After the Last Sip

What remains after a cup of tea or coffee has been consumed? After the Last Sip brings together Taiwanese designers Chao-Chun Kung, Ching-Yu Lin and Chen-Yang Chang, with the spatial curation by Chih-Han Liu, to explore how familiar food and drink residues can become materials for contemporary design. At the core of the exhibition is an exploration of sustainable bio-composite materials. Used tea leaves and coffee grounds are processed and compounded with PLA, giving everyday by-products a second life. Through iterative testing, the research examines how variations in material ratios and particle sizes influence colour, texture, translucency and structural behaviour. Advanced parametric design tools and large-scale robotic 3D printing then transform these experimental materials into intricate furniture, lighting and sculptural objects. Their distinctive layer-by-layer textures make the fabrication process visible, expressing the fusion of technology and ecology. Among the exhibited works, Ching-Yu Lin’s Undetermined Shore invites visitors to contemplate the changing relationship between the island and the sea, echoing the uncertainty of Taiwan’s continually shifting coastline. Taking a different approach rooted in culture, Chao-Chun Kung’s CHA / 茶 begins with Taiwan’s tea-drinking traditions and explores how tea can move beyond symbolism to become part of the parametric design process. By contrast, Chen-Yang Chang’s Nexus Bloom explores the formal possibilities of parametric tools, examining how continuous lines can grow, connect and transform through digital design and 3D printing. Visitors will experience the exhibition within a working 3D-printing workshop, bringing them closer to the tools and processes behind the works. Finished pieces are displayed alongside material samples, failed prints, cut sections and reprocessed offcuts, revealing an iterative process in which organic waste becomes a source of colour, texture, structure and form. After the Last Sip invites visitors to reconsider what remains after an everyday ritual and the new possibilities that might emerge from it. Exhibiting Designers: Chao-Chun Kung, Ching-Yu Lin, Chen-Yang Chang Director: Chao-Chun Kung Co-directors: Ching-Yu Lin, Chen-Yang Chang Spatial Curator: Chih-Han Liu Graphic Design: Ching-Yu Lin, Jihae Choe Artwork Photography: Pin-Hsi Sung Acknowledgements: COMP Coffee, Yen-An Chen, Boer Zhu Supported by the Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative, Ministry of Education, Taiwan