Melt
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
Melt is a collection of three tables and three chairs, designed to inhabit urban spaces and in particular university spaces.
Starting from our experience as students we decided to design this collection for the common areas on campus, areas that are often neglected and in which, instead, such a furniture of this kind could convey a strong message related to the importance but also the beauty of recycled plastic.
Geographical Scope
Project Region
Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Description of the project
Summary
Melt is a collection of three tables and three chairs made of recycled plastic, designed to inhabit urban spaces and in particular university spaces. Starting from our experience as students we decided to design this collection for the common areas within the campus, areas often neglected and in which, instead, such a furniture of this kind could convey a strong message related to the importance but also the beauty of recycled plastic.
The modularity of the system makes it extremely versatile and it is possible to create colorful common areas to bring people together both in a university and urban context.
Key objectives for sustainability
The plastics used for our project are polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE) and polypropylene, among the most common on the market. Thanks to the thermoplastic behavior of PE and PP it is possible to recycle plastics giving them a second life: this is achieved through the heating of their surface and subsequent adhesion of the granules, which generate the typical 'terrazzo' effect.
The machinability of these materials is simple because of the melting temperature relatively low and for the cheapness of the raw material. We believe the use of these material to create outdoor furniture for university areas or urban areas in general could really convey an important message regarding sustainability and the aesthetic quality of this material.
Plastic is always guiltless and it is our job to be aware of how we use it and to find solutions to recycle it and avoid the dangers that it could cause.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The project assumes its greatest aesthetic quality when you have, in the same space, all the pieces that compose it, thanks to the different colors and textures of recycled plastic. However, the collection is extremely versatile: by combining the six elements it is possible, in fact, create spaces that are also very different from each other.
Another strong point is the uniqueness of every piece. Thanks to the different colors of the raw material, every piece of the collection would result different.
Key objectives for inclusion
The social purpose of the project is to covey a message about sustainability to as many people as possible. We thought in the first place about how this collection could have renovated and upgraded our university campus, but we believe that this kind of products would be perfect for urban outdoor spaces. The playfulness of them and the aesthetic quality would make people think about the quality and value recycled plastic can have.
Also the raw material is quite cheap, which makes these kind of products accessible and perfect to be placed in urban areas, public gardens or indeed school and university contexts. Melt should be and could be accessible to everyone, and its modularity and conformation make it a perfect system to be moved and adapted by people according to their needs.
The lightness of the material would result in the products to be extremely accessible for anyone to move, so that people can actively partecipate and create their own environment.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
This project combine all these ideas since it is born thinking of how recycled plastic can be used to create something that doesn't only convey a sustainable and environment- friendly message, but also has an high aesthetic quality.
Every decision in the design process was also made for this collection to be sustainable and accessible for everyone to experience. The modularity of the system allows people to move the pieces and create their own environments, creating engagement and hopefully curiosity around the theme of design solution for recycled plastics.
