Eco Glo

University Second Year Live Project
September 2014 - January 2015

As part of my assessed work at University of Lincoln we as a course partnered up with a small company called Eco Glo. Ed Hall from the company set us the task of designing a product either made from cardboard or a suitable substitute that is recycled or eco friendly.

This project led to researching into a wide range of materials so that I was not limiting myself with the design. These included but where not limited to; bamboo in many forms, Resysta, Bio Laminates, shredded money.

While looking at other materials was important I wanted to test the limitations of cardboard, so I set myself the challenge to create a umbrella that could open and close entirely made from cardboard and paper. Though slightly large, I did succeed in making an umbrella able to open and close.

From my research three developed ideas were formed. The first being a fully cardboard umbrella, that could be coated to make it waterproof for a limited amount of time.

The second idea was a bench made from Bio Laminates with bamboo legs, this could be used for short outdoor events or used at inside areas such as shopping centres. The idea would be that it could be made from waste eco materials from the local area and once done with it would bio-degrade within weeks leaving only the bamboo legs that could be reused.

The final idea and the one that was pitched to Ed Hall was Money Boxes/Banks that were made from shredded money. The money, supplied by the Bank of England, is notes taken out of circulation that has been shredded and is available to be used on request to encourage recycling rather than being burned like normal. This shredded money would then be mixed with a resin and formed to shape. This idea was not taken forward by Ed Hall.