ProjectsBy Kate Griffith

Fifty-three years ago, few could have guessed that a company founded to create yarn for textile flooring in Arco, Italy, would become an international leader in creating sustainable, circular economies. Even fewer may have guessed that organization would become a model for creative partnerships. “At the beginning it was quite a traditional business,” says CEO Giulio Bonazzi, second generation leader of the family-owned Aquafil, a top supplier for commercial and residential carpet manufacturers.

Google is in the business of glass, and we don’t mean Glass of the high-tech optical variety. In its partnership with Building Product Ecosystems, the tech giant is exploring the world of recycled glass, poured concrete, gypsum, wallboard, and the sustainability of its built environments. It’s an inspiring collaboration with two parts: The first is piloting the use of post-consumer glass as a cement replacement in concrete.