Plastic Whale: milling recycled plastic
Research and experimentation
Product design
Bespoke parts and components
Prototyping and testing, Milling, Additive manufacturing, Cutting and fretwork
Plastics and resins, Acrylic
The project
Plastic Whale began with a material that industrial design student Carla Martinez made by hand by pressing plastic bottle caps. Archicercle tested the material and worked with it on a CNC milling machine to realise the organic forms of her design.
The experimentation began with the recycled material itself. Carla had prepared it to bring her proposal to life; Archicercle’s contribution focused on testing it and working with it through CNC milling. Carla was responsible for both the material preparation and the original design.
The final form was developed using 3D files of the design, as its organic geometry could not be resolved through a 2D drawing alone. This linked the material testing directly to the fabrication of the piece.
The result has a curved outline with circular holes and a mottled appearance, predominantly white and blue. The samples and resulting piece document a specific exploration of how to work with this recycled material, without establishing performance characteristics or general technical conclusions.
Processes and materials: fabrication services · available materials · studio machinery.
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