Practice: Sustainable Retail Fit-outs
„Sustainable is the new normal" was the motto of a special exhibition by the German Sustainable Building Council at the Bau 2019 trade fair in Munich. Sustainability and environmental protection have become omnipresent in wider society too. In Germany alone some 30,000 young people participated in the Fridays for Future demonstrations organised in February 2019 by school and university students advocating for greater climate protections (A); the red carpet on which stars sauntered at Berlin's International Film Festival was made of 1.6 tonnes of recycled ocean trash; and fashion magazine Vogue dedicated its entire March issue to sustainable fashion. As social awareness grows, so too does political pressure. Given the way low-energy houses became the standard in the construction industry within a short period of time, and before the EU directive came into force, legislative changes and state-subsidized financial incentives to reduce CO₂ emissions are also a conceivable option for interior fit-outs in the foreseeable future. Since 2018 the DGNB certifies interior spaces in an important step towards "planning, engaging in and using the built environment for the benefit of all so that future generations don't suffer as a result". "There is a time for everything," Philippe Starck stated at the Next Design Perspectives Conference, which was held for the first time in Milan in October 2018. He scrutinised his previous work with regard to saving and preservation of life: "It's not right to speak about a side table while people in other parts of the world are dying of thirst or are being deprived of their livelihoods due to environmental disasters." At the moment the French star designer is working on the interior design of the first commercial space station (B).
