THE EGGSHELL PROJECT / UN PROYECTO DE HUEVO is a research project that seeks to take advantage of and transform our waste to turn it into a building material, opening up a new possibility to create our living in an environmentally responsible way. In this project, we create a biocomposite based on eggshell; the result is a new materiality, which seeks to reduce waste and generate new opportunities.
We decided to reevaluate the potential of ceramics, keeping the connection between materiality and nature, geometrical freedom, and strength. But reducing some of its harmful traits by using a lightweight largely available by product: egg, together with bio-binders that allow the mix to solidify without the need for firing. The fabrication process is based on robotic 3D printing, with the use of a KUKA KR-150 industrial arm. This technology allows us to shape the blocks freely without the need for a formwork, efficient use of material, precision, and repeatability.
In this research we have made two applications: A wall (Eggshell Bricks, presented in the INÉDITO collection by Design Week Mexico 2022) made of a total of 105 different blocks that are assembled based on their geometry, and a column (Eggshell Column, presented in the DISEÑO EMERGENTE collection by ZONA MACO 2023) made of 26 pieces that embrace each other and create stability through their shape. Each brick enables circularity, the raw material was obtained through the collection and donation of waste from more than 2 months of production from various restaurants in Mexico City, amongst them Rosetta, Rosetta Panadería, LARDO, and Rancho Rio Blanco.
This project was achieved thanks to the mixture of computational design and the opportunities offered by digital manufacturing, technology and materials innovation to transform our waste and raise awareness. With this project we want to question our manufacturing methods and open up new opportunities in the construction of future architectural spaces, creating a new dialogue between machines and humans.
CREDITS
_MANUFACTURA: Dinorah Schulte (co-founder, project management, design), Edurne Morales (co-founder, computational design, design), Eduardo Barba (co-founder), Santiago Rangel, Aleida Rahel Merkel, Natalia Juan (Collaborators).
_Guest designer: Maria Pia Assaf
_Material research: Montserrat Ayala
_Material donation: Rosetta Panaderia, Restaurant Rosetta, Rancho Rio Blanco, LARDO, BOU.
_Photography: Arturo Arrieta, Enrique Aguilar
