visual arts

Wool Revolution - Why every Biophilic Designer needs to know about this..

Wool Revolution - Why every Biophilic Designer needs to know about this..

In a laboratory in Manchester, a quiet revolution is brewing that could dramatically reshape the construction industry's environmental impact. LAMDA, a groundbreaking wool insulation panel, promises to challenge the dominance of petrochemical-based building materials while offering a sustainable, health-conscious alternative.

Vicente Orts Mercadillo from Vector Homes and Ruth Marie Mackrodt of Wool Insulation Wales are pioneering a material that does far more than simply keep buildings warm. Their innovation tackles multiple environmental and health challenges simultaneously.

"Construction is responsible for around 40% of global carbon emissions," explains Ruth, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable alternatives. In the UK alone, 9% of the national carbon footprint comes from manufacturing construction materials. The LAMDA panel's credentials are impressive.

Arts in Healthcare and Beyond

Arts in Healthcare and Beyond

Should art in hospitals and elsewhere incorporate biophilia? With the arts quite starved of funding generally incorporating visual arts into healthcare and other environments is a challenge. We speak with Victoria Hume, Director of the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance to find out how the Alliance is helping broker arts into healthcare and beyond through a network of regional “champions”, building on grassroots arts programmes and building bridges to network positive creative solutions to those who need it. Her own background as a musician and arts worker is fascinating in itself, as is her work on delirium which includes composing music that address delirium.