Some of Melbourne’s leading pioneers in sustainable design will take part in an interactive panel discussion that will explore the promising possibilities of recycling, repurposing and reusing material waste typically destined for landfill.

Taking place on Friday 26th August, NEXT X NOW: Waste As A Resource is the latest instalment of the ground-breaking talk series launched in April this year as part of Beulah’s BETA By STH BNK, a revolutionary testing ground to explore the future of retail space, programming and new business models.

The building industry is a significant contributor to the rapidly increasing environmental destruction globally, yet the potential to change the way we think about waste remains untapped. The panel discussion at Hanover House will see Australia’s thought-leaders and industry disruptors in sustainable design take a deep dive into how circular design will shape the future and shift the current retail design framework in novel and inspiring ways.

Hosted by Karen Webster, the event will feature Timothy Moore, director of Sibling Architecture and lecturer of architecture and co-curator of Melbourne Design Week; Blake Witherow, industrial designer & head of engineering at plastic recycling start-up Precious Plastics Melbourne; Claire Ellis, former Attica chef and ceramicist whose work has been exhibited at Paris Design Week and Milan Design Week; and Amanda Morgan, co-founder of Fungi Solutions, which works with brands to develop mycelium solutions.

The discussion will explore waste as material, understanding how we define waste and if that definition needs to change or improve, while exploring the possibilities of retail spaces and waste. Guests will be offered exclusive insights and unique perspectives, as the experts draw on their eclectic combined backgrounds in sustainable design to discuss what the future of retail could look like, and the benefits of integrating waste materials or post-consumer materials in the current retail frameworks.

NEXT X NOW explores the future of retail and takes forward-thinking ideas off the page to look beyond the current way of doing and pave the way forward, rewriting retail design codes for a new generation of consumers. This talk series proposes bold ideas for new forms of dining, wellness and fashion that fall outside current retail limitations.

BETA By STH BNK is designed to give Melburnians a feel for what can be expected as part of Beulah’s $2.7 billion-plus project, STH BNK By Beulah, which will include 25,000sqm of revolutionary retail space.

The one-hour panel discussion from 6pm - 7pm will also offer complimentary admission to the Makers House Open Studio Tour, which runs from 5pm - 6pm prior to the NEXT X NOW event.

For more information, please visit: https://sthbnk.com/event/waste-as-a-resource