Upcycling

Reuse and upcycling hold the key for architecture to break away from environmental exploitation while remaining innovative. To do so, we need to reconsider the existing building stock as a wealth of resources and ideas.

New approaches to architecture tend to forget that construction has historically always relied on recycled and upcycled building materials and components, as well as on shared knowledge and styles.

This publication explores the potential of historical concepts of upcycling – the qualitative recycling of buildings and building components – and confronts them with new developments in architectural and building practice. The authors consider architecture as part of a process of social change and recycling and upcycling not as a matter of idealism, but rather an argument for economy and quality of structure and design.

IMPRESSUM

Edited by Daniel Stockhammer

Published by Triest

With contributions by:

Alberto Alessi, Barbara Buser, Jürg Conzett, Elisabeth Crettaz-Stürzel, Anja Diener, Philipp Entner, Hanna Kuzniatsova, Silke Langenberg, Hans Rudolf Meier, Lisa Ochsenbein, Johannes Rederer, Nicholas Ransome, Fetanete Rashiti and Daniel Stockhammer

This book is available in English and German.

The cover, by Gmund Bio Cycle, is made from fast-growing fibres and green waste.