News
Green Man Made Advancements
Here are three ingenious and creative food production techniques that have not only been conceptualised but also are starting to be put into practice in the food industry.
Vertical Farming
Vertical farming is often used in kitchens and laboratories to help grow particular foods, herbs and medicines, but this farming style is now being applied to large scale crops as well. Using indoor growing techniques allows for farmers to be in complete control of their crops with humidity, water levels, disease and pests, lights and temperature. Vertical farms created within skyscrapers, warehouses or even stacked, recycled shipping containers allow for less land space to be needed to grow food. Learn more about vertical farming here: http://ow.ly/WXy830osnI1
3D Food Printing
A pioneer in solving the hunger crisis has worked hard to produce printable food ‘cartridges’ that are easily transportable, highly nutritious and will not spoil for 30 years. Anjan Contractor has demonstrated that the much-needed doubling of food production is easily achievable through 3D printing and a change in attitude towards food, read the full story here: http://ow.ly/D0iE30osnsA....
Variety is the Spice of Life
The Sensation Theme
A new range to the Novolam Collection, the Sensation theme has been carefully designed to suit all environments and bring a sophisticated and polished look to interiors. These décors such as Oxyde and Leatherwood show an energetic spirit to offer daring and versatile styles.
The Inspiration Theme
This innovative assortment of exciting and creative designs that showcase the infinite nature of décor pairings and awaken the imagination to limitless possibilities. Incorporating the innovative and adaptable décors from this theme such as Natural Concrete and Nordic Ice allows interiors to showcase endless possibilities and combinations.
The Contemporary Theme
With the world of design forever changi...
Furniture Spot on the Design Radar
Floating TV Wall Units And TV Cabinets
A central component of living room spaces is often the entertainment system which when seen, beckons guests and family alike to enjoy time together in the lounge area. For this reason, the entertainment system in your living room should be both beautifully designed and encompass your personality and the overall feel of your home. Furniture Spot has taken the key elements of clean and modern design to craft a series of stunning and technologically advanced Floating TV Wall Units And TV Cabinets.
Vela Series
The Vela series from Furniture Spot is designed to create a striking statement with clean lines and simplistic design. Each Vela Floating TV Wall Unit is crafted to your colour specifications from their wide selection of decorative finishes to help bring life to your personal interior design style. Vela boasts a sleek design with built-in cabinets for your storage needs and optional LED lights installed to present a more luxurious element to your living room.
Gemini Series
The double mounted frame with contrasting lines an...
Sonae Arauco Cleans Up After Forest Fires
International headlines were made in June 2017 as a perfect storm leading to one of Portugal’s most devastating natural disasters. An unusually hot summer, tinder-dry conditions and a dry thunderstorm sparked a series of forest fires that required firefighting aid from Spain, Italy, Morocco, and France. Four months after these fires were bravely extinguished, another 7900 fires broke out in northern Portugal and Northern Spain, adding to the destruction.
With 99, 000 hectares of natural forests having burnt in the fires during June and October 2017, dozens of small towns and communities were left affected. The town of Oliveria do Hospital lost 97% of their surrounding forest area and have since suffered from the loss.
As sustainable forests and the biosphere are important to the business practices of Sonae Arauco, Sonae Industria, and Sonae, a team came together and formed a plan to bring relief to the once forested areas that surrounded Oliveria do Hospital. On the 30th of March 2019, 180 members of these three companies became a team and brought their families to volunteer their time to our reforestation project. Each member of this team felt a deep desire to help and spent the morning cleaning the area of debris and replanting trees that are indigenous to the area.
At Sonae Arauco, we have a deeply embedded respect for wood and the trees we have sourced our wood from, as this natural and recyclable resource is what enables us to design and develop our beautiful wood-based decorative panels. We feel a sense of responsibility to help plant and maintain the trees we use. Forests help to collect and store massive amounts of carbon dioxide and we understand that forests both farmed and natural are a concern for both our company and the planet.
Our team and their families helped us to plant over 1100 oaks and strawberry trees as well as aid in the natural regeneration of the maritime pine tree. We were also able to help remove the highly invasive eucalyptus trees which had grown out of control in the area over the past ten years.
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Herbs in your Kitchen: Your checklist
What herbs should you have?
There are hundreds of herbs to choose from and deciding what should be added to your windowsill garden can be tricky, particularly if space is limited. Here is a list of 10 herbs you should consider first and why:
● Parsely: Fresh parsley gives food a balanced flavour while aiding in digestion and enhancing smell and flavour.
