Ball State University architecture students will gain real-life experience this semester working with an in-state industry partner as part of a design research pilot project called "SmartScrap."
SmartScrap is a system developed by Kevin Klinger, director of the Institute for Digital Fabrication and associate professor of architecture, that recycles limestone scraps from Indiana Limestone Fabricators into usable limestone that can be sold for profit.
"[SmartScrap] offers a more sustainable way to work with materials and reduce waste generated by manufacturers," Klinger said.
The scrap is reused and made into digital images. Then a computer uses parametric design software to figure out how the shapes can be combined, said Joshua Vermillion, operations manager for the Center of Media Design and instructor of architecture.
"We have been working on writing our own computer software to create a digital model that can intelligently look at all our catalogued pieces and begin to combine them in different ways based on shape and size," he said.
Students that participate in the pilot will earn three credit hours for the seminar and workshop "Parametric Constructions," taught by Klinger and visiting Professor Branko Kolarevic.
Vermillion said Indiana is very dependent on manufacturing and one of the largest problems in the limestone industry is the wasted stone they have left over. SmartScrap will help make the process more efficient and enhance the knowledge base surrounding digital design and digital fabrication. Also, by recycling and reusing limestone scraps, it helps the environment, Vermillion said.
SmartScrap is not limited to limestone; it could eventually be applied to many different forms of manufacturing waste, he said.
In December, The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts of Chicago awarded the Ball State Institute for Digital Fabrication about $10,000 to fully fund its SmartScrap project.
Klinger said The Graham Foundation usually chooses to fund undertakings such as book development, foundations and other interesting projects.
"They are known for picking really great ideas and funding them," Vermillion said. "So we're really excited that they found our idea worthwhile."
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