Eco Workstation

Design: Studio EG

Based in Oakland, California, Studio EG is a graphic and product design group exclusively dedicated to the use of sustainable materials. A component of its ecowork workstation, a reception desk made out of an aluminium sheet, has been shortlisted by the Design Sense Awards.

Studio EG was founded in 1995 by wife and husband team Gia Giasullo and Erez Steinberg. ‘We wanted to break into the workplace market with a line that would accommodate its needs,’ says Steinberg. ‘The increase of indoor working and the advent of computers had meant that the nature of work and the workplace had changed. So we looked at the waste issues connected to the early 1990s growth of office space and came up with the Ecowork furniture system.’

Studio EG’s system has so far been installed in the MTV headquarters in New York, as well as several dotcom companies on the West Coast. Designed and manufactured by the group, it is distributed nationwide in the US via independent channels. ‘A system is more sustainable than a product because architects and designers can adapt and rearrange it within their design space,’ he says. The system’s modularity allows it to be constantly updated.

‘The Ecowork furniture system is made of four core elements – all are sustainable,’ explains Steinberg. ‘Partitions are made of a compressed recycled newspaper pulp that acts an insulant. The surface is made from agricultural waste, while the legs are recycled cardboard and the surfaces are painted in non-toxic paint. The rubber parts are made of recycled tyres, which are shredded to a powder and then recast.’

But this isn’t niche design, warns Steinberg. ‘We aim for the product to be mainstream rather than a boutique product, with a similar price bracket to most furniture systems,’ he says.