Waste to Resource: Reimagining Industrial Scars in Transylvania

In a compelling intersection of material innovation and heritage preservation, I explored the untapped potential of industrial waste sourced from Transylvania's Harghita Mountains. This body of work, centered around the striking blue slags of former ironworks and reclaimed construction bricks, transcends conventional notions of waste, positioning these discarded materials as the foundation for novel design applications. By subjecting these remnants to transformative processes – from the firing of slag into precise geometric lenses to the metamorphic fusion of diverse brick types – the objective was not only address critical issues of waste management but also pioneer a distinct visual language for architectural and design contexts, breathing new life into the forgotten narratives embedded within the landscape.

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Drawing inspiration from my Transylvanian roots and a deep fascination with material transformation, the plan was to operate at the intersection of heritage, innovation, and sustainability. The practice is characterised by a hands-on approach, meticulously engaging with discarded industrial materials to unlock their inherent aesthetic and functional potential. The exploration of the geological and cultural narratives embedded within specific landscapes characterises the methodology of the process. Reimagining of blue slags from Harghita's iron mining history and the metamorphic utilisation of construction and demolition waste, demonstrate a commitment to circular design principles and a poetic sensibility towards overlooked resources. By employing metamorphic processes like firing and fusing, these materials elevate beyond their industrial origins, transforming into objects and potential architectural elements that resonate with both historical context and contemporary design discourse.

Blue Slags: A Geological and Cultural Resurgence

This series of work centered around blue slags showcases the transformative repurposing of old industrial waste, highlighting the refined geological connection between places. It aims to underscore the shared heritage of the Harghita Mountains, inviting a deeper resonance with this history. All materials originate from an iron-mining region in Transylvania, my homeland. The region's volcanic past led to the emergence of carbonic springs (mineral waters) and subsequent iron mining settlements along the iron deposits. This legacy has left behind colourful metallurgical slag residues, from which clear geometric lens were created, shaped through a meticulous firing process. This process not only gives new form to the waste but also subtly alludes to the region's geological and industrial timeline.

75 cm diameter each

2023

Old Bricks: Metamorphic Possibilities in Construction Waste

These works explore the potential of CDW – construction and demolition waste – management through metamorphic processes. CDW constitutes a significant portion of global waste, exceeding 8%. While companies are actively involved in recycling these materials, predominantly as road fill, this approach investigates higher-value applications within architectural contexts. The old bricks utilised in this project were collected from the same historical metallurgy site in Transylvania. The dual purpose of this endeavor was to transform these materials into a more stabilised and durable structure suitable for architectural use and to discover a novel visual language for brick facade architecture. The technical challenge lay in managing the diverse melting points and thermal expansion coefficients of the individual bricks, which made fusing the water-cut brick slabs into unified pieces a complex undertaking. This exploration not only offers a sustainable pathway for CDW but also proposes a new aesthetic for brick architecture, infused with the history of its origin.

95 cm each

2023

The Harghita Plateau is where collected residues and old remains of ancient origin metallurgy are located.