Portuguese designer @dansign.pt created a series of handmade postcards from residues generated during wine production. Developed for Will Creative, the postcards combine recycled paper with used filtration plates, grape seeds and wine lees. The studio used them as promotional material at the ProWein wine trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany. The concept refers to the tradition of sending postcards from places visited while travelling. It also links the graphic material to the origins and production of wine through its raw materials and manufacturing process. Read more at MaterialDistrict.com #MaterialInspiration #Materials #WineResidues #RecycledPaper #CircularDesign #PaperDesign #WasteMaterials #GraphicDesign #SustainableMaterials #Upcycling #BiobasedMaterials #PackagingDesign

.@MVRDV has completed the new flagship store for fashion retailer Urban Revivo in Beijing’s Sanlitun district. The 4,120 m² retail project combines contemporary materials with references to the city’s architectural heritage. Key material features include an aluminium façade with a dichroic coating, grey brick finishes and themed interior spaces featuring recycled textiles. Read more at MaterialDistrict.com #MaterialInspiration #Materials #Aluminium #RetailDesign #FacadeDesign #MaterialInnovation #InteriorMaterials #DichroicCoating #RecycledMaterials #Architecture #MVRDV #Beijing

A plant-based leather alternative made primarily from lignin, a natural polymer that is generated as a by-product of the paper industry. Lignify by @lignify_skin / More at MaterialDistrict.com #MaterialoftheDay #Materials #Lignin #LeatherAlternative #WasteBasedMaterials #Fashion #InteriorDesign

Concrete is one of the world’s most widely used construction materials and a major source of carbon emissions. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (@MIT) have developed a computational design framework that improves the material efficiency of 3D printed concrete structures. The framework incorporates the practical limitations of current 3D printing hardware into the design process. As a result, it generates structures that printers can fabricate without extensive manual redesign. Read more at MaterialDistrict.com #MaterialInspiration #Materials #3DPrinting #Concrete #AdditiveManufacturing #DigitalFabrication #Construction #MaterialInnovation #SustainableConstruction #TopologyOptimisation #MIT #Architecture

French architecture practice @jakobmacfarlane has created The Shelter of Peace for the second edition of the @common_shelters1 initiative at Cap de Carteret on the Normandy coast. The installation opened on 26 June 2026 and shows how reclaimed construction materials can become meaningful public architecture. Curator Nadine Gandy invited the architects to design a shelter using exactly 110 reclaimed wooden pallets. Instead of hiding the pallets, the team made them the project’s defining feature. This approach highlights the creative potential of material reuse and gives discarded timber a new purpose. Read more at MaterialDistrict.com #MaterialInspiration #Materials #MaterialInnovation #ReclaimedWood #CircularDesign #MaterialReuse #Architecture #TimberArchitecture #JakobMacFarlane #CommonShelters

A thin alumino-silicate glass for applications requiring a combination of low weight, high optical quality and mechanical strength. Falcon Glass by @agcglasseurope / More at MaterialDistrict.com #MaterialoftheDay #Materials #Glass #Architecture

German cleantech company @paxos.solar has developed the paXos Multi-Energy Roof (MED), a patented glass-and-metal roofing system that combines the functions of a roof covering, photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collection in a single material solution. Instead of mounting solar panels onto a finished roof, the lightweight roof tiles become part of the building envelope itself. This integrated approach reduces material redundancy, supports easier repair and replacement, and creates a uniform architectural appearance. The project received a Green Product Award in the Building Design category. The system comes in both flat roof tile and beaver-tail tile versions. It also includes products for heritage and listed buildings, where conventional solar panels often prove difficult to integrate. Read more at https://materialdistrict.com/article/integrated-glass-and-metal-roof-generates-electricity-and-usable-heat/ #MaterialInspiration #Materials #GlassMetal #RoofingMaterials #BuildingIntegratedPV #SolarRoof #SolarTiles #CircularDesign #SustainableArchitecture #BuildingEnvelope #RenewableEnergy #MaterialInnovation #ArchitecturalMaterials #GreenBuilding

.@zha.arch has collaborated with Spanish large-scale 3D printing company @nagami.design on the ECHO Chair, a furniture collection that combines computational design with additive manufacturing. Developed through research at ZHA Lab, the chair is manufactured using recycled plastic feedstocks and continuous-extrusion 3D printing. According to Nagami, the production process uses recycled plastics recovered from waste streams and converts them into new products for architecture and design. The chair is printed in a single continuous process rather than being assembled from multiple components. Read more at MaterialDistrict.com #MaterialInspiration #Materials #3DPrinting #RecycledPlastics #AdditiveManufacturing #FurnitureDesign #ComputationalDesign #CircularDesign #MaterialInnovation #ProductDesign