Illustrations & Videos October 6, 2024

Bean There, Sustain That—Exhibition Showcase

Task

Reimagine the future of Orchard Road

Design

Art Direction, Concept, 3D, Animation, Installation, Projection
Client

Re-Route: Orchard
Tags

3D, Animation, Circular Economy, Installation, Orchard Road, reroutefest, Singapore Design Week, Sustainability

Bean There, Sustain That Installation Event

As part of Singapore Design Week 2024, Re-Route: Orchard Festival invited designers to reimagine Orchard Road under the theme, “Be Here Now”.

The event took place from 26 Sep to 6 Oct 2024. For our design project, we collaborated with Higher Nitec in Production Performance, Gmaximus, and Nowafter Cafe.

Our idea was to create an installation that demonstrated how upcycled coffee grounds could be transformed into eco-friendly, valuable products. Through our research, we discovered a general lack of awareness among the public regarding upcycling—especially of coffee grounds—and circular economy practices, despite a widespread acknowledgment of the need to adopt sustainable habits in daily life.

It is hoped that this project will foster meaningful connections between cafes on Orchard Road, coffee consumers, sustainability advocates, startups, and designers—groups not typically seen as interconnected. Additionally, we aim to encourage ongoing discussions on sustainability and help shape a new narrative for Orchard Road.

For this project, we reached out to students from the Higher Nitec in Performance Production program at the School of Design & Media, ITE, offering them the opportunity to work on industry collaborative projects. They contributed to the technical design of our installation.

The installation features an immersive digital projection experience alongside a display of lifestyle products upcycled from used coffee grounds. For the immersive experience, we designed a futuristic 3D virtual cafe that sought to engage the audience, guiding them through the process of how coffee grounds were transformed into eco-friendly products.

The products on display included keychains, coasters, potted plants, and more, all made by Gmaximus using coffee grounds sourced from Nowafter Cafe in Design Orchard.