Courtney Naismith

Air-crafted Artefacts: Additive upcycling plastics within the Aviation Tourism Industry (2020)

Sustainability with Style

Courtney Naismith demonstrates how even the most problematic plastics considered ‘non-recyclable’ can be transformed from banal to eloquent. Supported by Air New Zealand, her research takes airline consumables on a re-manufacturing journey to the world of architecture and fashion, where coffee stirrers and headset bags become 3D printed chandeliers and personalised shoulder bags.

A growing awareness of sustainability combined with a passion for design came to guide her Master’s thesis (“Air-crafted Artefacts: Additive upcycling plastics within the Aviation Tourism Industry”) and its focus on the plastic waste produced by the aviation tourism industry. While individual single use consumables may seem small, if multiplied by the millions of air travellers they can create a serious waste stream that pleads to be addressed. Moving on from recycling Courtney saw more potential in 3D printed upcycling, to create bespoke products out of low-value waste in ways which could not be replicated through mass-manufacture or other technologies.

The experimental process of developing novel visual, tactile and structural qualities using 3D printing in response to material properties has resulted in artefacts that tell stories. These narratives are deeply embodied within the objects and are communicated through form, structure, material quality and surface texture. These rich cultural, material and technological references, symbolise their heritage, explaining where the artefacts come from in both a cultural and material sense and thereby giving them entirely new value; evocative of New Zealand’s identity, enhancing Air New Zealand’s brand and creating awareness of the issue.