Recycling and open source are just twin concepts. At their debuts, their chances of survival appeared slim at best. Only DIY fanatics and homeless people did bother to recycle juste as lab geeks and anti-Microsofties did cherish codes. And what about sharing? Or developping communities? Wow, those words should be restricted to Hippies. But over years, those seeming weaknesses have proved to be its most important strenghts. Wikipedia reached warming apprecials from journalists and specialists. And we hope that Recyclicity would mature this way.
The Dutch project aims “to stimulate recycling or re-use of waste and to provide new applications for these materials,” as written on the Recyclicity weblog. Not only architects and design students but also amateurs and kids are invited to expand the collective knowledge database.
But if you still only think at separating waste, you’re wrong. “Recycling traditionally means that waste is being sorted and chopped up into small bits and pieces. […] This method often neglects the unique identity of the waste-material and a lot of energy is being added to break down the waste in order to reproduce more or less the same material. As a positive side effect this approach will lead to innovative applications in the building-industry and will create unexpected designs.“
Among the completed projects, we have found this smart project from architecture student of Halifax, Canada to complete a one-room house by stacking 7,000 phone books up. There also is the “Millipede” from Jan Jongert and Césare Peeren, who both collaborate to the Rotterdam, Holland-based 2012Architecten association. The design shelter has been presented during the Basurama exhibition in Barcelona, Spain and in Bruxells, Belgium.
It’s possible, of course, that these projects remain just exhibition objects. Small steps, people. Small steps. I’m convinced recycling buildings need to reach a critical level where its momentum will be strong that every one would like to have one. Because they will then be trendy.
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