Scraptopia

Scraptopia explores copper reclaimed from electrical waste through a process of material transformation. Using electroplating as a generative tool rather than a surface finish, copper is harvested molecule by molecule from scrap and grown over several days into new forms.

As land-based copper deposits deplete and mining shifts toward increasingly extractive methods, Scraptopia responds to the logic of urban mining — the idea that valuable metals already exist within waste streams. Industrial electroplating techniques are adapted to reclaim and purify copper locally, depositing it onto non-metallic moulds that can be returned to the bath and reused.

The resulting objects sit somewhere between solid and liquid, recalling archaeological fragments, domestic utensils, and delicate textile traces. Scraptopia positions recycling not as an end-of-life solution, but as an active, repeatable process of material renewal.

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Project, 2021 — Awarded Cum Laude

c. Bracket Studios