Our Materials

(About our materials)

The materials shaping the next generation of architecture aren’t in any local catalogue.

They are being developed and manufactured in Asia — at a speed, scale, and level of innovation that Western distribution networks have not yet caught up with. Todo Écodesign exists at that frontier. We find them, evaluate them, and bring them to the firms and developers who are building what comes next.

Across North America and Europe, the bar is rising. Net-zero mandates, mandatory embodied carbon quantification, ESG reporting requirements, LEED v5, BREEAM, WELL — the frameworks are tightening. The materials that genuinely respond to these requirements are still rare in most markets. Not because they don’t exist. Because nobody has built the relationships to access them yet.

There are two ways materials are being reinvented right now. Our portfolio has both.

One looks backward

Taking what already exists, what industry discards, what nature produces — and transforming it into something that performs better than what it replaced.

The other looks forward

Engineering entirely new material behaviours, surfaces that respond, envelopes that produce, structures that outlast everything before them.

CATEGORY 1
Certifications & Sustainability Performance

For projects that need to prove what they’re worth.

LEED v5 changed the rules globally. Decarbonization is now mandatory at every certification level — not an optional credit. Embodied carbon must be quantified, documented, and reduced. It is no longer a design afterthought. It is a design decision made at the material specification stage.

The materials in this category are selected specifically for their ability to contribute to your certification objectives — LEED, WELL, BREEAM, ZCB, or the local regulatory framework your project operates within. Surfaces and panels with declared recycled content, materials derived from industrial by-products with EPD data, bio-based products with documented biogenic carbon, finishes with VOC emission certifications. Products that don’t just have good environmental intentions — they have the documentation to prove it.

For firms navigating new embodied carbon requirements for the first time. For developers whose investors are asking increasingly specific ESG questions. For institutional projects where certification is a contractual obligation rather than a marketing choice. This is where we are most useful.

CATEGORY 2
Envelope Performance

For projects that make the building work for them.

The building envelope is no longer a passive surface. It can generate energy, regulate temperature without mechanical systems, adapt to light and heat in real time, and outperform everything that came before it in the most demanding climates.

As energy performance targets become legal obligations — across North America, Europe, and increasingly everywhere — these materials are no longer reserved for prestige projects. They are concrete answers to real engineering problems. Insulation panels that achieve R-values no conventional insulation can approach at equivalent thickness. Glazing that controls solar gain without mechanical blinds. Facade systems that generate electricity while fulfilling their architectural function. Materials that self-repair under the stress of freeze-thaw cycling and structural movement.

The firms and developers specifying these technologies now are the ones who will define what high-performance architecture looks like for the next decade.

CATEGORY 3
Distinctive Design & Architectural Statement

For projects where the material is the design.

Some materials don’t justify themselves through a technical datasheet. They justify themselves through what they do to a space — the way they transform an ordinary surface into something you don’t see anywhere else, the way they tell a story a client can repeat, the way they elevate a project beyond what the budget seemed to allow.

This is that category. Surfaces derived from recycled glass, recovered porcelain, or mineral residues with a depth and texture that conventional materials simply cannot replicate. Contemporary terrazzo made from production waste, where each slab is unique by nature. Bio-based panels in bamboo or plant fibre that bring a warmth and organicity the conventional market doesn’t offer. Materials that make clients ask questions — and make project photographs circulate.

Sustainability is present in the background — these materials often carry strong environmental credentials. But that is not the first reason to specify them. The first reason is that they are beautiful in a way the standard catalogue is not.

CATEGORY 4
Premium Quality, Reconsidered Pricing

For projects that refuse to choose between ambition and budget.

There is a real gap between what regional distributors offer and what is available at the global manufacturing level — in quality, in innovation, and in pricing. The major European brands in sintered stone, high-performance glazing, or facade cladding make excellent products. They also price them in a way that puts them out of reach for most projects.

We source directly from manufacturers. No intermediary distributor, no European importer margin, no brand premium. What you receive is the same level of technical and aesthetic quality — with the documentation, certifications, and manufacturing rigour — at factory pricing. For a mid-size commercial project, the difference on material cost alone can be substantial enough to redirect investment toward other elements of the project, or simply to deliver a stronger proposal to your client.

This is not a lower quality at a lower price. It is the same level — accessed differently.

What Sets Our Portfolio Apart

It moves

Our portfolio is not a fixed catalogue. It reflects what we are actively finding — at trade fairs, on factory floors, in conversations with manufacturers working three years ahead of what is commercially available in Western markets. What we were showing six months ago is not what we are showing today.

It’s real

Every material we represent has been evaluated against the technical and environmental standards of Western markets. We don’t speculate. We don’t list products we haven’t seen. If we bring something to the table, it’s because we’ve done the work to know it can perform in your project.

The best way to understand our portfolio is to tell us what you’re building. Every project has a different set of requirements — performance targets, certification ambitions, aesthetic direction, budget reality. Our most useful conversations start there, not with a product list.