Upcycle design isn’t something for everyone. And within this category of design there are creations so special that there will always be people that don’t like it. They like the idea, but not the design. Last couple of posts here on upcycleDZINE showed some raw objects being upcycled. From a gas tank to a tractor. When I posted the article about tractor furniture I was sure it wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea. But what happened? On the Facebook page and on this blog it gained the highest number of views for one day.
So maybe today’s upcycle design is also interesting to a lot of people. Not sure. One thing I’m certain about is that this creation is impressive and unique.
Sea container turned into striking upcycle object
The design is made out of an object that hasn’t been featured on this blog. It’s a sea container. These sturdy and very recognisable objects are upcycled more and more. Designers and architects are discovering ways a sea container can be reused and be given a new function, a second life. Some container homes are quite amazing.
And now Amsterdam based design studio Spek [Dutch for bacon] created wall design made out of these discarded containers. Spek was founded in mid 2014 by Michiel van Sinderen and Steffen de Jonge, both educated at TU Delft. They’ve been featured on upcycleDZINE before with their BAUlamp which I spotted at the DDW 2014.
The design in this post is called WORLD MAP and is made by upcycling old sea containers. These have travelled thousands of kilometres over sea and land in all kind of weather conditions. These incredibly sturdy objects are bought by the guys from Spek and tranfsormeert into unique world maps to hang on a wall.
The sea containers are transported in small pieces to Amsterdam. There the world maps are hand crafted with use of a plasma cutter. That’s quite a fierce process and gives the world map that nice raw edge.
Michiel van Sinderen and Steffen de Jonge:
“Each map is unique and has it’s own characteristic dents and rust. Remnants of its previous life as a world traveler. With this, the world map by SPEK is probably the roughest world map available.”
Photos © Spek
If you’re searching for something unique for your wall, than this sea container World Map might by something for you. Spek wanted to create a striking upcycle design object that would tell a story, show its history and could hang on a wall. And with this creation they certainly succeeded.
The design is available in four sizes, ranging from 75 x 45 cm to 185 x 115 cm.