Some time ago we were touring a municipal waste incinerator plant and were presented with cinder, a byproduct the city has problems with disposing of - waste product that cannot be utilised. Even after further thermal processing it is still classified as waste despite the lack of toxic emissions. Our goal is to change its waste certification and use it in a new material.
Our research and trial and error proved to be challenging, especially when trying to rid it of heavy metals and commercialize it.
We created a sample with the addition of titanium oxide at the suggestion of a friend that specializes in sustainability science. TiO2 is an additive that has photocatalytic properties, which allows the reduction of harmful airborne pollutants present around concrete structures. These properties are ever more so relevant due to the increasing amount of gas pollution in our environment due to the growth of the automotive and other industries. Nox, SO2 and other air quality norms are regularly exceeded, which leads to the detriment of the health of the inhabitants of cities and leads to increased cases of breathing and lung issues.
Another material with limited recycling options are discarded computer cases. Landfills overflow with them and at closer inspection their look convinced us there was a use case for their aesthetics. We prepared a sample for a potential elevation material that showcases their variability and visual characteristics.
The recycling and processing of waste is the future. The idea behind the BIEL brand is to reuse ceramic aggregate waste – a notoriously difficult material to recycle – and incorparate it into a new material. This results in many benefits – waste management, CO2 reduction, thermal insulation and structural properties, as well as great aesthetics.
Together with my business partner Grzegorz Piotrowicz we decided at the onset to use GRC technology which has the upside of reducing cement and sand use in concrete. This technology allowed us to reduce the weight of the mixture while substantially increasing strength. All in all we reduced the product’s carbon footprint, lowered production costs, and made transport and assembly easier.
The idea for this product came to us during the construction of a restaurant interior, in which one of the walls was designed as a mosaic consisting of old computer cases.
This assignement pushed us to create a very durable material incorparating waste.
There is a lot of such unwanted and unused waste laying around in production halls. Our goal was to reduce this waste by using it as aggregate in architectural concrete.
In the span of one year we created several implementations – tables for a business called Sensorysie, the Bydło i Powidło restaurant, as well as lamps in the Le Braci restaurant. We presented our work and samples to large enterpises and brands and we are still working on better applications for the use of these materials.
BIEL elements of the brilliant sensoric plant installation of the YOPE Showroom on Mokotowska Street in Warsaw. For this project we designed custom forms (lamp shades and bases) that highlight new products from YOPE.
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design consultations
I offer design consultations. I will advise you on how to create a brief and identify where a brand or venture has untapped potential. I will carry out conceptual supervision of the project implementation.
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Design Concept
Design concept. This is the stage containing the idea of the project. I often use references to culture, art, and some visual and musical phenomena. This procedure helps to embed the project and move in a specific direction. As part of the concept, you will receive a visual map of the project, preliminary spatial sketches, and key words describing the project. To facilitate work on the concept, prepare a design brief that will answer basic questions about the project and facilitate further work.