At Milan Design Week Debut, Maltese Architecture Students Construct System To Recycle Land And Sea Waste
Maltese architecture students have unveiled an innovative creation that turns land and sea waste into usable material. And they did it at Milan Design Week.
The idea came from four Maltese architecture students, affiliates of SACES (the Society for Architecture and Civil Engineering) who produced a system that transforms discarded paper and seaweed into shades or biodegradable containers.
Project ALKA, as it was called, was the product of Master’s students Martina Chetcuti, Owen Degiorgio, Luke Scicluna, and Tara Zikic.
It led them to a historic first-ever showing for Malta at the prestigious Milan Design Week event. And all this, whilst in the middle of exam season.
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The golden opportunity came after a representative of the event happened upon a local expo of the architectural community, and he couldn’t help but give them a chance to take it a step further.
The theme of this year’s Super Design Show was ‘Looking Ahead’. An event where companies and organisations are allowed to present innovative, sustainable designs and products. It was all about the future and how design evolves with time.
Speaking with Lovin Malta was SACES Secretary-General Carla Cardona, who said it was both “humbling and gratifying” to share the stage with some of the world’s ‘big guns’.
“Knowing our work was displayed in the same space as installations of massive companies like Stratasys, Lexus, and Haier was extremely humbling,” she said.
“It was extremely satisfying to see the process unfurl before us, amid certain uncertainties.”
“We didn’t know if the wooden structure would hold since we didn’t have the machinery to suspend it in Malta. But it was very successful and a lot of the coordinators at Milan Design Week told us they’d hope to see us there again next year.”
The project essentially mixes land and sea waste together into a ‘pulp’ that could be molded into structures. It is the same method one would use to create paper. Though seaweed would be mixed in because it would strengthen the product.
The group’s main goal was one: sustainability. A means to allow the planet to cope with the ever-growing problem of land and sea pollution.
In a few steps, and through this initiative, waste management will be employed as a means to lengthen an object’s lifespan beyond its desired purpose.
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