Salvage System
"Salvage System is an installation that urges a reconsideration of rigid paradigms, challenging the current perceptions of construction and demolition waste streams, as well as the dominant view of construction materials—typically valued for their rigidity and strength.
The installation reimagines these urban fragments, transforming them into a more fluid state through bio-based fabrication technique. This process resulted in four bio-based sheets made from concrete block, red brick, concrete debris, and sawdust. Viewers were invited to engage with these transformed materials and imagine living among them—where concrete and brick need not remain solid, and wood planks might become transparent. Just as we are shaped by our environment, Salvage System contemplates how embracing fluidity and flexibility could foster personal evolution. Could our lives, then, reflect adaptability and resilience amidst the transformative flow of resources and materials? The installation was exhibited at Regenerative Commodities: Exhibition and Experience at Slowcombo in Bangkok, Thailand. The exhibition was organised by Ctrl+R Collective and was part of the official program for Bangkok Design Week 2024.
Salvage System invites a critical reflection on the dominant view of construction materials and their rigid paradigms. This reflection explores the project's conceptual and material development, analysing how the installation challenges perceptions of waste and materiality, while encouraging a deeper contemplation of adaptability, resilience, and the evolving relationship between humans and their built environment. Through this analysis, the project's successes, challenges, and broader implications are examined, situating it within the context of regenerative design and self-fabricated bio-based material practices."
Making process
"Salvage System's material development process involves the following stages:
Waste Sourcing
The project sourced post-construction and demolition waste from a nearby site, where concrete blocks were abundant due to ongoing demolition. The waste sourcing research further highlighted the absence of a centralised waste management system in Bangkok, where contractors individually dump waste on vacant land around the city. A visit to a construction landfill in central Bangkok allowed for the salvage of additional red brick and concrete debris, while timber waste was collected from the local furniture manufacturer.
Waste Processing
All collected waste materials were processed by breaking them down into small particles. Concrete blocks (composed mainly of cement, sand, and gravel) and red bricks (composed mainly of clay) were easily broken down with a hammer. Concrete, a stronger and denser material, required more force to break down, resulting in finer dust particles.
Material Recipe Development
The project employed a pre-existing gelatin-based bioplastic matrix. Gelatine, derived from animal collagen, served as the binder, while glycerol was added as a natural plasticiser. The matrix was systematically adjusted and tested to achieve the desired sheet properties, balancing softness, thickness, strength, transparency, and aesthetic expression.
Material Fabrication
The bio-based sheets used in Salvage System measure 1 x 2.10 meters. They were fabricated by casting a liquid mixture into stainless steel trays. Shrinkage testing was conducted on each waste component, revealing that the sawdust-based sheets exhibited the highest shrinkage rate.
The installation's monolithic structure consisted of a prefabricated steel frame with corner joints for easy disassembly and transport. The sheets were hung using ready-made stainless steel hangers and plates designed for PVC strip curtains. An LED tube, hung in the structure's centre, provided illumination to highlight the sheets' textures. "
Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.
Ingredients
Concrete block, red brick, concrete debris, timber waste
Credits
Ctrl+R Collective, Slowcombo, Practika