London Design Fair: tackling plastic head-on

For Material of the Year 2018, London Design Fair has chosen to showcase and celebrate the work of designers who are tackling the problem of plastic head on. The exhibition will feature four design studios that specialise in reimagining and reforming plastic to create new products and, in doing so, reduce or reverse its negative environmental impact. 

Louise and Madeleine Thilly founded their Brighton-based studio – Weez & Merl – with one, albeit massive, goal in mind: to cut down on the huge amount of plastic ending up at landfill. Specialising in the plastic most commonly found in carrier bags and bubble wrap (Low-Density Polyethylene – LDPE), the studio has developed a clever method of melting and reforming the plastic to create a marble-effect surface material that can be formed into objects for the home. So far, they’ve done a pretty spectacular job. In the the three years since founding the studio, Louise and Madelaine have recycled over a tonne of plastic. 

Born in Kagoshima, Japan and now based in Tokyo, Kodai Iwamoto is a product designer with an interest in exploring the junction between traditional craft processes and mass-produced materials. By bringing the methods of glassblowing to the kind of cheap PVC pipes generally used in plumbing, Iwamoto produces a range of vessels, which can vary in form depending on the shape of the wooden mould, the air pressure applied and the speed at which the pipe surface is heated. The result is a collection of beautiful handmade objects that give new life to mass-produced plastics.

A recent graduate from Central Saint Martins’ MA Material Futures, Charlotte Kidger is a material designer seeking to develop ways of reevaluating and reengineering waste substances to create new sustainable materials. She is currently investigating the possibilities of polyurethane foam dust – a waste plastic from CNC fabrication processes – which can be cold-cast to create a versatile composite that can form the base material for 3D sculptural and functional objects. Having created a range of colourful pots and vessels from the composite, she is in the process of upscaling the technique to create a table to exhibit at London Design Fair.

Since his time studying at Design Academy Eindhoven, Dutch designer Dirk Vander Kooij has been exploring ways of creating 3D-printed furniture and other interior items made with reclaimed synthetic. Using a machine extruder of his own design, he transforms polycarbonate objects such as CDs and chocolate moulds into ribbons of molten plastic that can then be layered and shaped to create uniquely textured products, reinventing plastic as something durable and precious.