Materials Intelligence Lab - Exploring Material Narratives in Design Practice
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In a world facing resource scarcity, environmental degradation, and unsustainable consumption and production patterns, radical ways of thinking are needed to safeguard our future.
Lecturers in Product Design (TU811) from TU Dublin's School of Art and Design and School of Mechanical Engineering have reimagined how students relate to the products they design. They came up with an initiative that responds to the growing need for designers to develop a deeper understanding of material flows, circular economies, and sustainable product development. Their project is shaping a new kind of design literacy — one that’s tactile, thoughtful, and urgently needed.
Product Design lecturers Ceri Almrott and Keith Colton designed an initiative that brings a new perspective to materials. They focus on the journey of materials, encouraging both designers and users to understand where our possessions come from and what happens to them after use. This transparency invites users into the design process, revealing the care, labour, and transformation behind everyday objects. By reflecting deeply on materials, students are positioned to embed sustainability principles into their future design work.
This idea developed and the Materials Intelligence Lab was born. The lab offers students the tools, space, and support to prototype and experiment with material production, deepening their understanding of material lifecycles from creation to reuse.
In the lab, materials are considered for their sensory, cultural, emotional, and experiential dimensions alongside their functional properties.
One of the most transformative tools in the lab is the plastic shredder. Students can use this to transform waste from vacuum forming or failed 3D printing into shredded plastic. These plastic flakes can then be remoulded using several of the different manufacturing processes to create new functional objects.
One of the lab’s more unusual tools is a modified candyfloss machine that spins waste plastic into soft polymer fibres. Unlike rigid plastic, the resulting material invites students to rethink material categories and explore hybrid, textile-like forms.
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Project Impact
The lab provides a dedicated space for staff and students to explore the role of materials within both the technical and biological cycles of the circular economy.
By building a relationship with materials, students form emotional connection with products, encouraging longevity.
Third year Product Design Student Maciej Sidor tells us about his experience learning through the lab:
"We always talked about sustainability in theory, but until we started actually collecting, shredding and reprocessing our own workshop waste, it didn’t feel real. Seeing failed 3D prints and vacuum forming scraps turned into usable parts was a proper shift. It showed me that circular thinking isn’t just about reducing harm, it’s about designing better systems for how we make and learn.”
The investment by the students into their materials pays off in terms of their understanding of the circular economy. Speaking about this fourth-year student Tom Whitfield said:
"Now we can create materials that suit our needs giving us more freedom with our designs. In developing our own materials, it enables us to understand the broader implications of a product’s lifecycle and how it will be reused again at the end of its life."
Project Co-lead Ceri Almrott captures the ethos behind the Materials Intelligence Lab.
He said "The Materials Intelligence Lab gives us a unique opportunity to explore materials as an active part of the design process. By engaging directly with material production and experimentation, our students build a deeper, more intuitive understanding of materials that will ultimately strengthen their ability to design for sustainability, emotional durability, and resilience. It’s an exciting step forward in how we teach design practice."
Shared Impact
At TU Dublin we are committed to progressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through collaboration and action. This project addresses targets under SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. SDG 12 addresses sustainable and efficient use of natural resources, reduce waste and embed sustainable practice.
This project aligns with the Green-Campus theme of Litter & Waste. Under this theme we explore the practical means for preventing, reducing and minimising the amount of litter and waste produced by the campus. As part of our Climate Action Roadmap, we aim to implement circular economy principles by reducing waste, reusing, and repairing products and materials, and to recycle effectively.
Green Campus Open Call
The Green-Campus Open Call can help bring ideas like these to life by making micro-grants available to selected project ideas submitted in response to the open call. The Green-Campus programme encourages a partnership approach to environmental education and management. To optimise the potential for impact, the Green-Campus Open Call programme encourages project proposals that can be implemented using the Living Lab approach and that include exploration, co-creation, experimentation and evaluation phases. You can read more about the TU Dublin Living Lab and access living lab planning templates here.
This project, supported by Green-Campus open call funding, builds on previous support from the N-TUTORR Fellowship project Circular Economy in Design Workshops. It has enabled the repurposing of existing equipment, acquisition of additional processing tools, and development of a dedicated physical space for material exploration. The lab supports taught modules, independent student projects, and practice-based learning experiences embedded within the Product Design curriculum.