Rikako Nagashima translates Kvadrat sustainability timeline into material time
The long-term calendar Irreversible Scale, created by Rikako Nagashima of village® for the textile brand Kvadrat, transforms a climate commitment into a tangible experience.
The project charts Kvadrat’s 16-year path toward net-zero emissions and places environmental accountability at the center of the company’s culture.
The calendar moves beyond basic timekeeping to become a physical register of ambitions that show how climate responsibility unfolds across years, not seasons.
Kvadrat has set measurable targets that extend across its entire value chain. The plan includes a 50 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2026, complete elimination of Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and an increase in circular services revenue to 40 percent by 2035, culminating in net-zero across Scope 1–3 in 2040.
These milestones are represented through the calendar as a long-duration narrative in which each year occupies a material presence. The work proposes a corporate culture in which emissions, resources and time are treated as finite metrics.
Irreversible Scale stores tightly rolled calendars in a left wooden frame until their designated year. When each year begins, its roll moves from the left frame to a right frame where it is hung and used. As rolls disappear from the left frame, Kvadrat’s phased targets—printed on the wood surface behind—slowly come into view.
The changing color palette of the rolls shifts from warm to cooler tones to reflect progress toward the company’s environmental goals. This annual movement forms a slow choreography that emphasizes the one-directional flow of time and material.
Nagashima applies a neutral typographic system that grants the same visual weight to years, months and days. Without traditional emphasis, the digits read as quantities rather than symbols of hierarchy.
Viewers encounter time as material units that accumulate and deplete, enhancing awareness of limited resources and long-term responsibility. The approach offers a different lens for considering planetary timelines, where each day has equal impact.
Material choices reinforce the ecological narrative. Each calendar uses Divina 3 wool, a renewable textile. The fabric is cut in half along the width of the roll to reduce offcuts.
Kvadrat sources only anti-mulesing certified wool and prioritizes local supply networks to limit transport emissions and ensure traceability. These decisions demonstrate how design outcomes can emerge from manufacturing constraints and ethical sourcing.
Irreversible Scale debuted within Kvadrat’s ReThink sustainability initiative, which supports responsible design and new material sensibilities.
Presented during events including Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design, the calendar communicates how climate commitments require long-term planning and transparent milestones.
By assigning physical weight to promises that often remain abstract, the work positions design as a medium for accountability and public awareness.
Photography by Casper Sejersen, with courtesy of v2com
