Making architecture and urban design from 'waste' materials

Making architecture and urban design from 'waste' materials

A pioneer in the field of sustainable design will tour New Zealand this winter, speaking and running workshops in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Dutch architect and partner of Rotterdam-based Superuse Studios, Jos de Krieger, will speak on how they turn ‘waste’ materials into works of architecture and create urban ecosystems.

Superuse Studios researches, designs and builds innovative products, interiors, places and buildings and develops strategies for smart urban transformations. The firm is renowned internationally for its innovative design approach as well as for providing ‘open source’ methods and tools to the design community. They think ingenious, beautiful and functional architectural and social design solutions can be created using existing resources, materials and systems — everything is already there, we just have to see and utilise it. In this way, Superuse Studios operate with the aim to make effective use of frequently wasted resources and energy, limiting the environmental impact of architecture and design. Te Pūtahi Co-Director Jessica Halliday says, “This kind of approach is a necessary component of New Zealand’s transformation to a sustainable society.”

Since 2006, Jos de Krieger has been working in the field of architecture, especially innovative architecture and design made from leftover and waste materials. After his graduation at TU Delft he joined Superuse Studios (formerly 2012Architecten) to push the boundaries of architecture beyond traditional building methods into cyclical processes.

All public lectures are free and presented in association with local partners, including the New Zealand Institute of Architects, the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland and City Gallery, Wellington. The design workshops are offered to architects, design professionals, architecture and design graduates, clients, government and NGO staff, academics teaching design and interior architects. Learning from Superuse’s work will offer New Zealand communities, councils and designers new ways of thinking to help us to create truly sustainable projects, benefit local communities, and stimulate new business.

Jos de Krieger has been brought to New Zealand by Te Pūtahi, Christchurch centre for architecture and city-making as part of the development of FESTA 2016, a biennial weekend celebration of urban creativity in Christchurch that takes place over Labour Weekend, 21-24 October. de Krieger is the Creative Director for Lean Means, the major project for FESTA 2016, a spectacular temporary city made from reused ‘waste’ materials and designed by over 200 architecture and design students from Australia and New Zealand. de Krieger’s visit is sponsored by Metalcraft and Coloursteel and supported by the Warren Architects Education Charitable Trust.

For more information on Superuse Studios please visit http://superuse-studios.com/.

ENDS

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