Helsinki, Finland
Launching a new era in bathroom design, Woodio and Pentagon Design present Block, a wall-mounted toilet made of wooden chips, incorporating locally sourced aspen and offcuts from the Finnish forest industry.
It is considered the company’s most intricate and complicated product to date, developed over the course of three years.
As Petro Lahtinen, founder of Woodio, claims “there is nothing wrong with ceramic itself, it is the manufacturing process of the ceramics that causes the environmental impact.”
“Typically, industrial ceramics are fired at 1,500 degrees Celsius for at least 12 hours and this heat is produced typically by burning gas, which obviously causes considerable CO2 emissions.”
Block’s production process generates 99 percent fewer emissions than that used to create traditional ceramic sanitaryware.
Although, this does not consider any emissions from material sourcing or disposal, which can have a huge impact on a product’s overall footprint.
The wood composite is created by sawdust and wood shavings and relies on several fossil-based resources, including polyester resin as well as various additives and surface treatments, although the company is planning to use only bio-based resins once it moves to an industrial factory in the next few years.
When Block reaches the end of its life, it can be burned to prevent it from ending up in a landfill.
To conclude, Woodio has produced a whole collection of sanitaryware made of wood composite including wash basins and bathtubs.
Project: Blocks
Designer: Woodio Oy and Pentagon Design
Manufacturer: Woodio Oy