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Marble covered with plaster and metal treated with acid are among the repurposed materials used by Japanese architect Shogo Onodera to minimise waste while fitting out the flagship store of fashion brand IZA Tokyo. More
Indian architecture studio Workers of Art has converted a former storage space into its own plant-filled office, using recycled and repurposed waste materials in almost every aspect of its design.
Called WOA Second Home, the office is located in Kochi, Kerala, and occupies a 1,450-square-foot (135-square-metre) concrete structure that was previously used for storing tiles.
Aiming to “underscore the necessity of the curtailment of waste output in architecture,” Workers of Art (WOA) made use of materials that had been “relegated to landfill” including concrete board, PVC pipes and acrylic sheets, to create a workspace that would reflect the studio’s ethos.
WOA has converted a former storage space into an office in Kerala”The design celebrates the value of materials that might have otherwise been discarded, creatively forming patterns and combining different elements to breathe new life into the space,” said the studio.
“For instance, odd-shaped waste tiles are harmoniously mixed and matched, finding their new home in the powder room. A strikingly repurposed tile piece also elevates the entry steps, underscoring the studio’s attention to detail and innovative flair,” it added.
Organised across one floor, the entrance to the office leads into a large space lined with a zig-zag of ferrocement desks along the eastern wall, next to a meeting table and sample board at the centre of the room and a more private workspace to the west.
The design uses recycled and repurposed waste materialsA new partition with a large arched opening and blackout curtain leads through to a breakout area and facilities space containing a locker area, kitchen and bathroom.
“The design of the workstations, which meander through the shared workspace, was strategically planned to encourage teamwork while also allowing for individual space,” WOA co-founder Priya Rose told Dezeen.
“The philosophy was to create a workspace that feels like a ‘second home’ – evident in the thoughtful design elements that prioritise comfort, aesthetic pleasure, and a sense of belonging,” she added.
Terroir revamps 1960s Tasmanian office “using no new resources at all”
Custom black light fittings on the ceiling were created by repurposing lengths of PVC pipe, while bespoke planters were made using ferrocement lined with blue plastic barrels.
The existing tile floor in the building was retained, with areas that had become cracked removed and infilled with microcement to create contrasting dark grey geometric areas.
Throughout the studio, discarded antiques and over 100 species of local plants were introduced to bring a “homely” quality to the space.
A large arched opening forms a new partition within the officeWOA Second Home has been shortlisted in the workplace interior (small) category of Dezeen Awards 2023.
In Madrid, designer Lucas Muñoz used upcycled junk and construction waste to create nearly every interior element of the Mo de Movimiento restaurant.
The photography is by Ishita Sitwala.
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Sculptures crafted from recycled BMW airbags and oak railway sleepers feature in artist Frederik Molenschot’s Atlas 2000 exhibition, which is on display at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris.
Marking the Dutch artist’s first solo exhibition, Atlas 2000 features hand-sculpted works that are directly influenced by natural landscapes, Molenschot said.
The show’s title refers to the visual diary the artist has created since his studies at Design Academy Eindhoven in 2000.
Buoy Airbag is a sculpture made from recycled BMW airbagsSpread across the minimalist ground floor at the Paris branch of Carpenters Workshop Gallery, the sculptures were crafted from various materials and range from functional to abstract.
Buoy Airbag is an amorphous, pale blue-hued hanging sculpture created from recycled airbags sourced from BMW vehicles.
Frederik Molenschot’s debut solo show is on display at Carpenters Workshop Gallery”The piece delves into the intricate connection between cargo transport and climate change, with recycled airbags symbolising a melting arctic ice rock floating in the sea,” the artist told Dezeen.
“I want to explore how luxury materials are used and how they become what they are,” he added. “[So] I processed the used airbags in a ‘couture’ way, to get a very high-quality finish.”
Gingerblimp is a bronze LED light sculptureMolenschot also designed Gingerblimp, a bulbous bronze LED light sculpture characterised by a silver patina and a gold-brushed interior.
