Daria Biryukova is a design alchemist who founded Studio Mixtura in 2015. She experiments with waste and secondary raw materials to find sustainable, and beautiful solutions for everyday life. Her work is prominently ceramic based, with a focus on sustainable glazes. For every project she begins with deep research and analysis of all the ingredients which appear after production or recycling processes. Before working with different industries and experts in order to create the most sustainable solutions. Studio Mixtura helps industries and organisations review their production methods and waste management, while also offering sustainable design solutions.

Inspired by the traditional recipes from Middle East, Daria Biryukova creates ceramic glazes made from biological waste. Bottom ash is a sustainable product that is used in the concrete industry and civil engineering as an alternative for sand and gravel. The use of bottom ash reduces the use of primary materials and makes products circular. Tiles, bricks and facade stones with FORZ®Glaze are available in a wide range of colours and sizes. Studio Mixtura has been working with Mineralz B.V. since 2016. Mineralz is active in the recycling of mineral residues to secondary raw materials. Together with Mineralz, Daria Biryukova has developed an application of FORZ® in the ceramic industry. The products and articles produced with FORZ® Glaze are suitable for consumer purposes and meet the applicable environmental requirements. Daria has used FORZ®Glaze to finish upcycled stoneware. For the collection Studio Mixtura developed 2 contemporary colours and a unique method of applying the glaze on the second-hand tableware.

Slate Roof tiles have been used for centuries to cover historical monuments, churches, and castles. It is used for its water resistance and durability and can last several hundred years. But the quarrying of slate is unsustainable as from 100% of quarried raw material only 3% is brought to market. Studio Mixtura tested advanced techniques to create a sustainable modular alternative for Slatestone tiles. These were then used to cover a complex roof of the Castle Schaesberg. The new material for the tiles is based on waste streams of slate stones and other mineral residues sourced locally in the Netherlands. This waste comes from the quarries themselves as it is left after the stones have been split and cut. The production requires the presence of water to settle the powder dust in the air, this combination of dust and water result in a sludge waste. Annually around 600,000 tonnes of this waste is produced per quarry. Studio Mixtura is exploring different contemporary prototyping techniques, such as 3D printing, to show the potential of the new material and modular tile system.

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Studio Mixtura