Recycled China is a design team formed by Thomas Schmidt and Jeffrey Stephen Miller. As Americans having lived in Beijing, RC is inspired by the rich history of Chinese ceramics and the massive scale of ceramic industry within China today. Their work attempts to give new life to the huge quantity of discarded ceramics and other industrial waste from factories around China by transforming them into original artworks, functional design objects, and architectural tile. Their research lead to a new process of melting and casting recycled aluminum into molds containing crushed ceramic, brick, and glass as an aggregate material. Their discovery revealed that when these materials meet, the molten aluminum flows and curls around the shards and cools immediately, capturing this rapid collision. The resulting textures and compositions are dynamic and unpredictable, and are intended to reflect the dynamic and complex relationship between tradition and industry within China today. 

For more information please visit: www.recycledchina.com