The artist explained that the sculpture is a playful take on ginger root from the natural world and also nods to the manmade blimps that form part of New York City’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Recycled oak railway sleepers were salvaged to create furnitureRecycled oak railway sleepers were salvaged to create a chunky dining table and chair, which were named Bridge Beat to “pay homage to the captivating structure of bridges”.
Also part of this series is a black bronze desk and chairs formed from gridded lines arranged in triangular formations.
Carpenters Workshop Gallery presents design exhibition on heritage, place and identity
“Each material was selected purposefully, offering unique properties and textures that complement the conceptual aspects of the artworks,” explained Molenschot.
“Every piece is hand-sculpted in our studio.”
Molenschot also created oversized clothingAccording to Molenschot, the pieces’ forms vary as much as their material palettes. In one corner of the gallery, a bobbly bronze glove was positioned underneath a branch-shaped textured lamp while oversized clothing also features in the exhibition.
“This solo show holds a special place in my heart, as it represents my entire artistic journey since my time at the Academy,” reflected Molenschot.
“It’s an invitation to explore my vision of our world. My ‘atlas’ is a compendium of research, pictures, designs, and sketches that have shaped me as an artist.”
The exhibition runs until mid-SeptemberKnown for his large-scale bronze sculptures, Molenschot has been represented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery since 2008. The galley, which also has locations in London and the US, previously exhibited an all-denim furniture show by designer Harry Nuriev.
The late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld also debuted his first sculpture exhibition at the Paris branch.
Atlas 2000 is on display at Carpenters Workshop Gallery from 1 June to 16 September 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
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For our latest lookbook, Dezeen has selected eight examples of interiors that were created with reclaimed and recycled materials, including a restaurant in Bangalore and a brick house in Ghent.
Recent decades have seen more awareness and reflection on environmental and sustainable issues both inside and outside the design world, leading a number of designers and architects to choose sustainable design for their projects.
From the use of unwanted items to the application of reclaimed bricks and recycled plastics, the eight projects in this lookbook present ways in which designers have rediscovered the value of waste.
This is the latest in Dezeen’s lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring sunny yellow interiors, beds that have been built into interiors and tiled kitchen worktops.
Photo by Ishita SitwalaCircus Canteen, India, by Multitude of Sins
Bangalore studio Multitude of Sins designed this restaurant interior, which was shortlisted in the sustainable interior category of Dezeen Awards 2022, to showcase a collage of unwanted objects.
The salvaged objects were sourced locally from a donation drive in a few weeks. The studio categorised them, then organised them into a colourful, stylish interior.
Find out more about the Circus Canteen ›
Kamikatsu Zero Waste Centre, Japan, by Hiroshi Nakamura
The Kamikatsu Zero Waste Centre (above and main image) was created as an eco-friendly community and educational space for recycling activities, and features a facade made of 700 windows donated by the local community.
Architect Hiroshi Nakamura attached harvesting containers from a mushroom factory to the wall to be used as bookshelves. Unwanted objects were also collected from abandoned houses, previous government buildings and schools in the local area.
Find out more about the Kamikatsu Zero Waste Centre ›
Photo by Sam A HarrisSilo, UK, by Nina+Co
The dining tables of this zero-waste restaurant in London consist of flecked recycled-plastic tops and sustainably-sourced ash wood legs, with mycelium pendant lamps dangling above.
The dining space also features a long bar counter made from recycled plastic packaging.
Find out more about Silo zero-waste restaurant ›
Photo by Magdalena GruberUrselmann Interior’s office, Germany, by Urselmann Interior
The renovation of the ceiling in this Düsseldorf office was completed using poplar wood sourced from a tree felled in the nearby city of Krefeld. The studio preserved the existing wooden and terrazzo flooring.
The refurbishment of the office, which is the studio’s own, also included the use of biodegradable materials, glueless joinery and cellulose-based cladding.
