Isku’s Kivikko seat awarded as the best sustainable product at GESS Education Awards
Highly valued international education award ceremony was held in Dubai, UAE last night.
Isku’s Kivikko seat, designed by Henri Halla-aho, has been awarded as the best sustainable/ecological product in the education sector in GESS Education Awards in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. GESS Education Awards is highly appreciated international award ceremony in the education sector and referred even as the “Oscars” of education sector.
”I am extremely happy and proud that Isku receives the award for the best sustainable and ecological product, as responsibility is part of our company’s DNA. Sustainability is present in the life-cycle of our products from the design to production and the finished product, all the way to our customers”, Arto Tiitinen, CEO at Isku.
In the design of Kivikko, sustainability has been the guiding principle in every phase of the process. The material of the product is sourced entirely from side stream of foam plastic production which would otherwise be wasted. Cutting of the new product is made with minimal waste and leftover pieces are recycled back to the production. The cutting pattern also enables easy packing and transportation of the product, saving space and energy. When the product can no longer be used, the material can be recycled into new products.
“As designers we have a responsibility for what we create. There has to be a solution already in the design process to give back all what we borrow for our creations. We believe this is the future of design everything tangible”, says Henri Halla-aho, the designer of the product.
In addition to environmental sustainability, the product is also socially sustainable. This means that it takes into account all the different situations where it can be used as widely as possible: it is flexible to use in all kinds of learning environments and safe to use.
“Kivikko was designed specifically for learning situation but has been widely used in other kinds of environments as well, like at offices”, says Halla-aho.
Isku exports furniture solutions and learning environment design around the world. Finnish know-how in education is world-renowned and Isku is happy to spread the word about user-centered way of designing schools.
“We design and furnish environments where learning and teaching is a shared joy”, says Elise Tarvainen, Director, Learning at Isku.
More information
Arto Tiitinen, CEO, Isku, tel. +358 400 566 875, [email protected]
Elise Tarvainen, Director, Learning, Isku, +358 50 326 2913, [email protected]
Henri Halla-aho, Designer MoA, Office R100, +358 50 561 34 05, [email protected]
Päivi Piispa, Communications Manager, Isku +358 40 5158835, [email protected]
www.gessawards.com
Isku's Winston Braganca, Elise Tarvainen, Samantha Joy Andrade and Kim Okkola received the GESS Education Award in Dubai.
Tietoa julkaisijasta
Isku is a Finnish family-owned company established by Eino Vikström in 1928 in Lahti, Finland. Its products and services are renowned for their high quality. Isku designs and develops, produces and markets furniture, services and comprehensive interior solutions for homes, schools, offices, healthcare facilities as well as for all public spaces. In Finland, Isku has a number of its own sales and service centres. In addition to the extensive service network in Finland, Isku operates in the Nordics, the Baltics, France, Poland, Russia and the Middle East, and is involved in various projects all around the world. Isku has centralised its production to Lahti, Finland. Isku’s quality, environmental management and safety systems have been certified according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards. Today, all of Isku’s production is PEFC certified. This means that all wood used in the production comes from sustainably and responsibly managed forests and the raw material’s chain of custody is known. www.isku.com
Office R100, Reality based design. Office R100 founded by Henri Halla-aho is a multidisciplinary design community where people together solve projects related to sustainability. We seek sustainable design solutions to implement in furniture, product and spatial design. This way we help our clients to develop and renew their operations and to do good for people and environment. In addition to Office R100 Henri Halla-aho is working as a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Design Lahti.
