The true cost of making

During the 2025 London Design Festival, TP Bennett staged an exhibition as part of the Material Matters fair in the iconic 1960s building, Space House. In the Making 2.0, curated in partnership with Future Works, set out to highlight the role of materials in low carbon design by spotlighting some of the company’s addressing the environmental impact of manufacturing. It’s a vital conversation when the built environment is responsible for around 39% of global energy-related CO₂ emissions, as well as impacting land through resource extraction and biodiversity loss. The industry also impacts water through intensive use and contamination. The contributions were a carefully curated selection of suppliers committed to safeguarding these natural resources and working to change how materials are typically sourced, processed and maintained. 

Material Matters is one of the standout events of LDF and has grown into a high-profile platform for exploring material intelligence and innovation across design. Unlike a typical design fair, with its focus on stylistic trends or aesthetic choices, the exhibition was a thoughtful provocation to the industry. It invited visitors to discover fresh ideas and reflect on the true cost of what we create, from raw material extraction to manufacturing, installation and maintenance. 

In the Making 2.0 drew on the original environmentalist framework of the 1960s by structuring the exhibition around three elemental zones: land, water and atmosphere. Under the theme of ‘atmosphere’, the show highlighted AkzoNobel’s sustainable coatings, Tarkett, who turn secondary materials into new flooring solutions, and Impact Acoustic, who use low-impact recycled, circular and natural materials. ‘Water’ emphasised Alusid’s reuse and transformation of tiles and surfaces, Kvadrat’s leadership in textile innovation and products by zero-waste company, Andreu World, who specialise in seating and tables that follow circular economy principles. ‘Land’ included the work of Domus architectural surfaces, Arper’s furniture systems and Modus, advocates of low-impact furniture manufacturing. 

New ways of designing buildings rely on new ways of making. Helping architects and designers make materials choices that mitigate harm to the planet’s ecosystems and promote regenerative practices, from avoiding raw material extraction to eliminating harmful adhesives and enabling repair is vital. Taking these conversations beyond the exhibition hall, the show was supported by a lively talks programme in an adjacent space, with guest panellists from charities dedicated to the protection of each element reinforcing the importance of this thinking. 

All the suppliers featured in the exhibition are also part of AD Lib, a sustainability tool developed by TP Bennett to embed sustainable practices into the heart of design. AD Lib is a digital materials and product library that captures the detailed carbon data of materials and logs the social responsibility aspects of the product and specification market. It’s about making choices easier.