Designing with composite material waste

Conceptual prototypes demonstrating the possibilities of reusing composite material in new applications.

This project is now archived and was part of DDW23

This project is part of
The Language of Sustainability

Lamp post made from reused composite material

Karel Brans

The difficulty with recycling composite materials is expected to result in millions of tons of waste. Three graduate students from the TU Delft explored the possibility of reusing these composites in new applications to preserve the value embedded in the material and developed a design approach.

Recapturing value through design

Since there is much uncertainty around designing with reused composites, in compliance with the circular economy, little to no value of the material is recovered. This is in stark contrast to the original value of the material. Therefore, three projects from the TU Delft, not only aim to reuse composite material in order to retain this value embedded and minimise the extraction of new and finite resources, but also propose a design approach to achieve this. This approach has been labelled: Recapturing value through design. This approach starts with an exploration of the source of the material, identifying the types and quantities. Then, with the material as a starting point the designer develops an understanding of the material value through its character and processing possibilities after which the value is captured within an application that suits the intended vision. Three different conceptual prototypes (a lamp post, bus shelter and bridge) are the first result of this approach. They function both as an example of the method and a stimulus to act on the importance of circularity, also with regards to composite material, and will be showcased at the Dutch Design Week.