Aleyna Gültekin

Aleyna’s sector cares deeply about aesthetics and costs; sustainability is often still a side note. Convincing architecture firms to convert to sustainable material solutions is a challenge: unexplored, eco-friendly materials are often deemed inadequate. The young architect, who is from Turkey and now lives in Spain, is on a mission to change this with an unusual combination: sawdust and a 3D printer. Tiles, building facades, wall panels — all are possible. Mixing sawdust waste with eco-friendly binders creates a sustainable composite material. The 3D printing process means you can customize each design; the flexibility is phenomenal. Aleyna calls her material Serrín-X. Waste to landfill, energy used, waste during production — all are reduced. Her ultimate goal is to provide a solution that inspires others to embrace sustainable practices in their design and manufacturing processes, and “revolutionize” what we use to build.