Shell Of The Ghost

Shell of the Ghost is an ongoing research project and collection initiated by the studio in 2015. It explores the creative and constructive possibilities of expanded polystyrene (EPS)—a ubiquitous, lightweight material that is essential for global logistics but often discarded after a single use. Over the past decade, the design team has investigated how to re-contextualize this "identity-less" waste through local traditions and innovative chemical transformations, turning it into a durable and culturally situated material.

The project functions as an exercise in "urban extraction," where the studio treats the city as a mine for raw materials. By collecting EPS waste within a close radius of the atelier, the team ensures full traceability and hyper-locality, creating an archive of material forms that reflect the consumption patterns of a specific time and place. This ten-year journey has evolved through several key milestones:

Napalm Boat (2015): The foundational project of the series, where the studio discovered that dissolving EPS in gasoline creates a rock-hard, protective plastic shell. This "survivalist" vessel, now part of the Makking&Bey collection, proved that waste could be transformed into high-performance functional objects.

Tizio Out of the Box (2021): Presented at the Salone del Mobile in 2024, this piece applied the research to domestic archetypes, further refining the aesthetic and structural potential of the upgraded polystyrene.

PULP (2025): Developed in collaboration with ex-Debris, this recent iteration merges urban waste with the Mediterranean tradition of "Farolillos Granadinos" (Granada-style lanterns). By applying the decade-long knowledge of EPS to craft-based lighting, the studio has created a contemporary interpretation of folk art that is both sustainable and deeply rooted in local history.

As it enters its second decade, Shell of the Ghost remains a cornerstone of the studio’s "pro-cycling" philosophy. The project continues to challenge the agency of creative practices in the face of resource scarcity, proving that through long-term material research, we can reimagine our relationship with the objects that haunt our environment and transform the "ghosts" of our logistics into lasting cultural assets.