Turn your bathroom into a sustainable piece of art with 3D printed tiles

If you’re redesigning your bathroom but you’re bored with the regularly-designed tiles that you see in the market, this 3D printed tile design may be for you. That is, if you don’t mind having some organism looking creatures permanently displayed while you’re taking a bath. It is sustainable and biodegradable so that’s a major bonus if you’re concerned with things like that.

Designer: bioMATTERS

The MYCO-ALGA is an interior tiling system that is made from natural and organic waste that have been upcycled together with actual living organisms. There are different sustainable processes involved in coming up with this including designing them digitally, 3D printing, growing the organisms, enriching them with bio-pigments, fabrication, etc. It begins with the waste materials being ground into a paste-like substrate as a foundation.

Once it has been turned into paste, it is then 3D printed into customized shapes and for two weeks, they are placed and cultivated in a controlled environment so that the mycelium turns into the thing that binds the material together. They are then placed in convection ovens and as they “bake”, they turn into lightweight materials but at the same time, they become strong and rigid. The bio-pigments from the harvested algae which are now gel are then applied to the tiles.

The tiles are definitely unique looking and can be a conversation piece when you have people visit your bathroom. They were designed to specifically look like organisms are crawling all over your space. The mosaic-like design with the non-repeating patterns are visually striking and 100% sustainable.

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This modular kitchen furniture system uses tiles to create a unique aesthetic for your home

When it comes to homes, the living room and the dining table are often the go-to places for interactions and socialization. These days, however, the lines separating these areas are blurring, if not totally gone, and the kitchen has also become a hub, especially for people who congregate around food and their preparation. Unfortunately, very few people actually pay attention to the appearance of kitchens, looking at them more as functional places that are hidden from the view of other people. Functionality and aesthetics aren’t mutually exclusive, however, and this modular kitchen furniture system demonstrates how careful and smart design can bring not only flexibility but even beauty to any kitchen space.

Designer: SWNA

There are plenty of beautiful kitchen designs, of course, but the vast majority of these employ elaborate furniture, luxurious materials, and the like. Some even sacrifice a bit of convenience and flexibility just to maintain appearances. Cooking tools and tableware are neatly tucked away in cabinets and shelves, hidden from view and out of immediate reach. The Dancing Grid, in contrast, lays everything out in the open and instead uses the very same objects to make the kitchen look alive and visually interesting.

The Dancing Grid is more than just a wall shelf for showing off your kitchen wares, however. Its real selling point isn’t just the modularity, but that is definitely an important element of its appeal. It’s the tasteful use of tiles, a common sight in many kitchens. The different tiles have different functions, ranging from shelving to peg boards to blank spaces that providing some “breathing room” for the arrangement. The Dancing Grid not only provides the storage functionality that homeowners need, it also delivers it in an interesting manner that adds some personal touch to your kitchen.

The In-Out tiles, on the other hand, are designed for horizontal surfaces, like kitchen tables and sinks. In fact, the design replaces the conventional metal sink with these tiles, creating a uniform appearance that conveys the image of smoothness even in corners. It still has an element of modularity where owners can create different combinations of containers and slots as their needs dictate.

Hoook tiles (not a typo) bring a different kind of flexibility. The rectilinear tiles provide a way to hang utensils or hooks as well as an add-on shelf for objects that need to stand on a flat surface. When the tile is placed upside-down, however, it creates a convenient groove to hide lighting, such as an LED strip, to add to the ambiance of the kitchen in a subtle way. Last but not least, Shaded is a purely decorative tile that gives the illusion of different hues without actually adding color, thanks to its play of light and shadows from its slightly angled form. Without going overboard and using the single concept of tiles, this modular kitchen system is able to create a more interesting atmosphere that people can gather in while still keeping kitchen functionality at its maximum.

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These beautiful tiles are actually made from fish scale waste

Humans eat a lot of food that comes from plants and animals, but not all the parts of these living creatures are deemed edible or appetizing. These parts include internal organs, bones, and even skin, parts that get discarded and thrown out during processing. Unsurprisingly, this waste starts to pile up and cause harm to the planet, especially since there doesn’t seem to be any decrease in human appetite and consumption. Fortunately, some people have started to get smarter and use that human ingenuity to either help reduce food waste or use them for something completely different. In fact, some people have even discovered how beautiful this waste can be, such as these stunning tiles that would shock you to learn are made from ignored and discarded fish scales.

Designer: Erik de Laurens

Animal skins have plenty of uses, some more wasteful than others. Some skin can be eaten, of course, but others are simply taken for their material value. Leather has always been a controversial material because of this, loved for its natural properties but criticized for its cruel source. Fortunately, there are now attempts to create more sustainable alternatives to leather that don’t involve harmful plastics either.

Fish scales, on the other hand, are simply discarded because they aren’t exactly edible. They are thrown out by both food and aquaculture industries and add to the growing amount of waste in our environment. It turns out, however, that these seemingly useless scales have the components that make them as hard as stone yet as beautiful as marble. And thus, Scalelite was born. Using a sustainable process and no harmful ingredients, Scalelite transforms wasted and ugly fish scales into beautiful materials that can cover walls or floors and even become parts of furniture.

