So the saying goes: one man’s rubbish is another’s devastating design detail. Or something like that. In Antwerp, Dutch designers, Marten van Middelkoop and Joost Dingemans, have applied their inspired Plasticiet waste material to use with epic flair; the Amsterdam-based designer glasses brand offering locals more than eyeful.
Inside the newest Ace & Tate shop in Antwerp, Belgium, colorful, chunky terrazzo immerses visitors in a wonderful world of waste. Made from recycled local plastic, the material selection is part of the Dutch eyewear brand’s goal to become more sustainable.
“The pattern and beams’ repetition combined with mirrors allow the viewers to indulge completely in the recycled world,” says Joost Dingemans, co-founder of Plasticiet, the company behind the material and the designers who worked closely with Ace & Tate’s team.
The designers looked to religious and sacred spaces as a source of inspiration to tell the waste’s tale. “So that the store would almost feel like a recycling temple,” Dingemans says.
Working in collaboration with a local recycling company, Plasticiet hand-selected the large pieces—once common household items—in the typical Ace & Tate colors from bold reds to deep blues. “Compared to the white base material—which used to be food packaging—the reclaimed plastic from Antwerp becomes less viscous during the melting process, allowing the chunky pieces to retain their shape during production,” Dingemans explains. “As a whole, the area is majestic, but is spacious enough to give room to viewers who want to find those recognizable pieces in the plastic fantastic world.”
The story draws shoppers in at the window, where the ingredients in their raw state are made visible. “We wanted to show where everything originated from,” Dingemans says. “Plus, in a street with many high-end stores, we just threw a whole lot of trash in the window display, which we think is wonderful.”
One person’s trash is another person’s design inspiration.
Steenhouwersvest 15, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium