Kirei, a provider of innovative acoustic solutions, introduces Air Baffle, a ceiling product inspired by the modern lines of the Nike Air Max shoe, and made from recycled footwear and water bottles.
John Stein, founder of Kirei, and executive vice chairman since Carnegie announced its acquisition of the company in May, believes the pandemic has increased awareness of how sound contributes to a person’s wellbeing in the workplace. “It’s not just about a space that’s loud or quiet, but creating the right environment while reducing distraction and retaining productivity.”
Industrial designer Michael DiTullo created the Air Baffle, drawing from more than two decades of experience creating products for well-known brands like Google, Honda, and not surprisingly, Nike. DiTullo has collaborated with the Kirei team for the past three and a half years to create pieces for commercial environments — a marked change from his work on consumer goods. “I am fascinated with architecture. And the challenge here is to design something that makes a space better,” DiTullo said. “I am giving interior designers a tool, an element for them to play with, and it’s really exciting to see what they do with a product.”
Having more wall or ceiling treatments isn’t necessarily better, and balance is key. “You can actually do too much and muffle the sound, so ideally, there’s a mix of exposed, hard surfaces and acoustic absorption,” Stein said. He explained that by capturing or directing the reflection of sound, an optimal level of acoustic comfort can be achieved. “It becomes this art and science.”
Even with the increased demand for acoustic products designed specifically for the office, Stein noted that in the past, there was resistance to learning about noise mitigation because of the perception that the topic is too complex. With the adoption of hybrid schedules, however, workers from a range of departments are now participating in the design process. “There’s a group of people we’re calling placemakers who aren’t necessarily designers, but office managers and in-house staff responsible for these spaces. At Kirei, we have expanded our definition of who we work with, because so many more people are involved.”
For DiTullo that means giving these specifiers options, and designing pieces that can be utilized above, where there is a blank canvas that is often overlooked. “Introducing these softer, more comfortable materials is important because they are going to break down the sound. And we forget about the ceiling, but it’s an open landscape for acoustic products.”
When he began working on the Air Baffle, DiTullo wanted it to feature the same basic styling and materials of Kirei’s popular O-Baffle, but with a twist. The Air Baffle, like that of the O-Baffle, features an EchoPanel® exterior. Made from over 60% recycled PET, each panel diverts 235 single-use plastic bottles from landfills and waterways.
DiTullo explored the possibility of filling the existing hollow baffle with some kind of material — and recalled his tenure at Nike for inspiration, which significantly influenced the total design of the Air Baffle. Nike Grind began as a grassroots initiative in 1992 to repurpose discarded sneakers. Today it is a global sustainability program that helps transform manufacturing scrap and end-of-life shoes into recycled Nike Grind materials.
“The bottom part of the shoes, the foam and rubber, have been used in flooring, outdoor surfacing for playgrounds, and things like that. They have found many different uses for the traditional Nike Grind materials,” DiTullo said. “The upper part, the leather and textiles, gets shredded and turned into Nike fluff, which never had an external use before.”
The post-consumer fluff is not only ideal for absorbing mid- to low-frequency sounds, it also has a unique look that DiTullo wanted to highlight. “The fluff has a glittery effect, with these little specks of color in there. I think it’s a fun material to show off. And that’s what excites me about the future of sustainable products: turning something we were hiding into something that we are displaying in a really clever way.”
DiTullo returned to the now iconic Nike Air Max as he continued to ideate. Conceptualized by Tinker Hatfield, the original Air Max was released in 1987. The distinctive shoe featured flexible urethane pouches filled with pressurized gas, visible from the exterior.
Similarly, a recycled acrylic window in the shell of the Air Baffle allows users to see the fluff inside. The timing of the Air Baffle launch was serendipitous. It is the 35th anniversary of the Air Max, and to celebrate, Nike recently introduced the Air Max 1 “Blueprint” in North America. This latest model features a grid-like pattern above a blueprint of Hatfield’s original design.
For DiTullo, the Air Baffle represents a full-circle moment. “I have designed a few hundred shoes over the course of my career, so it has been cool to work on this project where I created something from footwear and gave it a new life.”