Rag Paper Bricks

Full description

This work was conceived as prototypes exploring how textile-derived paper might function beyond conventional paper applications. This project aimed to extend the discourse of textile upcycling into conceptual, architectural, and interior domains, where issues of scale, durability, and material performance become central.

This project was developed for the Some Things group exhibition held during Melbourne Design Week at Villa Alba in 2024.

The rag paper bricks were made to be the exact size and dimensions of a standard Australian brick. Each brick was made from exactly one entire garment—all threads, buttons, tags, and fibre. Garments were selected on the basis that they were unable to be mended due to advanced physical deterioration or worn due to bad design and therefore unable to be donated to a charity shop. The project was first ideated as a play on the word “brick,” which in technological terms means “to render (an electronic device, such as a smartphone) nonfunctional (as by accidental damage, malicious hacking, or software changes)” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). The intention of this project was to “brick” the garments by taking them out of their traditional lifecycles in the fashion industry. They also had the dual function of becoming “building blocks” from which future designs could be developed. In doing so, the bricks developed into modular, three-dimensional forms intended to test both the physical and conceptual potential of rag papermaking. Unlike conventional sheet-based papermaking, the bricks required alternative forming strategies, involving the production of a bespoke brick press, layered pulp deposition and controlled pressing and drying to achieve cohesion without the use of any binding material or glue. The resulting objects occupy an ambiguous space between paper, garment, and building material.

From an upcycling perspective, the bricks explore how garments and textile waste can be transformed into objects with perceived solidity and permanence once the “lifecycle” has been stopped. While not intended as load-bearing architectural elements, they function as speculative prototypes that question assumptions about paper’s fragility and disposability, and garment lifecycles. The visibility of inclusions such as buttons and labels and surface irregularities was retained intentionally, allowing the material’s origin as a garment to remain legible rather than concealed. This decision contrasts with many recycled materials designed to visually obscure their waste origins and instead positions material traceability as a design value. It also asks the question: why should an ideal sheet of paper, or any recycled material, erase traces of its origins?

The bricks also highlight the limitations of rag papermaking at scale. The labour required to produce consistent, structurally sound units is significant, and drying times increase substantially with material thickness. These constraints reinforce their suitability for small-scale, site- or context-specific, or experimental applications.

More information here: https://2024.designweek.melbourne/events/matters-at-villa-alba/