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From The Underground

Jeffrey Miller

Profile picture of Jeffrey Miller

I'm a material designer focused on collaboration between design, science, and engineering. In 2012 I co-founded Recycledchina, which specializes in converting industrial ceramic waste from China into tile and design objects. My latest endeavour involves crafting metro tiles using waste from the London Underground, utilizing the metro system as a new form of mining resource.

I'm a material designer focused on collaboration between design, science, and engineering. In 201...

Metro tiles made from the waste of the London Underground for the London Underground itself.

Tiles are a defining feature of the London Underground, the world’s oldest metro system, yet their material origins are often unknown. Typically, virgin resources extracted through open-pit mining are used in production. To address this issue, this project makes tiles from the waste produced during the construction and operation of the London Underground itself. The materials include naturally forming London clay excavated during tunnel boring and iron oxide-rich dust from train wheels grinding against steel tracks. The tiles are cast from moulds provided by H&E Smith, a tile manufacturer that refurbishes tiles for the London Underground, and originally designed by Leslie Green, the architect behind many iconic London Underground stations in the early 20th century. From The Underground offers a juxtaposition to the opaque origins and environmental consequences of ubiquitous materials within our built environment.

Final work

Brown glazed ceramic metro tile with Victorian pomegranate motif.
Left: Small pile of grey dust behind lump of brown clay. Right: two vertical brown tiles propped up behind two horizontal brown tiles.

Research and process

Close up image of vacuum cleaner vacuuming a platform in the London underground as a train passes by in the background

Vacuuming dust on London Underground

Close up image of a series of small rectangular fired orange clay samples.

London Clay Fired Samples

London clay fired samples taken from borehole samples in London.

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From The Underground

Metro tiles made from the waste of the London Underground for the London Underground itself. Tiles are a defining feature of the London Underground, the world’s oldest metro system, yet their material origins are often unknown. Typically, virgin resources extracted thro...

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