Find out more about Urselmann Interior’s office ›
Photo by Syam SreesylamWendy House, India, by Earthscape Studio
This vaulted residence in Bangalore, which sits among eight acres of dense forests, was covered with recycled mudga tiles. Its glass walls were framed with recycled rods.
Earthscape Studio also constructed the building with sithu kal bricks, a traditional technique that is currently not in use. This design revisited the neglected technique to help bring work opportunities to the local community.
Find out more about the Wendy House ›
Photo by Stijn BollaertGjG House, Belgium, by BLAF Architecten
Built without supporting interior walls, this house was constructed with reclaimed bricks and features a curved form and brick bonding.
BLAF Architecten designed the unusual curvilinear walls in order for the house to fit in between surrounding trees on the site in Ghent.
Find out more about GjG House ›
Photo by José Hevia10K House, Spain, by Takk
In the context of global climate change and the energy crisis, 10K House was built on a material budget of only 10,000 euros and features rooms built inside each other to maximise insulation.
Spanish Architecture studio Takk used recycled white table legs to lift one of the interior rooms in the Barcelona apartment, creating space for water pipes and electrical fittings without the extra cost of adding wall grooves.
Find out more about 10K House ›
Photo by Agnese SanvitoRylett House, UK, Studio 30 Architects
Studio 30 Architects transformed an old carpenter’s bench into a kitchen island for this London house extension, which includes a living, kitchen and dining area.
The extension was built on the site of a previous conservatory and overlooks the garden through a timber window decorated with plants.
Find out more about Rylett House ›
This is the latest in Dezeen’s lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring sunny yellow interiors, beds that have been built into interiors and tiled kitchen worktops.
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Architect and restauranteur Elly Ward has opened the low-impact restaurant Edit in London, drawing inspiration from its vegan, minimal-waste menu to create an interior filled with reused and recycled materials.
Ward collaborated with her husband Joe Morris of architecture studio Morris + Company on the project, which was designed using low-intervention methods.
“It’s been designed to be as circular as possible, which is the whole philosophy of the restaurant,” she told Dezeen.
The Edit restaurant features exposed brick wallsEdit is located in a former factory and warehouse building in east London and connected to the adjacent Morris + Company architecture office.
Visitors to the restaurant can view the studio’s models through a large glass door, adding a decorative touch to the space.
This door and a window into the office were two of the main changes Ward made to the existing space, which she has transformed using recycled and reclaimed materials.
A window connects the interior with the adjacent architecture studioThe building’s brick walls – including a former exterior wall that still features old advertising text – were retained alongside the warehouse’s cast-iron columns and beams, forming the structural fabric of the 197-square-metre restaurant.
Ward added lightweight screen partitions that slot between the existing structures, including a wall made from wood and recycled polycarbonate that divides the main dining area from a smaller private dining room.
A polycarbonate screen with wood shelving divides the spaceA warm red floor, made from screed topped with a water-based resin, matches the floor in the architecture office next door and contrasts the textured brick wall that Ward and Morris painstakingly unveiled from underneath layers of paint.
At the rear of the space, the duo clad a wall in salvaged maroon terracotta tiles, which merge into the bar counter. These were among the many recycled materials that Ward used for the project.
“I call them my wonky tiles because they’re like the wonky fruit and wonky veg of the industry that gets thrown away because it’s not a perfect carrot,” she said.
Elly Ward filled the restaurant with vintage furnitureThe architect also reused the copper from an existing bar in the restaurant, which now clads the sinks in the bathroom.
“It’s all about diverting waste from waste streams,” Ward said.
Morris + Company combines energy hub and nursery in block that is “part elephant and part castle”
“When you’re building something new, you have to get things,” she added. “If you can’t buy recycled or reclaimed, you have to look for renewable materials, things that would have otherwise gone to waste but you’ve made into something else.”
“It’s almost a checklist of ‘how circular can you be?'”
