Architecture with Responsibility
Our acoustic panels are in the mix for Europe's biggest sustainability competition!
Every year, around 2000 companies and research institutions enter their ecological and social product developments for the German Sustainability Award. Well-known brands such as Dyson, Grohe, Frosch or Siemens are among the award winners. Our innovative acoustic solutions made of sheep's wool have just been nominated for 2022.
This adds the German Sustainability Award Design to a series of awards already won: Raumprobe Materialpreis, Klimahouse Start-UP-Award, Innovation of the Year at Bau München and Detail-Award confirm that with Whisperwool we skilfully combine design aspirations and ecological goals.
"Intelligent Design" as a guiding principle for urgently needed transformations
The central idea of the German Sustainability Award is the development of products or services that are designed from the outset to have positive effects for people and the environment.
Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, jury member and inventor of the Cradle to Cradle concept, coined the term "intelligent design" and supports manufacturers in completely rethinking their products.
"Over 80% of a product's environmental impact is determined by its design, not its subsequent use - the design practically dictates the use."
We cannot achieve environmental protection only by doing without as much as possible. Humans will always need resources, so they will leave a footprint. But this could also be a positive one if we succeed in returning resources to the earth.
Building of the future? Not a vision, but a matter of decision!
The construction industry is one of the most waste-intensive and climate-damaging sectors. But even in this sector of the economy, there are pioneers who are developing and implementing sustainable solutions. There is a lot of talk about the building of the future - mostly in connection with digitalisation. But the question of raw materials is also moving more and more into the mainstream. Wood - an ingenious renewable building material - has just gained the confidence to be used in multi-storey buildings. Hemp and other natural fibres are increasingly being used as insulation materials as a matter of course.
Basically, it has been possible to build ecologically high-quality for a long time.
With Whisperwool, our acoustic panel made of sheep's wool, we are enriching the world of architecture with another sustainable product. Using a patented process, we have succeeded in producing a stable panel from the soft fibres of sheep's wool without losing the positive properties of wool.
Our wool panels are highly effective acoustically and represent the ecological alternative to the well-known room acoustic solutions made of plaster, mineral fibre, metal or plastic.
"Architects and builders can now choose a product with which they show responsibility for our planet." (Horst Philipp, Designer & Product Developer)
Wool alone is not sustainable enough for us!
The choice to rely on a renewable raw material makes sense, because every gram of wool replaces other fabrics whose production is energy-intensive and involves a lot of environmental destruction.
At Whisperwool, however, we go further. Many details have also been considered in production, suppliers and after-use.
For example, all the additives needed are pollutant-free and the panels bind formaldehyde, which is crucial for indoor air quality. Production is waste-free because offcuts are recycled.
Our panels are designed to be easily and cleanly dismantled again. They do not have to be disposed of as construction waste, but can be recycled.
Soon there will also be a 100% biodegradable version. Then we will have achieved our vision: a product that leaves something positive behind after its use.
In this case, the degradable Whisperwool panel will fertilise the soil, because sheep's wool is known to be an excellent supplier of nitrogen.
Link to the competition: https://www.nachhaltigkeitspreis.de/
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