fly ash becomes material in bentu design’s second mine project
At the confluence of Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River in China, BENTU Design initiates The Second Mine, a project that reuses coal fly ash from the nearby Shenhua Power Plant as a basis for material exploration. The project explores fly ash as a primary material for concrete urban furniture, transforming it into a durable composite through a process of recombination with slag and other solid waste. Within this system, cement content is reduced, while the material’s internal structure is refined. The resulting objects rely on the fine, powder-like quality of fly ash, which behaves both as filler and as an active component, contributing to density, surface continuity, and long-term stability.
Rather than treating waste as a residual category, The Second Mine frames it as a form of ‘urban mining’, where existing industrial outputs are reintroduced into new cycles of production. The furniture pieces are conceived as material studies, where texture, weight, and surface variation reflect their origin. Subtle tonal shifts and granular finishes make the composition visible, embedding the material’s history within its final form.
all images courtesy of BENTU Design
local materials and circular design shape second mine project
Developed through local sourcing and production, the project by BENTU Design Studio establishes a link between environmental conditions and design outcomes. By working within the context of regional industry, BENTU Design constructs a material language that is both site-specific and process-driven, where reuse becomes a defining element of form and appearance.
At a broader level, The Second Mine proposes a model of circular design in which discarded matter is re-evaluated and reworked into new applications. Through this approach, the project situates material transformation not only as a technical process but as a framework for rethinking how objects are produced, used, and understood.
project info:
name: Sustainable Practices in Fly Ash Recycling: BENTU design and The Second Mine
designer: BENTU Design | @bentudesign
material: BTPC, Steel slag / Recycled Jingdezhen ceramics / Red sandstone tailings, fly ash, active silica powder, polymer materials
size: L500xW480xH480 / L800xW480xH480 mm
weight: 65 / 105 kg
color: Black and white / Blue, white, and green / Red, yellow, and green / Black, white, red, green, and blue
designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.
edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom
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