Operating in the fields of design, fashion, and architecture, Azusa Murakami and Alexander Groves of Studio Swine have made a unique name for themselves through their exploration of design through material innovation and creating new sustainable systems with a strong focus on aesthetics. Having received multiple international awards including those from Wallpaper Magazine and the Design Museum London, the talented duo are certainly a powerhouse to watch in the realm of industrial design and material science. For their latest project, the two hit the streets of São Paulo, Brazil to create a mobile foundry that operates around the city’s streets…essentially turning the streets of São Paulo into their own improvised manufacturing facilities.

A Socially-Charged Cradle to Cradle Concept

Inspired by the informal system of independent waste collectors known as Catadores who pull their handmade carts around the streets collection aluminum cans, the design duo set out to create a sustainable system where the Catadores’ livelihood could extend pass their day-to-day trash collection. The system consists of using only materials found on the streets including the aluminum cans and discarded vegetable oil from various restaurants for furnace fuel. For the molds, sand was found and used from from various discarded building sites.

Using readily free resources versus buy one/give one and other business models of the sort that rely on ‘donations’, the system explores the possibility of what can be made using free metal, fuel, and sand to produce an infinite amount of design possibilities. First up in their line is a collection of stools for a local food market that was the source of their first round of materials…essentially putting the Cradle to Cradle concept to literal use.

(Images via Studio Swine)