006 - Materials Matter

In this episode of But Why? A Design Podcast, Eugene and Stirling are joined by Renae Tapley, Studio Director of Foolscap Perth Studio and founder of Future Materials. Renae shares the thinking behind Future Materials, a self-initiated platform built to promote low-carbon, circular and bio-based materials for the built environment. Our conversation touches on industry’s reliance on newness, questions the value we overlook in what already exists, and highlights the role designers play in influencing supply chains, behaviours and long-term outcomes.This episode is a reminder that specifiers hold power in specification and every decision carries consequences. It also opens up a different way of thinking about buildings - as banks of future value. The conversation explores:* The idea of a ‘materials narrative’ and designing with context, locality and story.* Resource recovery over demolition and reframing ‘waste’ as value.* Barriers to change including cost, risk, regulation and industry inertia.* Tensions between certification systems, storytelling and genuine impact.* Designing for disassembly and the importance of construction methodology.* Buildings as material banks, including material passports and digital twins.* The importance of shifting from extraction to participation with the natural world.We hope you enjoy.Keep questioning, keep exploring, and most importantly… keep asking, But Why?Keen to Support Us?But Why? A Design Podcast is proudly an independent self-funded publication. By subscribing, you signify our content is valuable and it gives us reason to keep creating.If you are feeling generous, you can make a pledge, but if you would rather just buy us a coffee, we would love that too! Shout us a coffee through the below link:Show LinksFuture MaterialsFoolscap StudioLiving Building ChallengeGreen Building CouncilProduced by us.Music by Jessica Hooks. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.butwhyadesignpodcast.com