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Through a common friend, the two companies that The overall design of the furniture is much in-
share the same vision soon decided to work together spired by the place where the cafe is located, Barcelona,
to deliver the 3D printed coffee furniture project for home of many of Antoni Gaudí’s signature structures,
D· Origen’s new flagship space. In fact, LOWPOLY for- such as Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, and Casa Batlló.
mulated the construction material from coffee waste in LOWPOLY led a partnership with designer Arturo Te-
2014 and has already used it for some minor projects. deschi, who used artificial intelligence and parametric
However, they didn’t have the opportunity to showcase design to translate taste into an almost synesthetic
their innovative concept grandly. Pugliese reflected: “It process, creating an experience that goes beyond the
took years before meeting a client like D·Origen who visual by turning these sensations into tangible forms.
married our idea and vision, presenting us with an im- The shapes of the furniture recall the soft geometries of
portant space like the one in Barcelona.” Gaudí’s artwork. For example, the lamps have beautiful
Many of the custom furniture in the new flagship geometrical curves that complete the harmonious de-
space, including the counters, lamps, and stools, are all sign of the space.
crafted with special “coffee grounds” materials. And all The counters are the greatest testament to the
these coffee ground comes from D·Origen. The team from core innovation of this project. The architectural vi-
LOWPOLY collected the coffee grounds from D· Origen’s sion for the counters was inspired by the fluidity and
other two coffee shops, treated them, and converted them richness of coffee, translating tactile and gustatory
into material for 3D printing. They then made the waste sensations into tangible forms. The unique amber
into a new construction material named LOWIMPACT®, a textures of the LOWIMPACT® material, when back-
master batch made from recycled PLA and coffee grounds. lit, create mesmerizing light effects that enhance the
This biodegradable, petroleum-free material contains 98% counters’ forms, turning imperfections and irregu-
organic content and can be combined with various poly- larities into distinctive features and strengths. The
mers to achieve different color tones.! color shades are created naturally by different den-
Nevertheless, making this innovative material sities of coffee grounds. Moreover, the huge counter
takes work. Organic waste is complicated to manage. piece could not be completed without cutting-edge 3D
It has very fast treatment times, contains a lot of hu- printing techniques and equipment. “Projects like D·-
midity, and can generate mold. The LOWPOLY team Origen Coffee demonstrate how SCG can be sustain-
developed a system to solve these problems quickly. ably repurposed, transforming waste into innovative
Then, the material is put into large-format 3D printers materials for design and construction.” Said Pugliese.
with modified extruders capable of handling materials The whole project reflects an innovative production
with high organic content. The use of industrial robot- that combines atheistic and high technology. More-
ic arms ensured precision and facilitated the creation over, it set a new standard for sustainability in the
of five bespoke pieces. world of specialty coffee.!

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