Future Materials is Here

After extensive research and hard work the directory Future Materials is available to the interiors and built environment industry.

Renae Tapley is quietly but powerfully shifting the conversation around materials in the built environment. Through her platform, Future Materials, she’s creating practical ways for architects, designers and developers to make better decisions, backed by transparency and environmental impact data.

Like many of us working in the interiors and fit-out sectors, Renae recognised the challenge of finding low-impact materials that are both accessible and aligned with the growing demand for circular and regenerative design. The idea for Future Materials came from this gap. It’s a resource designed not just to inform, but to accelerate change. Whether you’re designing a multi-storey commercial building or working on a modest residential project, you can now find design-led, circular and low-carbon products verified through an independent lens.

Her Churchill Fellowship took her to Europe, where she explored how other markets are closing the loop—from manufacturing to reuse. She brought this knowledge home, not just to report on it, but to embed it into practice here in Australia. The Fellowship gave her the time to dig into questions many in the industry only skim the surface of.

Through her work at Foolscap Studio and in her broader advocacy, Renae is reminding the industry that materials are not just passive inputs—they shape emissions, human health and our relationship with place. She’s not interested in grandstanding. She’s focused on shifting systems, sharing knowledge, and helping others do the same.

At CDT, we appreciate this kind of work deeply. It aligns with the conversations we’re having across fit-outs, supply chains, and product stewardship—about how to make low-impact decision-making easier and more habitual. Platforms like Future Materials are helping that happen.

We’re all working towards a future where decisions about materials are just as considered as the spaces they help create. Well done Renae!