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UNDER (THE) LINE

 

 

Graduation project

 

Category

Biodesign

Bioremediation | Air pollution

Carried out at

MA Biodesign

Central Saint Martins

University of the Arts London

Tutors

Nancy Diniz | Course Leader

MA Biodesign

Carole Collet | Professor in Design for Sustainable Futures 

Victoria Geaney | Associate Lecturer Design Studios

Alice Taylor | Lecturer of Biology and Living Systems

Shem Johnson | Grow Lab Specialist Technician

Special mention

Jeremy Keenan | Specialist Technician Physical Computing CSM

Igor Pantic | Digital Specialist Technician CSM

Abdul Mohammed | Digital Specialist Technician CSM

Location
London  —  UK

Press mentions

MA Biodesign 001

UAL Showcase Portfolio

Tsinghua International Conference  —  Beijing, China

 

Isola District Design  

—  Milan, Italy

Fashion Crossover London 

—  London, UK

Future Materials Bank, part of Jan van Eyck Academie —  Maastricht, The Netherlands

 

Climate Pioneers No. 14  

—  Switzerland

Exhibitions

Milan Design Week 2021

Category: Materialized

—  Milan, Italy

Part of CSM Musem & Study collection  —  London, UK

Awards

Green Trail, Highly commended​ —  by LVMH x Maison/0

Central Saint Martins Deans' Collection Award 2021 

—  by Academic Deans, CSM

Global Design Graduate Show, Shortlisted —  by Arts Thread

Date
Sept. 2020 
 —  June 2021

Bioremediating air pollution in indoor public and urban spaces through a self-sufficient filtration system able to reuse volatile pollutants as a resource for a new type of pigment. 

At the convergence of biomimicry, material science, new systems thinking, and regenerative design, this project focuses on the bioremediation of air pollution within London Underground stations. The outcome is a design that transcends conventional filtration by harnessing air pollution as a source material for generating an innovative type of pigment. Employing a self-sustaining filtration system, the proposed urban furniture not only captures and stores pollutants but also repurposes them into pastel pigments.

This endeavor relies on technology and organic chemistry. By conceptualizing a design solution within the framework of a bio-circular economy, the process exclusively utilizes local, renewable, and bio-based resources. At the nanoscale level, the resulting material exhibits the capability to adsorb and retain air pollutants through a phenomenon known as physical adsorption.

To shape this concept, I worked on a parametric and computational design to devise a lattice structure tailor-made for Underground stations. In this context, the structure is adaptable and scalable based on the pollution levels of the surrounding environment. Following a two-month suspension within Underground stations, the furniture is primed for disassembly, with the reclaimed materials ready for repurposing as pastel pigments.

Under(the)line_Marie_Melcore_23.JPG

Pastels made from London Underground's air pollution | Pastels format: 10 x 1 cm | Packaging format: 11.5  x 6.5 x 6 cm | Structure format: 80 x 50 x 60 cm.

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Bio-circular system thinking.

Making process, set up in the London Underground, final output. 

Awareness campaign printed on recycled metro newspapers.

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