NANOxARCH - Recycled Materials x Sustainable Design

Architectural spaces are the largest man-made marks on earth and contribute at least 50% of global energy consumption, however there’s no available solution that enables a building to become environmentally responsible starting from every material it would use. 

We’re dedicated to integrating sustainability principles and circular mindset throughout the full life cycle of architectural spaces in order to turn the role of spaces into a ‘connector’, rather than a divider, that could bring human and the environment closer. 

With our database that consists local suppliers of 1000+ materials/products based on recycled/upcycled materials and eco-friendly new materials in Greater China region, we’re able to provide cost-effective tailored sustainable alternatives to replace those unsustainable options, and has created China’s 1st holistic sustainable solution of ‘Materials-Products-Space-Community’ which provides sustainable materials, products, spatial design and workshops/activities for clients in government and business sectors.

Materials has begun to circulate in different looks ever since the birth of our planet, and ‘waste’ or ‘trash’ is supposed to be one transitioning form of materials. How to make ‘sustainability’ to become the mainstream, rather than a trendy or ‘good’ lifestyle, that even people who don’t care about sustainability at all could also embrace and contribute?

In China, the building industry accounts for over 60% of the total energy consumption, however there’s no available solution that enables a building to be designed in an environmentally responsible way throughout every step of its full life cycle of ‘material-product-space-community’. Meanwhile, not only in China but globally speaking, a large number of cost-effective sustainable materials and manufactured products are not well-known to the market that stopped them from being applied and scaled up.

Moreover, it is estimated that people would spend at least 80% of their life time living and working in various spaces. As the largest man-made divider created on earth that set between human and the environment, could spaces, ‘breathe’ like organisms that interact with both sides so as to become a ‘connector’ to bring them closer?

• We currently serve our holistic solution for clients in government and business sector, especially those who're seeking sustainable interior design service.
• For break-out services included in the holistic solution, i.e., Sustainable Materials Solution (sustainable materials & products tailored supply), Sustainable Product Design and Sustainable Culture Establishment in communities, we're focusing on government and business clients who're seeking to add sustainability into their value or increase their competitiveness.

Database as our 'innovative engine': we build a database that consists local suppliers of 1000+ materials/products based on recycled/upcycled materials and eco-friendly new materials in Greater China region. This database could be built in other regions around the world if needed as our principles is local materials for local use to minimize the logistics carbon emission.

Based on this database, our focus can be divided into 4 parts with respect to 4 layers/dimensions that an architecture spaces consists in its full life cycle: Materials-Products-Spaces-Communities. All the four parts elaborated below can either be offered separately or as a whole to be a holistic solution as each part is highly connected.

1. Sustainable Material Solution: deliver the optimal substitution solution of sustainable materials and products that is tailored to client’s budget and design requirement in a cost-effective one-stop way.

2. Sustainable Product Design: offer all-in-one customised sustainable product design ranging from furniture/installation to daily necessities/fashion items to product packing. A selection of our original designs are also available for clients to choose from.

3. Sustainable Spatial Design: starting from material design that turning local wastes to be merged into the space beautifully, different design modules are incorporated in the design process compared to traditional spatial design, which leads to a 100% sustainable materials built-up space that’s not only gorgeous, multi-functional, educative but also serves as a central sustainability engine that keeps stimulating the sustainable development of the surrounding communities as a whole.

4. Sustainable Culture Establishment: taking upcycle/recycle workshops, sustainability themed events and exhibitions etc. to constantly drive and nurture an established space or a community site to have continuous sustainable vitality.  

• This holistic solution is the 1st known one in China that dedicated to driving the circularity throughout the full life cycle of architectural spaces, starting from materials, to any product enclosed in an interior scenario, from furnishing products to daily necessities even the packing of all of them. 
• Also, once a sustainable space is built up, we don’t see this as an end, but a beginning for sustainability to be inserted into the space’s DNA from day one, therefore, eventually, what we receive is not just an attractive space built 100% out of different types of ‘waste’, but a living and prosperous sustainability hub that spread out in shopping malls, schools, hotels, offices, side of streets that serves not only for improving our life quality purposes, but also an inspiring educational spot for all general public to revise their stereotype impressions on ‘waste’.
• Our innovation is not built as dreams and wishes that hang up in the air but down to earth - we appreciate the innovations that could be applied in various daily scenarios in a cost-effective way and potentially could be scaled up. For example, one criteria how we select materials into database is enough competitiveness in terms of price/quality/appearance/scalability when compared to other traditional unsustainable options. 
• Moreover, as we’re approaching in a holistic way, we’re able to even lower the cost which enables us to offer better alternative services and products that ask for no compromise/sacrifice of budget and other requirement from clients. 

Our current advantages or core competitiveness in a short term is our sustainability database, but this is just based on our pilot stage for now. Of course we would continue iterate and upgrade it based on our needs but we believe that this database, should any company or individual have interest and budget to have one, they could dig out a similar database as well, so this is just a matter of time and money. 

The true advantage we see in ourselves is the capability to create a feasible and cost-effective holistic sustainability solution to turn everything in this database to real products and spaces that truly improve the relationship between human and the environment.

One one hand, our years of accumulated knowledge and observation of the whole sustainable market and potential upcoming trend which allows us move faster and preciser. One the other hand, our team and partnerships that consists of top tier talents/collaborators/suppliers across Greater China with every expertise needed to realise almost any requested sustainability related demands. 

In the future, when we have accumulated enough data through our projects and research, we’d able to create a mapping platform based on blockchain together with a calculation tool that would make it super easy for people to get all the recommended cost-effective sustainable materials/products based on their design, budget and location.

Full time 1, part-time 5, project based 10

Currently in terms of providing a holistic sustainability solution, we have a team of 10 with sustainability expertise in material design, product design, interior design, architecture design, graphic design, intelligence design, planting design, exhibition & event design, waste circular system design, construction, innovative consulting and creative marketing and communications. If for each different sector of the holistic solution, people in the team would vary from 2 to 6.

Myself as the founder and story caller is a social entrepreneur and a curious explorer who is always seeking potential solutions for the interdisciplinary 'X'. I'm most passionate about a more balanced relationship between human and nature, and a more equal and respectful relationship among people.

With a background in material research, and a career background in green building materials consulting and innovation consulting, together with a keen interest in design, the idea of NANOxARCH was born as a curiosity in 2009 in my undergraduate junior year and the exploration official set off in 2011 during my master study in the US as a personal project, and registered it as a company in 2018. 

I've been actively involved in social innovation and sustainability also in my off-work time, and has been selected as 'Homeward Bound' Global female scientist climate change initiative 2019 cohort member, Forbes China 2018 ’30 Under 30', Ashoka Changemakerxchange 2018 Fellow, Harvard SEED Social Innovation Community 2017 Fellow.