Martian Relics: Recycled Aerospace Steel and Rammed Earth Shape Mars Homeware
London-based designer Roc H Biel presents a collection of five domestic objects exploring future human life on Mars using rammed earth and recycled industrial steel.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Roc H Biel introduces Martian Relics, a collection of five domestic items examining Mars living.
- Objects are crafted by combining ancient rammed earth with recycled stainless steel from aerospace parts.
- Photographed against the volcanic landscape of Lanzarote, mimicking the Martian terrain.
- The project questions resource scarcity and contemporary attitudes toward space colonization.
Designer Roc H Biel has unveiled Martian Relics, a collection of five domestic objects that investigates how daily human life might transform if humans were to establish a settlement on Mars. Comprising a plate, a mirror, a window, a flower pot, and a water filter, the project employs speculative design to explore how harsh environmental conditions shape culture, memory, and human behavior. All pieces were constructed using rammed earth and recycled stainless steel, then photographed within the volcanic terrain of Lanzarote, which mirrors the Martian surface.
Rather than offering a utopian vision of future living in space, the collection mirrors contemporary attitudes toward Earth and the renewed global interest in space exploration. Each item tackles a distinct facet of human existence, pondering how beliefs, identity, nostalgia, and resource access might evolve in an arid environment where water and materials are severely limited. The project ultimately questions the notion of planetary escape, suggesting that Earth's environmental crises will define any future habitation elsewhere.
Material selection sits at the heart of the project, pairing rammed earth—one of humanity's oldest construction techniques—with recycled stainless steel salvaged from industrial components like valves and sheet-metal offcuts. This combination establishes a dialogue between low-tech building methods and remnants of aerospace technology, portraying a future where discarded industrial waste becomes part of daily domestic routines.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The integration of rammed earth with aerospace scrap metal serves as a compelling bridge between ancient vernacular architecture and high-tech industry. Conceptually, this highlights how future societies facing severe resource depletion will need to rely on upcycling and local foundational materials to sustain life in extreme extraterrestrial environments.
Leveraging his background in industrial mould design, the London-based designer engineered multipart moulds consisting of up to twelve individual components. This setup enables a continuous single-axis pressing process that compacts the earth layer by layer, achieving high geometric precision while preserving the signature texture and mass of rammed earth. Fabricated entirely in his London studio, each of the five unique objects measures up to 22 centimeters and weighs up to four kilograms.
The collection features functional objects imbued with speculative meaning, including Slow Water, a multi-stage water filter resembling a satellite; Faded Signal, a table mirror modeled after deep-space antennas; Last Offering, a headstone-like flower pot altar; Gravity Well, a pocket-object tray informed by space physics; and Eroded Horizon, a nostalgia-focused window framed in rammed earth that conceals its view.
Source: designboom
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