Abstract
Eggshell waste, designated by the EPA as the 15th largest food-based pollutant, is reimagined here as a regenerative material through circular and reciprocal design practices. This research explores how discarded eggshells can be transformed into bioplastics, coatings, and modular construction elements. The project integrates ecological theory (Haraway’s “response-ability,” Kimmerer’s reciprocity) with hands-on material experimentation across diverse geographies, including India and Europe. Emphasizing student-led, non-hierarchical learning, it cultivates ecological care and interdependence between human and more-than-human worlds. Installations, workshops, and collaborations with local experts support regenerative construction practices rooted in local materials and needs. By challenging extractive, linear waste systems, the project aligns with the DRS2026 theme of Transitional Materialities, treating waste as offering and design as a practice of renewal. It proposes a speculative yet grounded approach to sustainable material futures: where fragility becomes a source of strength and design nurtures planetary repair.
Keywords
eggshell waste; regenerative design; circular materiality; ecological pedagogy; reciprocity; response-ability; bioplastic materials; more-than-human relations; transitional materialities; speculative design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1491
Citation
Valipour Goudarzi, H., Clifford, E.K., and S, R. (2026) From Fragile Remnants to Regenerative Systems: Circular Design Through Eggshell Waste, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1491
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
From Fragile Remnants to Regenerative Systems: Circular Design Through Eggshell Waste
Eggshell waste, designated by the EPA as the 15th largest food-based pollutant, is reimagined here as a regenerative material through circular and reciprocal design practices. This research explores how discarded eggshells can be transformed into bioplastics, coatings, and modular construction elements. The project integrates ecological theory (Haraway’s “response-ability,” Kimmerer’s reciprocity) with hands-on material experimentation across diverse geographies, including India and Europe. Emphasizing student-led, non-hierarchical learning, it cultivates ecological care and interdependence between human and more-than-human worlds. Installations, workshops, and collaborations with local experts support regenerative construction practices rooted in local materials and needs. By challenging extractive, linear waste systems, the project aligns with the DRS2026 theme of Transitional Materialities, treating waste as offering and design as a practice of renewal. It proposes a speculative yet grounded approach to sustainable material futures: where fragility becomes a source of strength and design nurtures planetary repair.