84000 ID Special Project Spring 2021: Closed loop object making in a community context
Styrene coffee cup lids
Shredded styrene
Pelletised styrene
Robotic 3D Printing of recycled material
Project Leader Berto Pandolfo
The way objects are made, used and discarded is under significant pressure due to the rampant efficiency of industrial production processes. Large quantities of objects are made from virgin material, transported over vast distances, used for short periods of time and finally, without proper end-of-life solutions, discarded into waste streams. A closed loop approach may provide a possible solution to the waste problem inherent in current systems of object making. Furthermore, embedding this approach into a context defined by a particular community may provide a way for objects to adopt different and more positive meanings. This project explores object making in a close loop way and explores, material sourcing, material transformation and specific end-use application within, and for, a defined community context.
This elective will require students to develop designs destined for use in the UTS library. Design solutions will be explored and developed and then realised using the process of robotic printing. Materials for the objects will be sourced locally by adopting an urban mining approach.
Key activities:
User research
Material research
Material preparation
Conceptual design development and CAD modelling
3D printing file preparation for Robotic 3d printing
Exhibition planning and execution
