

“I am delighted that this will be one of a number of new collaborative projects we will be working on with EPNE, a partnership that I am certain will go from strength-to-strength in the months and years ahead.”

 

Led by EPNE, built by Sunderland City Council, and originally backed by Homes England and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government– HICSA has been designed to create a multi-provider delivery site with an ecosystem of stakeholders behind its development and model of implementation.

Together partners will provide the skills pipeline for the construction industries and its subsectors.

As a skills gateway, training will include all available funded pathways specifically for the housing and construction industries and will be available from age 14 through to adulthood.

Dedicated programmes have also been designed to attract new and typically underrepresented recruits into the industry.

Opening in 2025, HICSA will bring together a unique partnership which includes Sunderland College and Northumbria University, alongside Gentoo Housing, Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust and Sunderland City Council.

The aim is to develop an eco-system that can take people from the age of 14 into meaningful study and work opportunities, providing them with a route to higher level qualifications at the University.

Working with Gentoo and Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, local students can study towards a specialised construction qualification alongside their GCSEs, supported by Sunderland College.

As well as workshops and training at HICSA, pupils will also experience learning visits to Gentoo construction sites, who will also provide work experience placements.

In the coming years the Academy will be opened to other schools to serve other businesses offering guaranteed apprenticeships.

Source: Sunderland Business Partnership

/0 Comments/by

A Christmas Message from Wernick

Building on the success of last year’s Accommodating Christmas, this year’s campaign tells a touching, multi-generational story of inspiration, career growth, and the enduring connection between family and Wernick’s values.

The video follows a young boy who idolises his father, a dedicated Wernick employee. Captivated by construction and his toy forklift, the child’s passion blossoms during a factory tour. Years later, he follows in his father’s footsteps, beginning an apprenticeship at Wernick and ultimately becoming a senior role. The narrative reaches its emotional peak with the son presenting his father with an unforgettable Christmas gift, symbolising the lasting bonds of family and heritage.

Produced in-house, the video reflects Wernick’s commitment to fostering internal talent. Wernick employees are involved throughout the process, including all acting roles. The young child starring role is played by the son of one of the marketing team.

 

Marketing Manager, Leigh Fennell commented,

“This project highlights our core values—heritage, staff development, and innovation—while delivering a heartfelt holiday message. The team has truly captured the essence of what makes Wernick special.”

 

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE WERNICK WEBSITE

 

/0 Comments/by

Origami Protection for Materials Packaging

VTT launches new origami packaging technology to create sustainable lightweight, durable, and eye-catching alternatives to conventional protective packing materials

 

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, in collaboration with Aalto University and Finnish industrial partners, has developed a new technology for shaping cardboard in a unique continuous process to create reel-to-reel origami-inspired structures for fibre-based packaging materials. The origami folds have the capacity to yield entirely new properties from cardboard. The structures’ light weight and durability provide an excellent and visually appealing alternative to protective packing materials like plastic and expanded polystyrene. The aesthetics of the material have also garnered interest from designers.

 

ESPOO, Finland (December 3rd, 2024) The market for packaging materials continues to expand with the dominance of e-commerce. However, there is also rising concern over the carbon footprint of packaging as well as the composition of materials. For example, global sustainability issues like the potential environmental impact of microplastic pollution mean that demand for new, sustainable packaging solutions continues to rise.

 

Involving 13 different companies, organisations, and universities at various stages, the FOLD and FOLD2 projects are keystones in a quest to renew and expand how cardboard is used as a packaging material. The two-phase project began with designing a machine to fold the origami cardboard, with the next phase of the project set to begin testing other materials. The outcome has been a resounding success, leading to new applications of cardboard to manufacture packaging material that is flexible, durable, versatile, and sustainable.

 

“The technology of FOLD is completely unique in the world. Origami folding transforms cardboard into a flexible, protective, and visually appealing material unlike anything that’s previously been available for industry-wide production. The technology we’ve developed also has the capacity to produce foldable materials from recycled goods,” notes Jarmo Kouko, creator of the FOLD project and Research Team Leader at VTT.

 

Kouko originally drew inspiration for the project while attending a packaging industry conference on various folding techniques. Traditionally, origami is handcrafted, with its intricate and complex folds often taking several hours to construct by hand. This intensive process would usually be a limitation for commercial packaging, but Kouko was inspired by the idea of mechanical folding that could refine materials into protective, lightweight, and visually striking forms.

 

The solution mechanically replicates the hand-folding process, adding the benefit of consistent precision and quality that would be difficult to achieve by hand. Since the technology can be applied to a range of commercially available paperboard grades, it requires no changes in the materials used.

 

“The Japanese Miura origami pattern we’ve chosen is relatively simple, which makes it potentially suitable for folding many other materials. We have investigated the possibilities of developing techniques and models where felt or film made from PET, widely used in plastic packaging, could be shaped in the Miura form. We’ve also performed some preliminary testing for other materials, such as aluminium foil,” Kouko continues.

 

Industry collaboration for swifter commercialisation

 

Eight industrial companies were involved in the FOLD project, participating in both the development and funding. The current phase, known as FOLD2, began in March 2024 with continued support from a consortium of companies. The goal for the future is to expand the technology’s applicable usage to other materials and find partners across Europe for pilot projects, as well as global partners for the commercialisation phase after FOLD2’s completion.

 

“The packaging industry is very interested in FOLD, and close cooperation with various enterprises enables us to move quickly from the innovation phase to practical application. We could see origami cardboard on the market within 3-5 years if the project progresses as planned,” notes Jari Räsänen, R&D Manager at Stora Enso, one of the companies involved in the project.

 

Beautiful material inspires designers

 

In addition to its versatility and environmentally friendly qualities, the FOLD material also inspires designers. Demo packages made from the origami cardboard have already been showcased at the 2023 Design Weeks in Finland and the Netherlands, where the material was met with enthusiasm.

 

For example, in applications for luxury items, such as in the cosmetics industry, the aesthetics of the packaging are an important part of the customer experience. FOLD offers consumers a more premium unboxing experience that is also more environmentally conscious compared to traditionally used solutions like plastic bubble wrap and expanded polystyrene.

 

“Due to its interesting visual appearance and renewable material, origami works well in consumer products,” says Essi Arola from the Nordic skincare and cosmetics company Lumene.

“Folding cardboard opens up completely new possibilities for us when developing fibre-based packaging, for example, for the food industry. With our new Japanese owner, origami folds are a particularly interesting topic,” says Annika Sundell from packaging company Walki Group.

 

The material also sparks new research and practical solutions across multiple disciplines.

 

“This project is a good example of the power of multidisciplinary collaboration. Solving folding-related problems requires not only an understanding of the ideal geometric structures of mathematics but also knowledge of materials and modelling through design and engineering sciences. Unprejudiced hand-made prototyping has produced numerous new research questions alongside practical applications. In addition to packaging solutions, the project’s results are also suitable for, for example, abrasive products and interior structures,” summarises Kirsi Peltonen, a mathematics lecturer at Aalto University specialising in origami.

 

In addition to VTT and Aalto University, the FOLD project involved Anpap, Business Finland, Elomatic, Lumene, Metsä Board, Mirka, Orfer, Soften, and Stora Enso. The FOLD2 project involves VTT, Aalto University, Anpap, Business Finland, Marja-Suomen Taimituotanto, Mirka, Soften, Stora Enso, and Walki.

/0 Comments/by