A red floor creates a warm atmosphereWard also sourced vintage Scandinavian school chairs to provide seating in the restaurant and complemented them with her grandparents’ wooden chairs and vintage Ercol seats.
The accompanying tables have tops made by British company Foresso using waste wood chips set in a plant-based resin, creating an effect similar to wooden terrazzo and adding textural interest to the room.
The tabletops are made from recycled wood and resinThe lighting in the space was handmade by British artist Peter Lanyon using wood salvaged from trees that were trimmed back in a local woodland in Devon. Pieces include a “chandelier” made from a piece of hazelwood with hanging lampshades made from cherrywood veneer.
Throughout the restaurant, the colour palette adds a sense of warmth. While the main room has a red hue, Ward chose a calming green colour for the smaller private dining room.
Lamps made from wood decorate the private dining room”We started with the red; it’s obviously such a strong colour,” Ward said. “I’m somebody who’s quite into colour and I’m not really afraid of it but I didn’t want it to be a ‘pop’ kind of place.”
In the bathroom, the red hue is tempered by the decorative natural cork that clads the walls in both the main space and the toilet cubicles.
“It’s all waterproof and actually really good for humid, damp environments and you can wipe it clean,” Ward said.
Restaurant guests can admire architectural models while they eatTo Ward, there’s a connection between the food and architecture industries that she wanted to underline in Edit’s design.
“I did a deep dive into the food industry and found out a lot of stuff about provenance and how a lot of the things we’re looking at in the architecture world about circularity and sustainability are kind of echoed in the food industry,” she said.
“I wanted the design to match that philosophy.”
Other vegan restaurants with decorative interiors include Humble Pizza by Child Studios in London and Sydney vegan cafe Gumbuya.
The photography is by Jack Hobhouse.
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Interior construction firm Semba Corporation has renovated the interior of its headquarters in Tokyo to include reclaimed materials discarded during the demolition of other offices.
The company’s redesign of its own office interior is shortlisted in the sustainable interior category for the upcoming Dezeen Awards, which will announce its winners next month.
The interior is made from materials salvaged from demolished officesCalled Semba Good Ethical Office, the project features various pared-back tables, seating and shelving created from materials salvaged from previous office demolitions.
This furniture is positioned across a single open-plan space in Japan’s capital, which is brightly illuminated by overhead lighting and rectilinear windows.
Plinth-like seating and stairs forms a centrepieceA plinth-like centrepiece takes the form of both a staircase and a designated desk area, which was formed from boxy arrangements of surplus wood and old filing cabinets.
Semba Corporation centred the interiors around two principles – “ethical” and “hackable” design – in order to complete the project, the company said.
Semba Corporation applied its own design principles to the project”To incorporate ‘ethical design’, a circular interior design [theory], into the office renovation, we mined materials from unnecessary stuff generated by office demolitions,” Semba Corporation told Dezeen.
“Under the theme of ‘hackable design’, we can redefine our working style and attitudes. We completely renovated our office to be friendly to the Earth, people and society,” explained the firm.
Reconstituted foam was used to create padding on benchesAccording to the company, 80 per cent of the furniture in the Semba Good Ethical Office is reused, while the office achieved a waste-recycling rate of 99 per cent.
Reconstituted foam was used to create the padding on benches that make up informal meeting booths, while various offcuts of wood were used to construct geometric shelves throughout the interior.
Ten self-designed studios by architects and designers
Semba Corporation explained that it hopes that other firms will begin to adopt similar design principles when creating their office interiors.
“Especially in Japan, the lifespan from construction to demolition and disposal has become very short since [increasing] economic growth, and waste has been dumped in landfill,” the firm said.
“However, Japanese culture has originally valued attachment to things and has an aesthetic sense to continue to use them with creative ideas. So I think our principles have an affinity to that culture.”
“We hope that ‘ethical design,’ a future-friendly interior design, will be a basic principle in interior design for the future.”
