Constructing Waste: The Exhibition
The FCL ‘Constructing Waste’ seminar 2012 concluded in an exhibition vernissage on 30 November 2012 at the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore. The public event was orchestrated as the final step in the pedagogical laboratory set by Dirk E. Hebel and Marta Wisniewska of the Assistant Professorship of Architecture and Construction.
The exhibition gave platform to seven outcomes of the ten-week research course, focusing on re-designing an everyday product in such a way, that it can have a second life cycle instead of ending as a trash item. Guests had a chance to see, feel, touch and smell the new products and to understand the concepts behind them. ‘CoBag+’, designed by Tobias Wullschleger, is an intelligent water container, which starts its second life cycle as a shelter and a water-purifying device. Naomi Hanakata presented her ‘D-Shirt’, a high-tech dust cloth, which turns into a fashionable item to wear after use. ‘Back to Bag’ is a design by Desiree Ampot, who is concerned with the amount of plastic carriers wasted every day. Thanks to this alternative version of plastic bags, they could become a luxury collection item. A similar concern encouraged Nikolaos Theodoratos to develop ‘YoBag’- a yoghurt container in a folded plastic bag.
Ervin Lim was inspired by his research in the Indonesian slums. His ‘Plant a Box’ design enhances the locals to collect paper food containers after use, fill them with soil and plant seeds inside. Thanks to an innovative connecting system, these boxes combine into retaining walls to keep river banks intact. Cell phone covers out of Tetra Pack? Pascal Genhart proofed them to be not only stylish but also convenient and very durable. In Singapore , five tons of straws are used and incinerated every day. Alireza Javadian proposes a small change in design, which would allow them to turn into a concrete reinforcement after use – ‘StrawCrete’. All seminar materials, readings, excercise instructions and background information on each lecturer are available in the booklet ‘Constructing Waste’.
Photo credits: Marta Wisniewska.
