Joanna Pastusińska, Karolina Hołdys and Piotr Pacałowski appreciated in Milan

During his doctoral research, Piotr Pacałowski developed a material composed of waste such as ground tyre pellets and plastic packaging recyclate, without added binders or pigments. The mixture is simply pressed so the technology is very easy to implement in industrial production.

The material inspired the creation of the Rubber Bumper, which was noticed by the 2022 Ro Plastic Prize competition curator, and qualified for the final exhibition. The competition accompanies the world’s largest design fair: Milan Design Week (Salone del Mobile – Milano). The Rubber Bumper is an element of city or park infrastructure and can be used as a parking space barrier or to separate the pavement from the green area. Its functional properties can also be used in garages or on house fronts as a bumper ensuring a safe space between the car and the wall.

Thanks to its properties, the Rubber Bumper absorbs impact energy and protects objects from damage. The design is modular, the elements can be rotated, which allows easy building straight or curved curbs. The end modules are protected with end cups.

If damaged, the product can be easily used for the production of a new one. Repeated grinding does not alter the material’s properties.

‘Our utmost goal is to promote sustainable product design. We use recycled materials and make sure the products can be recycled too. It is our responsibility as designers to design consciously, and the first step to make a change is the reasonable acquisition of the materials and resources used in our designs,’ FUSELAB design team Karolina Hołdys, Joanna Pastusińska, Piotr Pacałowski.