Reclaimed wood was used to form various shelvingSemba Good Ethical Office joins a group of existing self-designed studios that other firms have created to be more sustainable than the average office, according to the companies.
These include German studio Urselmann Interior’s renovation of its studio to include biodegradable, recycled or upcycled materials.
The images are courtesy of Semba Corporation.
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Local studio Multitude of Sins has created an eclectic restaurant interior in Bangalore out of a mishmash of reclaimed materials, including discarded bicycle bells and cassette tape boxes.
Officially called Big Top but known as The Circus Canteen, the restaurant is shortlisted in the sustainable interior category for a 2022 Dezeen Award.
The Circus Canteen interior is made of almost all reclaimed materialsMultitude of Sins sourced the components that make up the interior from a city-wide waste donation drive held over several weeks.
The materials were then painstakingly curated into distinct categories, ranging from home appliances to toy cars, and used to design an eclectic interior featuring mismatched furniture and flooring.
Visitors enter through a series of scrap metal archwaysLess than 10 per cent of the materials used to create the interior were sourced as new, according to the studio.
“The Circus Canteen [was informed by] the concept of creating a collage of unwanted items with a curatorial spirit,” Multitude of Sins founder Smita Thomas told Dezeen.
Multitude of Sins created booths out of mismatched objectsVisitors enter the restaurant through a bold scarlet door decorated with unwanted bicycle bells and humourous hand horns, which is accessed via a series of labyrinthine archways made from teal-hued scrap metal.
The archways are illuminated by alternative chandeliers composed of dismantled bicycle chains and old vehicle headlights.
Some of the restaurant tables are decorated with old CDsInside, the two-level dining area is made up of custom tables and seating that double as a set of striking installations.
Salvaged objects used to create these booths include abandoned sofas, obsolete bathroom ventilators and colourful coffee tables created from old oil barrels sliced in half and topped with glass surfaces.
Space Copenhagen adds “otherworldly” pieces to Antwerp restaurant
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” acknowledged Thomas. “We have seen and felt this phrase come to life as we pieced together The Circus Canteen.”
The restaurant’s flooring is a jigsaw puzzle-style mosaic of sample tiles sourced from ceramics stores, while a kitchen serving hatch is framed by a colourful collection of outdated cassette tape boxes.
A serving hatch is framed by cassette tape boxesPrompted by the desire to create an eatery interior with a minimal carbon footprint, Multitude of Sins’ project responds to many designers’ growing concerns about the wastefulness of their industry.
“The creation of each element – from custom lighting and flooring to art installations and furniture – was attributed to the mercy of the waste donation drive,” said Thomas.
“It reminds us of adapting skillfully, to reinvent with agility.”
The Circus Canteen intends to address wastefulness in the design industryThe Circus Canteen is part of Bangalore Creative Circus – a project formed by artists, scientists and other “changemakers” who host various community-focussed events in the Indian city.
Other eateries that feature reclaimed materials include a restaurant in Spain with elements made from upcycled junk and site construction waste and a cafe in Slovenia defined by recycled components that create a mix of patterns and textures.
The photography is by Ishita Sitwala.
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Düsseldorf studio Urselmann Interior has renovated its own office interiors using biodegradable, recycled or upcycled materials, including glueless joinery and a cellulose-based wall cladding.
The interior design studio said that it renovated its self-described “circular” office in the German city to only feature materials that are either recycled, upcycled or biodegradable.
Urselmann Interior’s office is in DüsseldorfThese include existing wooden and terrazzo flooring that was salvaged during the renovation, as well as heaters obtained from resource-efficient building material platform Concular.
Spread over one main workspace, a kitchen and a meeting room, the single-level office features clay paint walls and is designed to be used as both a co-working space and a showroom.
The renovation includes a kitchen”The office also serves us as a laboratory in that we can [use it to] test new qualities, materials and construction methods,” project manager Liz Theißen told Dezeen.