● Mint: The perfect herb for desserts and drinks, mint is a fast-growing plant that can help calm an upset stomach and give a fresh fragrance to many of your dishes.
● Basil: Basil is one of the most popular herbs for kitchen herb gardens for its flavour and fragrance to almost any cuisine style.
● Rosemary: There’s nothing rosemary ca...
Where do you spend most of your time?
The kitchen, bedroom and bathrooms are the three most lived in spaces. Find out why you should take care when designing these spaces, and especially if you are starting a renovation project, to prioritise these rooms.
Why Aesthetics Matter:
Aesthetics play a major role in kitchens, bedrooms and bathroom design. With each element properly considered, the personality of the rooms and those who live within them can truly be expressed. Interior design can help to create a bedroom which relieves stress, a living area that encourages discussion, and even a kitchen that inspires cooking. Carefully consider what the primary focus and function of each room is and how this should be expressed through its decor.
The Freedom and Rhythm of Design:
The magic of interior design lies in the ability to freely create the ideal environment through free-flowing design known as rhythm. Rhythm provides the flow from the kitchen through to the bedroom, allowing the entire home to tell a story and speak for the people who live inside. Whatever the purpose of the room is, the freedom and rhythm found in each interior design decision needs to be made with care, to effectively speak for the room’s purpose. Repetition, progression, and transition are all vital elements to decor rhythm and should be carefully considered in each design project.
Sonae Arauco is Customer-Centric
How and Why:
We believe in creating products that not only have a positive effect on the environment and in the world of interior design and architecture, but that will also add immense value to the lives of our customers. Our wood-based panels are designed for a modern quality of life, with trendsetting designs that please the eye and brings the imagination to life with what is possible through interior design.
Following the Latest Trends:
Trends come and go by definition, therefore identifying which ones are here to stay can be a tricky task that takes years of experience. At Sonae Arauco, we have taken the initiative to identify these trends for our clients and create the wood-based decorative boards that capture these revolutionary design trends. We have travelled the world to see what is innovative, loved, and sought after in interior design, doing the footwork so our clients don’t have to.
Future Focused:
When we look to the future, we’re not just focus...
How Sonae Arauco Follows the 3 Principles of Sustainability
Dependence on Solar Energy
The first criteria which needs to be followed to meet the three principles of environmental sustainability is a dependence on solar energy. Our primary product is renewable, recyclable wood which requires the power of the sun to grow. Sunlight is one of the three major requirements our trees need to grow before they are cut and transformed into decorative wood-based panels.
A Focus on Biodiversity
The second practice we adopted was a focus on biodiversity, a belief that a balance between maintaining the natural world and running a successful business is possible. As 70% of avian and mammalian life is dependant on forests for their homes, and 1,6 billion people who support their families by working in forestry, we realised a balance between the two is essential. We use recycled wood in our panels to ensure that no more trees are cut down than are necessary. This means that the homes of terrestrial animals are protected for years while allowing our employees to enjoy their livelihoods.
Chemical-Cycling
Chemical cycling is the natural process of certain chemicals such as...
The Full Sonae Arauco Online Experience
The Website:
The recently renovated Sonae Arauco website has been redesigned to offer our visitors a unique place to visit, focusing on an easier navigation process. Our goal with the new web design was to allow designers, architects, kitchen manufacturers and anyone with a passion for quality design to become fully immersed in the possibilities our products provide within a simulated arena.
The App:
The Novolam App was created to allow designers to carry an inspiring range of decors with them at all times. This digital sample book easily applies your favourite finishes to a simulated interior for bathrooms, office space, and kitchens providing thousands of combinations in visual simulations. Free to download for Android and IOS, click here to get the Novolam App on your handheld device now: http://ow.ly/NpFj30nKCFz.
Human Rights Day & Sonae Arauco
The Right to Transparent Brands
Our customers have the right to know who they are purchasing their products and services from. If a brand is open about their practices, processes and what it stands for, then people can choose whether that brand is truly right for them. At Sonae Arauco, we are fully transparent with our customers, and share all our news within the company, our product production processes and what we believe in. Read our vision and mission here: http://ow.ly/pLP330nKzIl.
The Right to Safe & Sustainable Products
We believe that our clients have the fundamental right to know the products they purchase from us are safe to have in their office or home. This is why we have worked very hard to accomplish and maintain our E1 emissions certificate for melamine faced particleboard, which follows European panel regulations. We also believe that people have the right to request products which won’t have a negative impact on the environment, which is why we follow sustainable manufacturing, sourcing, and recycling processes.