Innovative furniture made with recycled coffee grounds
A designer introduces a shelf and clock made with recycled coffee grounds.
Recycled coffee grounds can become a new low-carbon material for the fashion, construction and home decoration sectors thanks to their thermal insulation, bacteria resistance and deodorizing features.
A local design institute launched an exhibition on Wednesday to show the numerous possibilities of recycled coffee grounds, especially in furniture designs.
The Recycle Coffee Ground Panel Design Application Exhibition is open to the public for free at the over-century-old Maoma Warehouse along the Huangpu River in Yangpu District.
Professors and students from Tongji University College of Design and Innovation developed the eco-friendly panels made with coffee grounds into dining tables, chairs and loudspeaker boxes in cooperation with German specialty chemical firm Covestro.
A dining table made with recycled coffee grounds.
More than 2 billion cups of coffee are sold every day globally, generating some 40,000 tons of grounds. Either buried or discharged into waterways, the coffee grounds can be a source of pollution, according to the college.
However, their vesicular structure allows the coffee grounds to absorb pollutants and odors as well as resist bacteria. The recycled material is also good at transferring heat, keeping warm and absorbing water. It can be an ideal fertilizer for plants and made into cosmetics, the college said.
Covestro has developed the coffee grounds into aldehyde-free boards. The furniture made with the special material has an enduring coffee fragrance.
Under the guidance of Professor Mo Jiao, Yan Qun, a student of the college, designed a triangle-interlock shelf with traditional Chinese "sunmao," or mortise and tenon structure. The shelf was a key exhibit of Covestro at the 4th China International Import Expo, held in Shanghai at the beginning of November.
A coffee ground shelf on display. It was a key exhibit at the 4th China International Import Expo.
Tree Table, another key exhibit, is made of recycled coffee grounds and composite boards. The natural pattern of the coffee ground boards is exposed without additional painting.
The Cafe Could Plate, from the Material Application and Design Laboratory of the college, can not only hold coffee mugs or dessert plates, but also release coffee aroma continuously.
The exhibition is being held on the second floor of the warehouse as part of the Pan-Tongji Design Week to end on Friday.
The Maoma Warehouse was built in 1920 by a British textile company. It was later purchased by the state-owned Shenxin Textile Factory No. 7 and witnessed both the prosperity and decline of the nation's textile industry.
The warehouse has been preserved and turned into a popular exhibition hall, featuring a sightseeing rooftop terrace looking over the Huangpu River and the city's earliest industrial heritages.
A designer introduces a shelf made with coffee grounds.
If you go:
Address: 32 Qinhuangdao Road, Yangpu District
Admission: Free
Traffic: Yangshupu Station, Metro Line 4, 12
COVID-19 prevention: Health and itinerary codes. Facial mask and temperature check required.
A blue tooth loudspeaker made with coffee grounds.
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