Flipping The Script on Material Design

I overheard Jeff Janson, my husband and co-owner of Urban Evolutions, talk about salvaging wood from barns. While he is driving up to a property, he is looking with anticipation at the trees along the road. He knows that 9 times out of 10, the species surrounding that bit of land, perhaps white oak, elm, or pine in our region, is what the farmer would have used to build the barn.   

For a millennium, this is how humans built and adapted things. The structures we inhabit were literally built with the materials “at hand.” It is only in the last century that the structures we inhabit often bear little material connection to our local and regional resources.  A key principle in circular design is to “circulate products and material at their highest value for as long as possible.”  Building with local material and material reuse is at the core of this principal. 

At 25 plus years, building with the materials at hand is simply in our DNA at Urban Evolutions. While this includes local and regional virgin materials, it extends to the salvaging of urban wood and materials from deconstruction.

We believe it is time to step up the challenge to architects, designers, and builders of projects, large and small, to recognize that materials are and always have been a limited resource. 

Our material libraries need to reflect and find inspiration in those limitations. Imagine your library being filled with domestic-made material options, many of which are local and regional, some salvaged, and all verified as low carbon impact and low emissions. Now imagine them with a modern sensibility, highly functional and simple to spec.  

At Urban Evolutions, we believe this material challenge is well within reach and we are committed to doing our part to get us there.   

 “Our process is to flip the script on material aesthetics,” said Robin Janson, creative director and co-owner of Urban Evolutions. “Rather than designing the look of a building and then hunting far and wide for materials that meet that aesthetic, we start with identifying the materials “at hand” and let them shape the building’s look and feel.”

Recently, when Gensler came to us with a product need for LinkedIn’s Omaha office design, we were able to put this strategy into action.

Our product development team tapped into our urban wood program, which finds a second life for felled trees collected by municipalities. (Read more about the beauty and impact of urban wood.) 

From rescued ash trees, we were able to supply beautiful, live sawn veneer panels, floor, treads and tables.

Our job, for the past 25 years, has been to deliver overlooked, underutilized, and at times, unruly materials, in a way that is beautiful, durable and straight-forward to work with for architects, designers and contractors. Listen to Jeff Janson tell our company’s origin story.

Our brand and design partners are happy to celebrate the character and unique qualities of these sustainable or underutilized materials, because they understand the story and connection that they provide.    

Learn more about UE Live Sawn, our latest collection of sustainable materials.

We look forward to working with our current customers as build new relationships in the future. If you are interested in learning more about Urban Evolutions, contact us today.

© Jason O’Rear