Rafael El Baz is a designer and artist working at the intersection of material research, traditional craft and contemporary fabrication.
His practice transforms overlooked materials and industrial remnants into works that carry narrative, preserve local histories and foster connection with community. Drawing on his background in industrial design, Rafael’s work ranges from the creation of bespoke objects to large-scale public realm commissions with clients including the V&A, HS2 and the Craft Council. He is co-founder of GoodWaste and HereUs and his work has been featured in Forbes, Culturalee, The Evening Standard, Vogue and Dezeen.
Rafael’s residency will investigate the potential of slag – an abundant yet largely overlooked by-product of glass production – as a raw material for designers. Working in collaboration with a factory in West London that generates nearly two tonnes of silica waste each month, Rafael will test how this material can be diverted from landfill or downcycled into concrete – ready to be transformed into new materials, objects and architectural components. Alongside material development, Rafael will explore how these processes can be scaled up into viable reuse strategies for reclaimed minerals and industrial by-products. His research will expose the absurdities of waste streams and reposition slag as a resource for regenerative futures.
