O-range

︎ Creators: Aryan Gupta and Sandy Tsang      
︎ Supervisor: Peter Yeadon


Each year, the planet produces 60 million tons of oranges. Alongside them, 32 million tons of peels are discarded. Yet within every peel lies a naturally warm palette, a uniquely tactile surface, and patterns formed by nature.  O-range exists to reveal this overlooked elegance.

Stemming from the idea of repurposing orange peel waste into resources, the O-range lamp uses the radiance glow from the natural orange color. Through careful dehydration and bioplastic preservation, the peels gain structure, longevity, and a rich organic texture. The dried peels strengthen the bioplastic, while glycerol determines flexibility, allowing us to tailor each formula. Additionally, orange peels bring natural warmth to lighting, furniture, and home goods through their inherent color, translucency, and texture. The peels can provide natural pigmentation, avoiding the pollution, energy use, and toxicity associated with synthetic dyes and industrial furniture processing.

The design of the lamp is a motif for the orange shape, where the orange bioplastic is made to look like the “pulp” of the orange, surrounded by a “skin” of wood. 

We have only made one lamp, however, our ambitions are to transform orange peel byproducts into refined materials for contemporary interiors. Through manipulating the quantities of glycerol, we are able to create other applications for orange bioplastic. Tiles are made with less glycerol for firmness; lighting pieces use more for pliability and sculptural form.

While today’s market is flooded with short-lived “fast furniture,” O-range offers a different path. In 2017 alone, furniture waste reached 12.2 million tons. Our materials create a circular alternative, where instead of contributing to methane emissions in landfills, each peel becomes a durable, meaningful object. Because orange peels are globally abundant, our model supports local sourcing and decentralized, community-centered production.

Our focus is elevating circularity through aesthetics. O-range is a reminder that nature itself is a designer, and its forms deserve to be seen, not discarded. Minimal, tactile, and rooted in nature, our materials offer a distinct visual language shaped entirely by the fruit they come from.

Presenting O-range ... a range of designs made from orange waste, where waste becomes worth.