Radha Chopra 1
Radha Chopra
Integrative Seminar 2
Deconstruction Essay
Can Filtration Project
Last semester, I worked on a project based on material explorations to find a solution to a
sustainability problem. I further focused my topic on the reuse of waste material. This
essentially meant finding waste material, or garbage, and creating a new and usable product
from it. The purpose of this project was to incorporate sustainability in design by recycling
used products. Beverage cans are manufactured and used on a massive scale al around the
world. Their manufacturing uses large deposits of metal reserves to make the cans and fuel to
run the factory processes. So, I decided to recycle beverage cans and transform them into
water filters. This project required a lot of brainstorming to find feasible methods and
minimal additional materials.
For inspiration, I decided to research on some creative projects that have similar motives. I
found the 2 lives campaign that was undertaken by Coca Cola. This campaign featured a line
of 16 types of caps that can be screwed on to coke bottles. The caps transformed the bottle
into useful objects like squirt guns, whistles, pencil sharpeners and so on. My project and this
campaign had the beverage industry and sustainable design in common. After my research, I
was convinced that working with the beverage industry was a good decision because of its
large-scale production as well as scope for reuse.
At first, I decided to explore beverage cans to gain a deeper knowledge of the material. I
tested the material physically in different external conditions such as heat, cold and pressure
to explore how it responds to them. Further I cut and pierced the can in different was to test
the material's durability as well as various design possibilities. Finally, I decided to convert
Radha Chopra 2
beverage cans into primary water filters. This product would serve a dual purpose of
recycling cans and reuse of water. To start the process, I formed a step-by-step approach to
create the product. First, I pierced holes at the bottom of the can to enable seeping through of
water. Then, I searched for videos on YouTube to understand the water filtration system
better. This lead me to the idea of placing two cans one on top of the other to enable double
filtration, of two layers rather than one. The upper can filter had larger holes for initial
filtration while the second one had much smaller holes for final filtration. The upper filter
also had cotton lining at the bottom to soak impurities. The next step was to add grit, to
absorb the left over impurities of the water. The grit technology is derived from nature’s
filtration system, which consists of layers of different sized rocks under the crust through
which rainwater seeps and gets semi-purified.
Before finishing this process, I wanted to be sure that the filter work. So, I performed a
user test to check the functionality and efficiency of the product. I encountered a few
drawbacks involving the filtration, which required adding more grit. I made changes
according to the user test and feedback, and finally the product was ready to use. There is still
scope for further research and exploration to better my product.
Word Count: 529 words