Pavilion Built From Recycled Material Makes North American Debut at Design Miami 2007 WESTMONT, Ill., Nov. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UPM ProFi, a wood/plastic composite that is gaining popularity in Europe as an environmentally attractive "green building" material, will be introduced to North America at Design Miami, December 6-9. UPM ProFi is manufactured from surplus materials, primarily paper and plastic, left over from the production of self-adhesive label stock by UPM Raflatac, the Label Division of UPM. The process residue is sent to UPM ProFi's production facility where it is recycled and moulded into patio decking and corner protector profiles. "The Space of Silence", a pavilion built entirely of UPM ProFi, is the result of a unique partnership of global forest industry leader UPM, renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and Finnish design company Artek. A trailblazer in applying ecological thinking to architectural design, Ban was inspired by ProFi and sketched an exhibition space for Artek that would be built from the new wood/plastic composite. The pavilion was first presented by Artek and UPM in April at Salone Internationale del Mobile in Milan, Italy, then was reassembled for display in Helsinki, Finland. The first appearance of the pavilion in North America will be at Design Miami.
