In this exclusive session, Anurag Bhandari, principal designer of Ek Kalakaar Design Studio, sheds light on the importance of a sustainable and circular design approach in today’s scenario. He opens with a candid observation on the general apathy toward sustainable practices in design. Emphasizing on mindful usage of resources to showcase the art of making the best from the waste, he shows how sustainable designs can also be “cool & trendy.” From pointing out the landfill problems to explaining how Ek Kalakaar tackles waste, this session is a must-watch for sustainable design enthusiasts.
The current rate of overconsumption and resource exploitation far exceeds the Earth’s capacity to regenerate. If every Indian consumed resources like an average American, humanity would need nine more Earths to sustain that level of consumption. Circular design emerges as a necessary alternative to the prevailing linear production-consumption-disposal model.
Designers practice circular design by embedding sustainability across a product’s entire lifecycle: they source materials responsibly, manufacture with minimal waste, enable reuse, repair, and remanufacturing, and ensure the product can be dismantled and absorbed back into a material ecosystem.
Designers must shift from a product mindset to a system mindset by considering the environmental implications of material sourcing, use, and disposal right from the outset.
Anurag narrates a personal trajectory, from salvaging food in the U.S. to working in steel industries in India, revealing firsthand experiences of industrial waste and pollution. Constraints like financial hardship led to experimentation with found and discarded materials, sparking a practice built entirely around waste-led design.
Anurag runs Ek Kalaka Designs, a studio focused on using industrial and post-consumer waste, such as tyres, slag, FRP sheets, plywood scraps, and electronic waste, to create aesthetically compelling and functional furniture and interior spaces.
Architects and designers are encouraged to take a stand, not just by designing sustainably, but by influencing clients’ choices. The speaker emphasizes that good design today must consider repairability, recyclability, and the environmental footprint of materials.
Circular design is not a new concept. India has long practiced versions of it in domestic life, such as repurposing old clothes. What’s needed is a collective and conscious scaling up of these instincts into systemic, creative, and professional practices. Designers must collaborate, innovate, and push back against unsustainable norms. Circularity isn’t a trend; it’s a necessity. Further, only by embedding it into our design ethos can we begin to restore balance to a planet strained to its limits.
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