Justin Pape and I teamed up with Milky's to create a sculpture for their shop.

As Canadians, we are one of the largest coffee drinking nations in the world which contributes to the estimated 500,000 tons of waste coffee grounds created globally each year. As a result, we wanted to find a way to use the coffee waste from the shop in an interesting way. We created a material which could use the coffee waste from Milky's, could be formed in waste-based molds and had a concrete-like feel. 

The result is our imagined Milky’s “town square”. The town is powered by coffee instead of electricity/water. The circles on the base are a view into the coffee power source beneath the town which lead up to a coffee well in the centre of the square.

Milky’s Town Square was conceived as a solution to way-finding and social distancing during the pandemic. The shapes are subtle indications for your eye to follow while complimenting shapes and colors which already exist in Milky’s. Plus the town square is a playground for the ceramic creatures that Milky’s sells, made by Toinz based in South Korea.

The structures are cast from a mixture of:

30% used coffee grounds from the shop
10% local construction debris (100 year old brick) 
Gypsum cement

Materials
New materials: Gypsum Cement, Plaster, FSC Certified Wood, Non-Toxic Glue

Recycled/Reused materials: Used Coffee Grounds, 100 year old bricks from construction waste, Off-cut insulation board, Used coffee cups, Wood pieces, Acrylic Plexiglass offcuts, Screws

Video Credits
Filming, Sound effects: Justin Pape, Nicole Charles
Editing, Music: Justin Pape