Metropolis Digital Optimism Talks logo

Join us every second Tuesday of the month for a dose of optimism with thought-provoking guests who are revolutionizing their fields. Innovators will lead virtual workshops for an hour of discovery, inspiration, and community. Led by editor in chief, Avinash Rajagopal, these workshops will be guided by our audience, where questions are not only welcome but encouraged.

Register Now
natural habitat cold spring home exterior

Metropolis Editors, Natural Habitat, sustainability, sustainable architecture

METROPOLIS Introduces Natural Habitat, a Sustainable Homes Video Series

The series debuts with a tour of a tranquil upstate New York retreat designed with Passive House principles.

Read more
A gray lounge chair by Common Object Studio, a matching planter with a green plant, and a round coffee table with a wooden top, all featuring a textured lattice base.
Un Nido, by Common Object Studio and Mangrove, is a lightweight, open-structure outdoor collection made from concrete using Mangrove’s selective paste intrusion (SPI) 3D-printing process. Built with locally sourced sand aggregate, its fluid, woven shell combines additive manufacturing with craft, creating an intricate, tactile form with zero material waste. COURTESY OF MANGROVE

October 20, 2026

Common Object Studio Is Humanizing Concrete

Designed in collaboration with concrete manufacturer Mangrove, the studio’s Un Nido seating collection uses a leading-edge, low-waste additive process.

By: Adrian Madlener

Established in 2021, Common Object Studio (COS), based in Baltimore and Grand Rapids, Michigan, coheres the industrial and environmental design know-how of Fernando Ramirez and the engineering expertise of Justin Beitzel. Through an established portfolio of material explorations and furnishings, the duo has taken the oft-ascetic field of sustainability to task, treating circular design practices not just as a means of reducing waste but as a way to facilitate human experience.

“We can have a greater impact by engaging in the design process earlier, considering responsible material choices, reimagining manufacturing processes, and [incorporating a] broader set of user needs in order to move ideas into products,” says Ramirez. “Aesthetics don’t have to be compromised. By embracing new materials and ways of making, circular thinking can create new opportunities for beauty, expression, and emotional connection.”

Cue Un Nido, a new seating concept the designers developed with Michigan-based advanced concrete producer Mangrove. Blending craft and additive manufacturing, Mangrove harnessed its proprietary selective paste intrusion (SPI) 3D-printing technique—using a locally sourced sand aggregate—to create a fluid, woven-form shell that challenges the common perception that concrete is always monolithic. The process leaves no material left over, resulting in a light, yet sturdy open-structure chair.

“We were also interested in challenging the common perception of concrete being cold and heavy,” Ramirez adds. The resulting form is more intricate and idiosyncratic, textured and tactile. “The project sits between digital fabrication and the human hand, demonstrating how contemporary manufacturing and craft can work together to create new meaning with familiar materials.” For him and Beitzel, the role of design is not just about problem-solving but also helping people connect with the qualities of materials, gain a more direct understanding of the processes involved, and in turn, forge a better bond with common objects.

Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: [email protected]

Latest