Ground
Cast from spent coffee grounds and used tea leaves, this series transforms local café waste into coasters. It runs alongside an ongoing 3D printing exploration: two material approaches built on the same circular premise.
Skills
Design, Material research, Prototyping, Experimentation
Timeline
Fall 2024 - Present
Materials
Agar agar, Potato starch, Gelatin, Xantham gun, Glycerin, Coffee grounds, Banana peels, Cellulose, MoldsTools
Miro, Ziplocks, Foil, Ceramic 3D Printer Rethinking Waste
Coffee grounds are almost universally thrown away, ending up in landfills and releasing CO₂ as they decompose.
This project asks what happens when waste becomes the starting point, not an afterthought.
Material Lifecycle
A fully local, fully biodegradable material cycle built from what cafés throw away.
Evolution
Material
Bioplastic recipe development using coffee grounds and banana peels through hand piping.
Printing
3D printing with coffee-based mixtures for scalable fabrication.
Coasters
Collaboration with Memo Furniture and Fulcrum Coffee Roasters to create coasters from roastery waste.
Furniture
Received a $3,000 grant from the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry to develop modular furniture.
Material
Bioplastic recipe development using coffee grounds and banana peels through hand piping.
Proposed Application
The wall acts as both, a support structure and a nutrient source by:
- Leveraging organic waste to enhance plant growth
- Improving soil fertility, preventing erosion, and boosting water retention
- Recycling agricultural by-products into valuable resources
Field trials will evaluate its effectiveness in improving crop yields and restoring soil health.
Material Process
An in-depth overview of the full design process, highlighting the various prototypes and refinements that informed and shaped the final outcome
Final Material Recipe and Characteristics
The final material features a naturally warped form, where coffee grounds and banana-based bioplastic are seamlessly integrated
Printing
In progress—more documentation coming soon.Developing modular 3D-printed bricks to be used at an architectural scale.
Coasters
Collaboration with Memo Furniture and Fulcrum Coffee Roasters to create coasters from roastery waste.
The work continues in Pittsburgh with Redhawk Coffee, grounding the project in place-based design.
Furniture
In progress—more documentation coming soon.Received a $3,000 grant from the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry to develop modular furniture.