Scalelite also has other admirable properties beyond being 100% natural and attractive. It has natural fire resistance and is dirt-repellent, making it suitable for use in hospitality and retail applications. It’s easier to clean, too, even without using harmful detergents. And, of course, it’s completely recyclable, so you won’t have to fill guilty when you do have to throw the tiles away after probably decades of use.

It’s definitely encouraging to see such efforts to salvage what most of us have considered garbage and turn them into something not only useful but actually appealing as well. It gives credence to the expression that one man’s trash might be another one’s treasure. Sadly, Scalelite is just a small fish in a gigantic industry trying to make a difference, and we need a lot more of these sustainable materials to stop the planet from hurting.

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Built from repurposed roofing tiles, this exhibition space is inspired by natural cave dwellings and tree canopies!

H&P Architects created entire facades out of tile waste found on Vietnam’s streets for Ngói Space, wrapping the city building in curtains of terracotta tile to produce a distinct look that uses light and shadows to challenge conventional architecture’s sense of space and give the building a microclimate quality unique to its framework.

Architects have felt inspired by natural dwellings for as long they’ve been building their own. Taking cues from the area’s surrounding landscape and proximate building material, architects are better able to integrate nature and its organic structure into their designs. Vietnam-based architecture firm, H&P Architects, found inspiration in the natural canopies and stratification of banyan fig trees as well as the assorted and multilayered chambers found in caves for Ngói Space, a new exhibition center built from repurposed tile construction waste.

The tile that constructs Ngói Space is familiar to Vietnam’s cityscape as it is more commonly used on roofs throughout urban provinces. H&P Architects created entire facades out of tile waste found on Vietnam’s streets for Ngói Space, wrapping the city building in curtains of terracotta tile to produce a distinct look that uses light and shadows to challenge conventional architecture’s sense of space and give the building a microclimate quality unique to its framework. A country known for tilework architecture, Vietnam’s crumbling tiled buildings are often demolished with little regard to the construction waste produced from the tile.

While the tiles are familiar to the roofs and ceilings of Vietnam, H&P gave discarded tiles new life by using them to build facades. Offering new life to Vietnamese tilework architecture and the building material itself, H&P Architects constructed Ngói Space’s frame entirely from concrete and wrapped it up with 2,000 ‘viglacera dong anh tiles’ that created beveled facades. The building is formed from concrete casting and glass windows, which are wrapped in tilework facades to create a unique exterior display.

A roof provides an outdoor seating area for guests to enjoy their drinks or just lounge around under the sun. The multi-story building functions as a large communal space, with different activity offerings on each level. Moving through the cavern-like halls cast from concrete, sunlight filters through the crisscrosses of tiled facades to brighten the building’s industrial interior. On the first floor, guests can gather and enjoy coffee or tea either indoors or out on the terrace before moving to the upper levels where seminar and exhibition spaces fill each floor. Then, the roof provides a space for people to gather outdoors and enjoy the full breadth of sunlight.

Terraces throughout the building are able to stay cool thanks to the microclimate quality the tiles create. Speaking on the building’s repurposed tilework, H&P Architects note, “The Ngói space was created as an inspiring solution to reusing these memory-filled tiles. On a larger scale, it orientates users towards a sustainable tomorrow, from the perspective of reaching back to the past to recognize and rediscover the core and hidden values of the original space and use those values to create spaces of the future.”

Designer: H&P Architects

The building’s concrete interior takes inspiration from natural caves to bring warmth to an otherwise industrial setting.

The triangles formed from repurposed tilework provide plenty of views of the surrounding area.

Sunlight that filters through the tilework creates mesmerizing puzzles of light on the building’s ceilings and floors.

Interior walls are more tightly packed with tiles to provide a dense, fuller feel.

At night, the golden light that pours out from Ngói Space helps it shine like a lantern in the dark.

4 Classic Video Game Inspired Tile Designs

pacman tile 4 Classic Video Game Inspired Tile Designs
If you’re looking to geek up your bathroom or kitchen why not take advantage of the fact that square tiles are perfect for creating mosaics with? UK based Topps Tiles came up with a few fresh ideas to turn your home into an 8-bit wonderland. Like the Pac-Man design above with the well-placed clock in the center. Or Mega Man:
mega man tiles 4 Classic Video Game Inspired Tile Designs
That one looks a bit more complicated to create, being 16 bits and so many colors. But I could see it in a kid’s bathroom or mancave bathroom. Make it simpler with the oldest of the old school- Pong!
pong tiles 4 Classic Video Game Inspired Tile Designs
I like that design- it’s geeky but not in-your-face. Almost subtle. Lastly is the Space Invaders tile job:
space invader tiles 4 Classic Video Game Inspired Tile Designs
Maybe I wouldn’t have placed that picture right over the design. Pretty cool tiling inspiration ideas there, you could take this idea and run with it- finding the perfect 8-bit retro game for your room design.

4 Classic Video Game Inspired Tile Designs