Mexico-based company MANUFACTURA has led “The Eggshell Project” to convert organic waste into a building material, creating new opportunities to ground people’s lives in environmental protection.
The research project uses a KUKA KR-150 robotic arm to 3D print a bioceramic created from used eggshells and combines it with sustainable aggregates. The process, when completed, produces building blocks with various geometries which may be employed for a variety of architectural purposes. This new sustainable materiality aims to decrease Mexico’s ample organic and food waste while also developing fresh possibilities through technological advances and cultivating a “better dialogue between humans and machines”.
“Our process allows less waste production, geometrical freedom, precision, and repeatability,” explains the team at MANUFACTURA.
Why did Manufactura decide to take this approach?
The Eggshell Project starts with tackling two issues, namely, the harmful environmental impacts of the ceramics industry and Mexico’s excessive food waste and organic matter. MANUFACTURA recalls the environmental impact of ceramics processes, ranging from gas emissions from firing and fuels to waste disposal, energy usage, and transportation.
The design team minimized the process’s detrimental effect by employing a locally grown, widely found, and lightweight waste product like eggshells, reassessing the industry’s ability and preserving a connection between nature and materiality. The mixture, when combined with bio-binders, can solidify without the requirement of firing, which is further improved by an additive fabrication process focused on 3D printing with a robotic arm. (Read More)
