Sustainable in all aspects

You’re an interior architect with extensive experience. How and when did your interest in sustainability issues begin?

– I’ve always been someone who enjoys being in nature, so it’s been a given to protect it. Before studying interior architecture, I trained as a civil engineer with a focus on sustainable construction. This was right at the beginning when the first eco-villages were being built in Sweden, making it an exciting field. When I transitioned into working as an interior architect, considering natural materials, ensuring high quality, longevity, and reusability have always been important to me.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for interior architects trying to work sustainably within the construction sector?

– There is no common definition of what sustainability means in relation to the work we do as interior architects. Unlike the construction and real estate sectors, which have long had regulations and industry-wide recommendations, such as the National Board of Housing, Building, and Planning’s requirements for climate declarations, there’s a lack of similar guidelines for interiors.

Another major challenge is that we, as interior architects, are often brought in late in the building process. This means that aspects related to the interior aren’t considered during the early planning stages when there’s still room for innovative, proactive, and smart decisions, especially regarding climate and environmental impact. As a result, interior issues tend to be lower on the project agenda. By the time they’re addressed, the parameters are often already set, leaving us with less opportunity to be involved and influence the “bigger” sustainability issues, such as maintenance and the long-term, efficient use of spaces, which are often areas we’re passionate about.

Your company, Indicum, works with a range of clients. Do you find that private and public clients define long-term sustainability differently?

– Everyone defines the concept differently, and in my experience, there’s no clear distinction between private and public clients. We’ve worked with public clients who require a sustainability report, where sustainability goals and CO2 savings are specified. On the other hand, some public clients focus solely on aesthetics and would rather tear out and replace elements if it makes things look “nicer.” The same applies to corporate clients—some are highly innovative and prioritize sustainability, while others take a more short-term view and prioritize different values.

Interior architecture is still often seen as a discipline where aesthetics is the highest value, but those of us working in this field know that it’s far more important for an interior to be of high quality and have longevity so that it doesn’t need to be replaced as soon as the company changes its logo or relocates.

With the new Greenwashing and Green Claims Directive from the EU, I hope it will become easier for everyone to define and describe what sustainability means for each company. Hopefully, it will be simpler to understand what a sustainability policy actually entails when it comes to interior elements.

Indicum is a key initiator of the Vinnova-funded project “Sustainable Interiors (HI)” launched in 2019. What is HI about?

– The “Hållbar Interiör” research project has developed an industry-wide definition of sustainability related to interiors and spaces. Through this project, we’ve created a certification, the HI-label, for interiors, and an app called Hint that helps achieve sustainability and certify spaces. This is the first environmental certification in Sweden that evaluates the entire interior based on defined environmental criteria. The HI-label is new and is aimed at those who want to design with a focus on circular economy and reusing rather than buying new.

“Hållbar Interiör” has been developed by over 30 partners from sectors such as architecture, furniture, and facility management. The certification is based on criteria verified by the research institute RISE, and it aligns with an ISO 14024 Type 1 Environmental Label. Most companies in the industry are currently working in their own ways to achieve sustainability, and “Hållbar Interiör” provides the possibility to follow common guidelines. Additionally, the third-party verification of the HI-label makes sustainability efforts more credible and scientifically grounded.

This fall, HI is launching the digital certification tool Hint. Who will use it, and what will it measure?

– Hint is a digital tool, an app, that simplifies the HI certification process and gives users a clear overview of the environmental criteria and the current status of the space that is to be HI-certified. Hint will mainly be used by private companies or public organizations looking to certify their interiors with the HI-label, but it will also be useful for architects and project managers working professionally with interiors.

The construction industry has long worked with various forms of environmental certification for buildings. Why is it important to also certify and label interiors?

– To claim that a building is sustainable, the interior must also be included in the assessment. It’s not credible if a building with high environmental performance, such as a “Miljöbyggnad Guld” certification, has an interior that has caused significant environmental impact. This could include furniture manufactured in China in factories powered largely by coal-fired electricity, for example. Since interiors also have a substantial environmental impact, they too need to be measurable, reportable, and certifiable.

In Sweden, furniture production is valued at around 23 billion SEK per year, with a quarter of that being office furniture. Office furniture is often used for just a few years before being discarded due to wear and tear or because it has become outdated in design or no longer suits the company’s needs. Office furniture production in Sweden is estimated to contribute more than 150,000 tons of CO2 equivalents per year. In a circular economy where furniture is renovated and repaired for reuse, the climate impact of furniture can be reduced by 30%.

Looking ahead, what do you think will characterize sustainable office interiors in 2040?

– Above all, it will be an interior of high architectural quality, not a fleeting trend but rather one with a timeless character, where social sustainability is considered both in production and maintenance. For example, engaging local craftsmen to build, maintain, and renovate.

However, given the grim forecasts we currently see, I believe the future will increasingly be about survival, where adaptability, willingness to change, and innovation become even more crucial. Office spaces will need to be flexible and easy to adapt to new organizational and functional requirements, whether for larger or smaller groups or entirely new tasks. This will involve everything from general layouts with interchangeable interior materials to furniture that can be used in multiple ways and is easy to repair.

In 2040, I also hope that office spaces will generally be used more efficiently, with more tenants starting to share spaces at different times of the day. I envision it becoming a high-status move for property owners to offer well-designed spaces that can be easily and effectively shared by multiple groups of people.

Interview by Matilda Stannow