Home Projects 3D-printed colorful playscape system made from plastic waste: GLYPH
ProjectsDesignInstallation

3D-printed colorful playscape system made from plastic waste: GLYPH

Share
3D-printed colorful playscape system made from plastic waste: GLYPH
Share
3D-printed colorful playscape system made from plastic waste: GLYPH
© Alina Lefa

Rotterdam-based research and design studio, The New Raw, led by architects Panos Sakkas and Foteini Setaki, aims to create new things using discarded materials. The team develops its digital craftsmanship techniques.

The New Raw is looking for the possibilities that the robotic techniques provide to transform plastic waste into products that are 100% circular.

3D-printed colorful playscape system made from plastic waste: GLYPH
© Alina Lefa

One of their ongoing projects, “Print Your City,” was started in 2016 in collaboration with Aectual as part of the Circular City Program developed by the AMS Institute and supported by TU Delft and AEB Amsterdam.

GLYPH is part of the “Print Your City” project and a vibrant new collection of sustainable play furniture for Elefsina 2023 European Capital of Culture.

3D-printed colorful playscape system made from plastic waste: GLYPH
© Alina Lefa

GLYPH explores the concept of applying robotic 3D printing to plastic waste, a way of redesigning and locally building urban space. More than 700 children aged 5-14 from the region are involved in the project.

The result of an 8-week study focuses on the circular economy’s basic principles. Following an educational tour based on a pragmatic approach and exploring ways to recycle discarded plastic, local children were heavily involved in the design process and invited to make drawings that were then scanned, digitally processed, and etched into the city’s new furniture.

3D-printed colorful playscape system made from plastic waste: GLYPH
© Alina Lefa

The New Raw explores co-creation using digital craftsmanship: children become authorities of their cities by donating their waste materials, and children’s drawings create each geometric piece.

The plastic waste collected specifically for this work is separated, washed, and shredded before being melted and compacted with color pigments to form the swinging benches. The printing time for each piece varies between 5 and 7 hours.

At the end of the project, 240 kg of plastic was recycled and made into a collection of 8 self-standing swinging benches that can function as a playground when created independently or in groups. The symbolic shape of the bent blocks pays homage – with a twist – to the archetypal shapes of the building blocks found in the city’s ancient ruins and allows the benches to sway.

GLYPH was designed as an easy-to-apply play furniture system to activate the vacant lots of the industrial city of Elefsina or other environments where there is no public space. The monolithic elements are arranged in various ways to create a colorful and unusual outdoor play space while being light and portable.

Share
Written by
Serra Utkum Ikiz

Serra is passionate about researching and discussing cities, with a particular love for writing on urbanism, politics, and emerging design trends.

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Related Articles
SpY’s Golden Monoliths Recast Shipping Containers as Urban Totems
Installation

SpY’s Golden Monoliths Recast Shipping Containers as Urban Totems

SpY’s Golden Monoliths transforms the urban landscape of the French city of...

Heilongtan Dome Music Hall: A Contemporary Banyan Tree by Studio Dali Architects
Installation

Heilongtan Dome Music Hall: A Contemporary Banyan Tree by Studio Dali Architects

Nestled at the entrance of an agricultural community in Heilongtan, Renshou County,...

MVRDV and Zecc Architecten Transform Heerlen Church into Public Swimming Pool
Projects

MVRDV and Zecc Architecten Transform Heerlen Church into Public Swimming Pool

MVRDV and Zecc Architecten have won the competition to transform the St....

Aevum by Zaha Hadid Architects and Vertico Explores the Future of Concrete Printing at Milan Design Week
Installation

Aevum by Zaha Hadid Architects and Vertico Explores the Future of Concrete Printing at Milan Design Week

As part of the INTERNI “Cre-Action” exhibition at the Università degli Studi...

Subscribe to all newsletters

Join our community to receive the latest insights and updates!

© 2025 ParametricArchitecture. All Rights Reserved. By utilizing this website, you are consenting to our User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Statement. In compliance with the privacy laws of Turkey and the United States, we recognize and respect your rights. Please be aware that we may receive commissions for products bought through our affiliate links. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or transmission of any material from this site is strictly forbidden without prior written permission from ParametricArchitecture.

ad blocker mark

AdBlocker Detected!

Help Us Keep Our Content Free

Your support helps us continue delivering high-quality resources at no cost to you.

We’ve detected that you are using an AdBlocker. We completely understand the need for a clean browsing experience, but ads help us keep this platform running and continue providing you with high-quality content at no cost.

If you enjoy our content, please consider disabling your AdBlocker or adding our site to your whitelist. Your support allows us to create more valuable articles, tutorials, and resources for you.

Thank you for being a part of our community!