Frammento is a skateboard made from old tires

Frammento is a project by designer Paolo Gentile with the objective of sourcing end-of-life tires and bring them back onto the road.

Paolo Gentile is a young designer, recently obtaining his bachelor in the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti of Milan, Paolo Gentile is focused on giving a new life to waste materials and tell stories through product design.

Paolo Gentile: “I was inspired to create Frammento hanging out at a children’s playground. I became intrigued by the floor material and after some search and realizing the low cost of the rubber pellets, I started to think of new applications for it” Paolo told DesignWanted.

Paolo Gentile: “After analyzing the properties of the material such as flexibility, impact resistance, and traction I thought a skateboard could be a great product on which to try to apply the material since the board requires all these characteristics.”

Paolo Gentile: “I learned about the world of end-of-life tires with Ecopneus, an Italian company specialized in the recycling of old rubber tires. Casei Ecosystem provided me the material and gave me some tips on how to use it. I’m thankful for their support as well as Claudio Larcher’s wich supervised and helped me throughout the project.”

Paolo Gentile: “With Frammento, not only I could give a new use for recycled rubber but I could also tell a visual story of the other applications of the material such as athletic tracks or sports fields.”

Paolo Gentile: “In order to give form to the pellets, I mixed them with glue and press-molded them into the skateboard shape.”

Paolo Gentile: “The End-of-Life Tires revive in the form of a skateboard so that the tires can have the opportunity to keep travelling. From road to road.”