Dialogue
From Buckminster Fuller to regenerative agriculture, fashion, artificial intelligence and the beauty of ageing materials, our conversation with Jono Mountfort went well beyond responsible design. It explored curiosity, challenging convention and the influence designers have on the world around us. Asking how we might change the question of how to do less harm to how might we create more good?
A former mechanical engineer and self-described “guitar-playing hippie”, Jono’s path to becoming Creative Director at Autex Acoustics was far from direct. His desire to create change led him from challenging systems from the outside to influencing decisions within them. Through design, his technical knowledge and environmental convictions found a shared purpose. An enduring influence was Cradle to Cradle, which he read during his first year of university. He describes nature’s abundance as an invitation to reconsider how we make things, and what those things give back.
“What’s the right thing to make and what’s the right way to make it?” he asks, describing the thinking behind Autex Acoustics Future Lab.
Natural systems are inherently interconnected. Jono explores what designers can learn from nature's ability to produce, regenerate and sustain life. The materials already in circulation offer somewhere to begin. Waste can be approached as a resource with another purpose waiting to be found.
“We’ve got a lot of stuff in circulation and there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be dealt with. And all of those now, you can see as an opportunity as opposed to a problem.”
In acoustics, the purpose of a material is also deeply human. The ability to hear and be heard is fundamental to sharing knowledge and developing ideas. The decisions made about the materials around us have a direct influence on these everyday experiences.
Jono uses the disposable coffee cup as an example of how easily we can design around immediate needs without considering what might be lost in the process. Convenience solves one problem, but it can create another. This is where he believes designers need to spend more time questioning the brief. Of course, these conversations eventually meet the realities of a project. Budget, availability, client expectations and construction timelines all influence what can be achieved. But Jono doesn't see these constraints as a reason to abandon the original intent. Instead, he suggests looking at the design from another angle.
“It's often more about rearranging the concept than it is about substituting the essence or the ethos of the concept.”
Responsible material choices don't need to come at the expense of good design. In fact, when considered from the beginning, they can make the outcome stronger.
“You shouldn't compromise performance for sustainability.”
Instead of asking how long something will last before it needs replacing, consider how it might continue to be useful as it changes. There is something familiar about this idea in the materials we already love. Timber floorboards that develop marks from years of movement. Linen that softens with every wash. A favourite pair of jeans that becomes better with wear. These things aren't necessarily less valuable because they show their age, instead it's the opposite.
“It's the type of material that wears in versus wears out.”
For Jono, this is where the beauty of ageing materials becomes part of the design conversation. A surface doesn't always need to remain untouched to be considered beautiful. Sometimes the marks, changes and imperfections are what give it character.
“And then the building has some authenticity. It's been lived in.”
Rather than designing spaces that need constant updating, there is an opportunity to create places that become more interesting with time. Materials that can be refreshed, repaired and reused become part of a longer story, rather than something that needs to be replaced when the next trend arrives.
Responsible design doesn't always need to be sold through sustainability; beauty, performance, durability and value are often more compelling reasons to choose a product. The environmental benefits can make an already desirable product even better. Ultimately, the conversation isn't about sustainability. It's about the remarkable opportunity designers have to shape the world, and the responsibility that comes with it.
Photography credit: OLIBEN Media
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