Giving new life to glass from electronic waste

Creating significant changes within circular and sustainable design with the aim of exploring the prospective applications of recycled E-waste glass – ‘Common Sands – Forite’ evolved as a collaborative research project between Snøhetta and Studio Plastique.

Through several prototypes and variations, a process for recycling E-waste glass components was created, leading to the innovative development of an application integrating and celebrating its variable material quality – glass tiles.

“Italian ceramic tile manufacturer Fornace Brioni later joined the team – bringing in experience, industrial know-how, production facilities and potential for scalability to the project” says Snøhetta.

Skillfully crafted from recycled glass from microwave ovens – these tiles have been developed in two different sizes and are both opaque as well as transparent, each with a unique pattern and expression.

Suitable for a wide range of architectural applications, including both surface coverage and as semi-transparent partition elements – they feature a deeply complex, terrazzo-like material quality.

Common Sands – Forite positively leverages the unique properties of composition, color and structure inherent in the waste material into this brilliant series of architectural glass tiles.

In an industry which demands transparency and consistency as a standard – it embraces the variance and complexity already seamlessly embedded in the recycled material.

Additionally, focus has been placed on waste glass from ovens and microwaves – as a starting point to demonstrate the aesthetic depth, function and potential of the recycled material, however the project is not limited to this material stream alone.

“Working across disciplines, organizations and specializations – this collaboration meets contemporary challenges with ambitious, pragmatic and scalable solutions” Snøhetta adds.