DS Smith is providing enough cardboard and plastic sheets to cover three Olympic pools as part of its sponsorship of a new international fabrication festival.
A new international fabrication festival that celebrates design and making, launched by the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment and the Fabrication Laboratory at the University of Westminster, has received a boost thanks to support from leading packaging and plastics strategist, DS Smith.
FAB FEST will be held on 28th June – 2nd July 2016 and will see 60 teams of students from across the world design innovative cardboard pavilions, transforming the exhibition space into a mini ‘Glastonbury-in-the-City’.
DS Smith’s packaging and plastic divisions are providing the materials to make this happen, donating 2,400 sheets of corrugated board and 300 translucent sheets of plastic. Each team will be mentored by an academic or a practising professional from the field of architecture or the built environment. DS Smith’s recycling division will also ensure that the materials are collected for recycling after the event.
Gareth Jenkins, Managing Director at DS Smith’s UK packaging division, said: “We are extremely excited to be involved in the inaugural FAB FEST. At DS Smith, we innovate every day, in every way. This event is a brilliant way for industry and academia to come together to inspire the next generation of designers who will be driving innovation in the industry in years to come.”
The event will culminate on the Saturday with a day of live entertainment and family friendly activities hosted in the pavilions.
Dr David Scott, the Director of the Fabrication Laboratory at the University of Westminster, concludes: “We are delighted that DS Smith has partnered with us on this new venture and provided our teams with such high quality materials. We can’t wait to see what sorts of wonderful components and architectural installations our teams create through innovative fabrication processes and applying their ingenuity!”
About DS Smith
DS Smith operates in over 36 countries and employs around 26,000 people. Using the combined expertise of our four divisions – Packaging, Recycling, Paper and Plastics – we work with customers to deliver solutions that reduce complexity and deliver results throughout the Supply Cycle. For more information, visit www.dssmith.com.
DS Smith is the UK’s leading supplier of corrugated packaging. Our comprehensive product range includes retail ready packaging, transit cases, consumer units, packs printed for gift and POS applications, and heavy duty packaging for industry. DS Smith’s national network of manufacturing plants service thousands of customers, from multinationals to local businesses.
Using PackRight®, our unique way of working, our highly-skilled people work closely with customers to specify packaging that achieves real results. Typically our customers achieve sales growth, or reductions in cost, waste and carbon at every stage of the Supply Cycle. For more information, visit www.dssmithpackaging.co.uk.
About the University of Westminster’s Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment
The University of Westminster is one of the UK's leading centres for the study of Architecture and the Built Environment, inspiring more than 2,000 students at its teaching base at Marylebone, in central London. The Faculty aims to explore the core subject areas that address the future shape of our cities and encourage the dynamic thinking that makes our courses the envy of others. The undergraduate programmes are based on strong links with industry professions, and our acclaimed postgraduate programmes offer a range of specialised courses underpinned by our strong research base. Learn more at www.westminster.ac.uk/abe
About Fabrication Laboratory Westminster
Located at the University of Westminster’s Marylebone Campus, the cutting-edge Fabrication Laboratory opened in April 2015 putting the University at the leading edge of digital fabrication. The Lab provides an innovative learning environment inspiring and preparing students for the challenges and versatility of digital fabrication in the 21st century. It offers specialist training short courses and support for research and PhD students. As well as traditional metal and wood workshops, the Fabrication Laboratory includes two new purpose-built spaces offering advanced digital making facilities. It is equipped with flexible computer controlled tools covering a wide range of scales, materials and processes. Its wide selection of digital equipment enables a range of design and fabrication processes including laser cutting, ABS and plaster 3D printing, CNC knife cutting, large scale CNC routing, CNC metal milling and robot fabrication. The collection of robots uniquely includes an industrial robot arm running on a five-metre rail across a window visible from Marylebone Road. Learn more at: http://www.westminster.ac.uk/about-us/faculties/architecture/fabrication-laboratory-westminster