The investigation’s objective was to explore how technology and material science can create design opportunities by designing and architectural application out of steel offals (a high quality by-product of General Motor’s car manufacturing process) in an effort minimize material waste.

Because of the qualitative and quantitative nature of the offals, the investigation lead to finding a design solution that would created zero material waste of the already existing steel waste. The resultant architectural application of the offal  as a lighting fixture for an accent wall or single unit use.

The difference between offals and any piece of steel made of the same material properties is it’s unconventional geometry. To be able to use the entire geometry of the offal the op art movement of the late 50’s and early 60’s was used as a reference. During this period artist like Joseph Albers created “maximum effect from minimum means”. This principal was explored in his homage to the square where he created different visual effects through color and spacial relationships by using a single geometric shape. 

The design solution created preserves the shape of the offal by offsetting it’s geometry at a controlled increment in order to  create zero waste. To attain the visual effect of depth each offal ring was elevated by a tested controlled increment.

The offal rings are separated by colored acrylic spacers with two bolts at each end connecting on offal ring to the next. In keeping with the idea of  “maximum effect from minimum means” a design study of different arrangements of the acrylic pieces radiating from the center of the offal was conducted to find the one with the most lighting effect that was the least apparent. The placement of the pieces radiated from the center in order for the rings to be supported all around. The lighting effects created by the arrangements changed by the sizes of the voids in between each  metal ring ranging.

The arrangement of the offals with the smallest pieces of acrylic spacing in-between each ring because they created the most impactful visual effect, an out of all the iterations, used the least amount of acrylic

A flat 10WWW white LED light was placed on the back of the offal arrangement and embedded into the wall. The Offal is mounted on to the wall.