Mussel Shells That Once Obstructed Pipes Can Now Be Turned Into Stylish Tiles

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Mussel shells grow in water. While these species do thrive in the right kind of environment, too much of it can be detrimental to life as well. If you look at London’s waterways, the pipes are riddled with these shells, clogging the pipes that people need.

But as they say, there’s beauty in the ugly. These mussel shells can obstruct passageways, but something can be done about it as well. In fact, the shells can be made into beautiful, artistic tiles that people can use to beautify their homes.

So beautiful are these shells that some designers residing in London are collecting the invasive type of mussel species and turning their shells into beautiful tiling. This has been extremely beneficial because these mussel shells are no longer allowed to crumble and disintegrate in landfills. Instead, they collect them and break them down to come up with a rigid and translucent material that people never realized was possible.


Addressing problems connected to invasive species can be costly. They usually need tens of millions of pounds to get rid of. However, they saw that this kind of investment can be paired with outgoing profits. This will allow for the clearing out to be faster and more efficient, and that’s because money also comes in during the process.

This started when the London water pipes began being clogged. The invasive species was native to the Dnieper River in Ukraine and they were called the quagga mussel. As a solution to the issue, Thames Water shelled out millions of pounds just to have them removed. The shells had ended up in landfills that were found around British capital. However, many have also ended up in the workshop of designer Lulu Harrison. No one noticed this until the London Craft Week’s Beautility exhibit happened. She had used the quagga mussel shell powder to make glass, and the design captured the attention of many.

Fact is, glass has been known to be infinitely recyclable. Thus, this is actually not a polluting container material. On the other hand, sand mining is an ecologically-damaging practice. Rivers all over the world have paid a high price for this.

Yanko Design

As for Harrison herself, she has said that her method is akin to the ancient glass-making techniques. She makes use of about 60 percent River Thames sand, 20 percent mussel shells, 20 percent locally-sourced wood ash, and a bit of “soda ash.” The latter is a staple ingredient in normal glass. Harrison believes that the manufacturers who are following in her footsteps could make a “geo-specific glass” industry. This can be done by the production of glass products based on locally-available substrates. This method can bring products that come in a variety of colors and levels of translucence.

Bureau de Change, an architecture firm founded by Katerina Dionysopoulou and Billy Mavropoulos, teamed up with Harrison to produce Thames Glass, a series of tiling for building façades that celebrate the patterns of old London.


“Looking back at the Royal Doulton, which manufactured the city’s water pipes in the mid-19th century, as well as the city’s ornamental terracotta chimney pots, the cast glass tiles replicate some of the same intricate 19th-century patterns,” wrote Bureau de Change.

In order to create the beautiful and decorative tiles, the mussels first have to be washed, then dried in the sun. Once done, these are ground and sieved so that these become a fine powder that is then cooked into molten glass. The product is immediately and quickly cooled so that they can be shattered and ground up once more. The product is lastly fed into a 3D printer, and voila, out come the tiles.

The English building codes are known to be stern and unyielding, This is why the tiles first need to first go through expensive tests before these can be approved for use on the buildings around. However, because the quagga mussel is known to invasively be found in several locations, included here are the Great Lakes of North America, many hope that people will start making these tiles. Doing so will make a big difference on the environment.

 

 

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