Monmade x Greenleap

Volpe Design along with 9 other members of the GreenLeap cohort by @monmadepgh and @bridgewaycapital . We participated in a 9-month long exploration of sustainability as it applies to product design. This is my submission.

Sustainability has several meanings and applies across the board in design. In the context of this design, and the contemporaneous issues faced we had to work around supply chain dynamics, find renewable resources, explore local manufacturing partners, and source natural finishes. After settling on this basket weave design, exploring the shape, size and purpose this console was born. At Just under 48”x18”x12” the piece locks to the wall with a cleated mounting system, nickel plated door openers, and a natural finish to make the flat-grained bamboo pop off the wall.

In our initial designs we looked at celebrating waste stream models such as sorghum board, wheat board, and other chip boards, unfortunately the supply chain disruptions meant that those panels were unavailable in a consistent way. So, we did a bit more calling around these very large United States and found a distributor of Plyboo, which is bamboo plywood and is a LEED certified product. Given our previous experience with ILFI and the Declare process we found it important to engage in these models of sustainable, and responsible design.

Our local manufacturing partner for this wonderful woodwork is @eisenwood , who accepts the shipment of @plyboo and fabricates this wonderful piece from our drawings right down in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. .