Tuesday 7 August 2012
Sarah lights up the Olympics with help from Future Factory
Sarah's creations in the Coca-Cola hospitality suite at the Olympic Park
Recycled bottle designs by Nottingham Trent University alumna, Sarah Turner, are lighting up the Coca-Cola hospitality suite at the Olympic Park in London.
Eco artist and designer, Sarah, who graduated from the University with BA (Hons) in Product Design in 2008, used over 2200 plastic bottles and thousands of hand-cut pieces from bottles and cans to complete the installation.
After initially being approached by Coca-Cola 18 months ago, Sarah was commissioned for the work at the beginning of this year. The tight timescale and manufacturing work required led to Sarah approaching Nottingham Trent University’s sustainable design project, Future Factory, for support.
She was given access to the University’s workshop facilities with technical staff support to build five giant two-metre wide lights and nine 50cm tall lights. Sarah also made a nine-metre sculpture of a high diver, which now passes through two floors of the hospitality suite, in her own nearby studio.
Based at The Hive, Nottingham Trent University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise, Sarah specialises in reusing locally collected waste plastic drinks bottles – sandblasting them before cutting and shaping them until they are unrecognisable from their original state.
Sarah said: "This was a very exciting project and it would have been very difficult to meet the manufacturing requirements on my own. The space and the technician’s support that Future Factory provided were invaluable."
Debra Easter, Future Factory project manager, said: "This project showcases how waste products can be ‘upcycled’ to create desirable design objects which are appealing to an international audience."
Future Factory is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. It supports small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the East Midlands to become more sustainable in a variety of ways. The project offers workshops and events, one-to-one business mentoring and customised research. It connects SMEs to experts in their field to develop specialised projects. For further information, please visit the website.
Notes to editors:
Press enquiries please contact Helen Breese, Press Officer, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8751 or via email, or Therese Easom, Press and Internal Communications Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8774 or via email.
The Hive
The Hive supports the creation of new businesses as well as fostering the delivery of entrepreneurship education into the curriculum across the University .For further information visit the website.
