2012
author
Katarzyna Kędzior (PL)
title
RE‑DESIGN. A furniture set made of waste materials
degree
B.A. project
e-mail
school
Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław
supervisor
Prof. Wacław Kowalski
This design was made in collaboration with TRACH Recykling, where the designer had a chance to experiment with processing recyclable materials. She used color caps (made of polyethylene), and with the broken down material created tiles with good construction properties, damp resistant, easy to process mechanically, and fit for further processing. The designer has carried out a series of tests, researching the effects of temperature, melting time, and the chemical composition of the tiles on their technical and aesthetic attributes. The color grain from the ground caps that is visible on the surface makes the tiles look similar to terrazzo. This inexpensive material looks surprisingly refined, while the technology allows for many color variants to be made.
The resulting material was used to make table and seat designs. Given the time and effort devoted to developing the new material, the simple form of the furniture suggests that it has been treated more as a presentation of the capabilities than as finished solutions. It seems that the potential of this effective and practical material will provide the designer with opportunities for more fruitful design work, and may turn out to be a “way of life” in these times of crisis.

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