People / Alara Sipahioglu
Alara is a Turkish interdisciplinary designer-engineer, focused on circularity in design based in London. With a background in BEng Design Innovation and Creative Engineering and an MA in Material Futures, Alara combines technical expertise in materials and processes with a distinctive problem-solving mindset. She embraces unconventional methods to create solutions, aiming to challenge standard practices. Her current work focuses on reimagining waste materials and reshaping societal attitudes towards recycling and sustainability. She seeks to push rethinking our relationship with even the most challenging materials. She is teaching at MA Material Futures as a Material Specialist alongside her practice. Her work has been showcased internationally. Some exhibitions include Milan Design Week, London Design Festival, and Dutch Design Week.
A Seat at the Table: Chair 1
Made from discarded metal ceiling panels salvaged from a renovation site in King’s Cross, sand-blasted and then laser-cut into interlocking pieces. These assemble without need for adhesives or mechanical fasteners. Though just 0.5 mm thick, its structure is sturdy, flat-packable, and fully recyclable – transforming a utilitarian material into something new, while retaining subtle traces of its origin.