At the beginning of 2023, Space10, IKEA’s research and design lab, proposed a new solution for limiting carbon emissions. The innovation introduced NFT-based AR trees as an additional element of IKEA’s wooden chair, Froset. The idea behind this project was to incentivise consumers to fix, keep as long as possible and recycle the chair. Thereby, Froset users would extend the lifetime of the furniture, while at the same time capturing carbon for longer periods. Hence, the name of the project: Carbon Banks.
By linking the physical state of the chair with the virtual state of a growing tree attached to this chair, Carbon Banks hoped to create an emotional bond between the people and the furniture, which would ultimately drive people to treat furniture less as disposable durables, but more as living entities requiring our care. How could that be achieved?
Space10 proposed that the new Froset model will come with a unique floral pattern sculpted into the chair. The customer scanning that pattern would mint an NFT seed on a proof-of-stake protocol blockchain (eco-sustainable). With time, the seed would grow into a personalised and uniquely shaped tree with visual effects developed by a creative studio Zünc. Besides existing as an AR overlay, users could interact with their trees in completely virtual environments.
However, the tree would respond to the physical state of the chair, its repairs, resells and exchanges for other furniture, so that its development would be highly dependent on the owner’s care. The longer the furniture is used, the bigger and lusher the tree grows. Buying a second-hand Froset chair could be compensated by the included AR green decoration of customers’ homes. Finally, once the chair is properly recycled it will project a final animation of an all-over flower bloom.
Unfortunately, Space10 closed permanently in mid-2023 and the project never got implemented in IKEA’s portfolio. I believe the idea of linking dead things with ‘living’ entities has great potential as an effort to raise people’s consciousness about the products they use. After all, everything around us is part of one ecosystem, which means that a chair, a laptop or a plastic bottle, requires equally careful utilization to that of a living tree. For some reason, however, most people miss that conclusion. An NFT-powered solution proposed by Space10 makes the connection evident and calling for adequate action. By implementing interactive, captivating, and, most importantly, living artworks, IKEA could transform persistent, environmentally threatening habits into sustainable living practices.
References:
[1] https://space10.com/projects/carbon-banks
[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl3VnOpMPeH/?img_index=1
[3] https://www.ikea.com/global/en/stories/sustainability/space10-190904/
