rECOnnection
Design that aims to harmonize human activities with the natural world, creating a sustainable environment that respects and supports diverse ecosystems. Redesigning objects you find along biking routes while respecting the boundary between humans and insects while also challenging them to interact with each other.
Too pretty to discard
In our globalized world, preoccupied with recycling, we often fail to see and appreciate the beauty all around us. I explored the field of discarded fishnets: These nets end up in waste streams full of intriguing colours and unique patterns before being shredded. They might have served their purpose as nets, but their knotted and woven structure hold the potential for new product lines. Recognizing this, I developed a tool that heats and reshapes the nets. Once cooled down, it leaves rigid pieces in the otherwise flexible nets. ‘Too pretty to discard’ showcases how this method produces useful materials. It implores us to look for possibilities within discarded objects, rather than shredding them beyond recognition at the cost of their unique qualities.
Catch of the day 2050
In collaboration with Social Lab Ogilvy and Sea Shepherd, we’ve delved into the realm of fishnets in the ocean. If we continue our current fishing practices, there may be no fish left in just a couple of decades, leaving our oceans brimming with debris. Our mission was to raise awareness among fish consumers about this impending crisis.
To shed light on this ongoing catastrophe, we envisioned a glimpse into the future fish market of 2050. We transformed discarded fishnets into fish, vividly illustrating the detrimental effects of overfishing on marine life. These ‘fish’ were presented in a traditional Dutch herring cart, compelling viewers to confront the harsh reality of a potential future.
Cohabitation
The number of insects has decreased by 76% worldwide. Species disappear, diminish or die out. Without insects, our ecosystems would collapse. They are the pollinators of our food, the caretakers of the soil, and are a vital part of the food chain. Due to our use of pesticides insects have a hard time on the countryside. As cities grow, less and less space remains for insects to thrive. By redesigning the relationship between the built environment
and insects, cities could start to host insects and provide a habitat for cohabitation. By living closely together, we can reconnect with insects and our environment.
The key is to make changes in existing systems instead of making new objects. As society, we should change our way of living and learn to cohabitate. Within the current system, the façade offers great opportunities to redesign for cohabitation. Traditionally designed as both a barrier to separate the outside from the inside and an expression of style and beauty, the façade is often seen as a border. When we redesign the façade as a place of gradual permeability, opportunities for cohabitation arise, highlighting our entanglement with the lives of insects.
Ecological niche and habitat design become our playing field. Different materials offer different habitats and site specific factors like sunlight, weather and local flora and fauna lead to distinctive façade design. The more insects start to burrow, nest, drill, eat and live in our façades, the more they come alive. From now on, buildings will be places of cohabitation.
Hold on tights
Crafting an installation within the intimate confines of my own room allowed me to engage with it daily. The design, inspired by the room’s shape, employs a wooden framework. Through an intuitive and reflective journey of creation, the installation took on a life of its own.
Skin on skeleton
In this project, I immersed myself in the world of taxidermy. Undertaking a brief internship, I acquired foundational taxidermy skills and gained an appreciation for the artistry involved. Drawing parallels to my own field, I turned my attention to the skeletal structures of derelict buildings.
Inspired by the process of overlaying a cat’s skin onto its reformed skeleton, I conceptualized a “skin” for an abandoned building in the city centre. Opting for a flexible material allowed the structure to be vacuum-sealed during the day and expanded at night, mirroring the rejuvenation a taxidermist brings to a lifeless creature.
Initiated in 2020, amid the advent of COVID-19 in our nation, I sought to adapt this design to the prevailing situation. I envisioned a dynamic space: serving as a market during daylight hours and expanding by night to accommodate a larger audience, optimizing the building’s utility while adhering to safety protocols.
Assemblies
In this endeavor, I’ve delved deep to discover the design methodology that resonates most with my style. I’m drawn to crafting petite, aesthetically pleasing objects, ideally from repurposed materials or those considered of lesser value. By assembling these objects into a collage-like arrangement, I uncover fresh perspectives and innovative applications.
Powerful maze
This table cabinet embodies two distinct traits: one positive and one negative. I view myself as somewhat chaotic, and to represent this aspect, I’ve integrated a maze within the table cabinet. On the other hand, I also see myself as possessing strength. To symbolize this, I’ve incorporated the commanding shade of blue into one of the cabinet’s components.
Hollow
I have a keen interest in production techniques. During the
creation of this particular product, I employed the rotation moulding method.
To facilitate this, I designed a bespoke machine that operates on dual-axis
rotation. The use of a flexible mould offers the versatility to craft multiple
shapes using a single template. By attaching the mould to the machine using
varying rods, the machinery actively sculpts the pliable mould. The pressure
exerted from plates on both the top and bottom compresses the mould into a
flattened sphere. This innovative approach culminated in a collection of trays,
all produced using my custom-built machine.
Performances in the city
The project’s focus was on urban performances, specifically within Eindhoven. I cataloged the various performances occurring in the city, examining their types and timings. Of particular interest were instances when multiple performances intersected. How did they interact and influence one another? And how did these overlaps impact audience reactions? This exploration provided intriguing insights into the dynamics of spaces and locales within the city.
