For the Think Tank section of Renewable Matter #65, we spoke to representatives from the two distinct yet interdependent sides of the world of interior design: on one hand, creativity, design and innovation; on the other, production, industry and the market. We discussed the still limited application of the circular economy in furniture and interior design, sustainability, training and the importance of daring to take risks with Jan Jongert, co-founder of the innovative Superuse Studios in Rotterdam and a pioneer of circular design. With Claudio Feltrin, entrepreneur and former president of FederlegnoArredo, we talked about industrial and market policies, EPR, Italian design and global competition. Below is a preview of the interviews you can read in Renewable Matter #65.
Jan Jongert: Reshaping circular interior design
Jan Jongert is an architect and co-founder of Superuse Studios, the Rotterdam practice he started in 1997, originally as 2012Architecten, with Césare Peeren. The studio coined the term “superuse” to describe its approach to designing with local waste and surplus materials, and published a book on the concept in 2007. Superuse is based at BlueCity, a former tropical swimming pool on the Maas that the studio helped transform into a hub for circular economy pioneers. Jongert is a professor of practice on circularity at TU Delft and curated the Dutch contribution to the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. His work shows how brand and retailers, however, are not yet ready or culturally equipped to fully embrace circularity in interior design. Emanuele Bompan spoke with him while he was in Turin, teaching a masterclass on reuse.
Claudio Feltrin: The difficult art of making furniture
Claudio Feltrin, president of FederlegnoArredo (the Italian Federation of the Woodworking Industries) until October 2026, is at the helm of Arper, the family-run business that produces designer chairs and furniture. Having witnessed the sector evolve over four decades in the industry, he now looks with concern at a world closing in on itself: US tariffs, Chinese competition, spiralling energy costs and plummeting purchasing power. Global mobile markets are becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. For this reason, says Feltrin, whose Venetian entrepreneurial pragmatism remains undimmed, Europe must now defend its market. Roberto Giovannini interviewed him for RM.
DOWLOAD AND READ ISSUE #65 OF RENEWABLE MATTER: INTERIOR
Cover: Claudio Feltrin and Jan Jongert