London Design Festival – Exhibition Waste into Art

Take the Plunge – Exhibition Waste Design

This project was one of our earliest in-house material pilots—transforming waste from an exhibition site into sculptural, design-led objects. The waste came from “Take the Plunge”, a multi-sensory installation by Volume Creative for London Design Festival 2019. The show explored circularity and sustainability through immersive experience, with every part of the exhibition either reused, recycled, or repurposed.

We collected leftover cardboard and paper waste from the exhibition build and pulped it to create a mouldable paper paste. Using handmade plaster moulds, we formed a series of vessels—each one unique in texture and silhouette. To elevate the material further, we integrated 3D-printed waste fishing nets, sourced from Fishy Filaments, creating architectural layers that expanded the story of reuse across land and sea.

These sculptural prototypes became a tangible expression of Spared’s early research into circular material systems. They charted a complete loop—from exhibition to artefact—capturing the essence of what we were beginning to build as a studio. They’ve since been used as examples in conversations with clients, and were also featured by the Financial Times as part of Volume Creative’s wider showcase on sustainable design.

You might also be interested in our journal piece exploring what happens after the exhibition: “Rethinking Waste and Temporary Design” — where we unpack the circular systems behind this project and beyond.