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Rafael El Baz
Rafael El Baz
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Major project:
GoodWaste
GoodWaste is a collaboration between Rafael El Baz, Ewan Alston and Ambra Dentella. Park Royal is London’s largest industrial site and disposes of an abundant and diverse selection of industrial raw material. The majority of manufacturers currently pay for material waste removal at the rate of approximately £250 per skip.Â
This project questions how this ‘waste’ can be utilised to design, develop and implement a new environmentally and socially sustainable manufacturing model, which will feed back into the local community. GoodWaste proposes collecting the off-cuts and ‘waste’ materials from the area’s diverse manufacturers — materials such as marble, steel and Corian — and using them to produce furniture and homewares for the 25,000 new homes, which are currently being built in the neighbouring town.Â
This represents a new highly
local and highly circular manufacturing model, tackling the area’s waste
problem, while preventing an influx of low quality, mass-manufactured goods that
are shipped across the world. The project highlights the potential of ‘waste’
material as a valuable local resource. The lights and table are designed to
exemplify the GoodWaste model and highlight a no waste approach.
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300g
This project comments on the growing speed of consumption and disposal in
the linear take-make-waste economy, particularly of plastic and multi-material
objects that are difficult to recycle; mass produced, and shipped across the
world. New circular solutions are much needed to combat this issue.Â
Scientists have proposed a framework looking at planetary boundaries – a theory, which takes into consideration finite resources and the environmental impact of mass production. All of the objects in this project are made using 300g of material, exploring the possible application of material quotas to reduce the environmental impacts of consumption.Â
300g presents an experimental approach to the circular economy through a small scale production studio, where materials are separated, remoulded and reused to repair or update designs multiple times without the need for industrial equipment. By developing a way to separate and recapture materials when combining a rigid structure to a stretch membrane, we can explore the possibilities of future production in a closed loop. These light pendants exemplify the ability to produce a versatile and varied collection using the same materials and processes.
Info
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School
School of Design
Programme
MA Design Products
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Contact
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For Rafael El Baz, product design sits in a space where multiple creative and academic worlds meet. Rafael’s work takes inspiration and meaning at this intersection, combining and exploring material innovation, behavioural science, and the circular economy. His recent research and design work is dedicated to tackling the mounting social and environmental problems of the 21st century, using design as a problem solving mechanism to drive change, build a sustainable future and improve the way we live.
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Previous degrees
- BA Design Products, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, 2014
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Funding
- WESLDET Scholarship
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Sponsors
- WESLDET Scholarship
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Collaborators
- Ewan Alston - RCA Design Products; Ambra Dentella - RCA Design Products