Architects Luís Lima and Patrícia Gomes decided to give economic value to rubble waste and, at the same time, contribute to the sustainability of constructionone of the sectors that contributes the most to CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. The Matterpieces project began during the pandemic and has already materialized into covering materials for kitchens and bathrooms, floors and design objects.
According to Patrícia Gomes, the idea arose from a visual conflict. “We were shocked by the amount of waste generated by demolition works”he emphasizes. However, remember, these are materials with potential for reuse, but whose usual destination is landfill. The two architects decided to get their hands dirty and move forward with an experimental cycle of mixing construction waste. The project that they call themselves “garage” ended up bearing fruit. “We created a solution that brings potential to waste”they say.
Right now, They have 13 textures on sale that can be applied to floors, wall coverings, furniture and kitchen or bathroom countertops. The raw materials are glass, tiles, bricks, cement, stones, tiles and other “waste” found in landfills. But to get here they had to find industrial partners. A path that also required some investigation, because the country is poorly prepared for the circularity of materials.
They ended up finding a waste management company, which provides them with raw materials, and an industry in Aveiro with the capacity to produce the materials designed by this duo. They already have some works in their portfolio, which allowed them to earn around 100 thousand euros last year. Now, they feel ready to “go to the market”, even the international market. According to Patrícia Gomes, These materials are focused on a medium-high segment, where sustainability is seen as a differentiator.
Matterpieces has already diverted 90 tons of waste from landfills, avoided 7.8 tons of CO2 emissions and saved 15 tons of virgin materials.
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