(Archive) TU/Delft - Unito

Carbon dioxide utilization in design

What can designers do about CO2 already present in the atmosphere? The IPCC predicts we must actively sequester 100 gigatonnes of the greenhouse by the end of the century to meet our 1.5C climate targets.

Unito explores the concept of carbon dioxide utilization, which considers CO2 as a feedstock to produce materials. By using these materials in products, the act of production leads to removal of CO2 from the atmosphere and its storage inside the built environment - an artificial carbon sink.

The Unito concept

Unito is a modular system architecture that can be used to build functional objects which store CO2. It consists of units built from carbon-negative bio-HDPE. Each unit contains 1kg of organic carbon which is derived from 3kg of atmospheric CO2. The units are joined together by a family of connectors to create products.

Unito is designed for longevity. The units are designed to store carbon for hundreds of years, while the assembled objects can be disassembled and reconfigured to address unanticipated user needs. Ultimately, the biopolymer can be recycled or stored in geological sinks.

This speculative concept is meant to spark conversation about a world built from atmospheric CO2 at scale, how designers can address the climate crisis, and the how we might reimagine our built world to double as carbon storage.