A solid wooden frame was used to create simple kitchen cabinets, which were constructed without glue so that the structure is fully demountable.
Joinery was created without glue in much of the projectThe frame was fitted with panels formed from recycled strips of fabric supplied by textile brand Kvadrat from its Really collection.
For its walls, the studio used Honext wall cladding – a cellulose-based material that is produced using paper sludge and cardboard waste.
Honext develops recyclable construction material made of cellulose fibres from waste paper
Poplar wood from a tree felled in the nearby city of Krefeld was chosen for the ceiling, which was also assembled without glue.
Throughout the office, neutral and minimal colour and material palettes were applied to the interior design, which also includes clusters of carefully arranged potted plants and books.
Second-hand lighting encased in wiggly orange felt from Hey-Sign adds a splash of colour to the otherwise sandy-hued atmosphere.
Wiggly orange lighting adds a splash of colourTheißen explained that all of the components that Urselmann Interior used for the renovation have been listed in a published “material passport” that can be referred to for future projects.
“We want to develop a new design language for ourselves, in which we smartly combine high-quality materials such as solid wood with ecological building materials as well as reusable components [to achieve] a positive footprint in the construction industry,” she concluded.
Honext panels line the clay paint wallsUrselmann Interior is a Düsseldorf-based interiors studio founded by Sven Urselmann.
Similar projects to the studio’s office renovation include a Madrid restaurant by Lucas Muñoz with furniture formed from site construction waste and a bar made out of recycled stereos, bottle crates and fridges by Michael Marriott.
The photography is by Magdalena Gruber.
Project credits:
Design and build: Urselmann InteriorFounder and designer: Sven UrselmannDesigner: Petra JablonickáProject manager: Liz Theißen
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Reclaimed materials found during demolition work have been preserved and used as decoration in this Montreal wine bar called Stem that’s designed and co-owned by Ravi Handa Architect.
Named Stem, the wine bar was completed earlier in 2020 near September, a cafe and surfboard workshop designed by the same architect in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood.
A piece of vintage wallpaper now hangs by the bar’s entranceUpon learning that a vacant space near September cafe would be taken up by a big-box pizza chain, the architect teamed up with some partners to lease the space themselves.
“There was an uproar in the community and we [September] along with other local businesses on the block didn’t want a multinational chain as a neighbour,” Handa told Dezeen.
“There was a great deal of pressure to create something soulful and anchored to place since we had convinced our landlords to break with a brand that we felt was perhaps void of soul and rather generic,” he added.
Materials found on-site during demolition have been turned into artworksHanda envisioned an establishment that would draw cues from the cafe, offering a casual place for neighbours to gather in a nighttime setting.
“As a partner, and because the business is physically linked to an already successful business, I was more emotionally invested in the design process than usual,” he said.
“While the spirit of the cafe is reflected in the wine bar’s fine lines and warm palette, the new space has an identity of its own, using the stem as a source of inspiration.”
Slim slats of wood, intended to represent wine glass stems, are a recurring motif in the interiors.
A privacy screen separates the tasting room from the back-of-houseDuring the demolition of the existing space, several finishes and pieces of various materials were found and repurposed as artworks for the finished space.
“Scraps of wood and metal were collected in collaboration with artist and friend Jeremy Le Chatelier, who incorporated them into works of art,” the architect said.
Montreal wine bar Vinvinvin by Ménard Dworkind takes cues from bottle labels
The long, narrow space features some walls painted in a dark green colour that was chosen based on a piece of vintage, hand-painted wallpaper that was found on site.
Elsewhere, the existing brick demising walls are exposed in a nod to the area’s industrial past.
Thin strips of wood that line the space are meant to look like the stem of a wine glassThin wooden slats cover the bar itself, a motif that is also found in a privacy screen that separates the back-of-house spaces from the tasting room.
“[The screen] conceals the washroom and dishwashing area, without alienating workers from the lively energy in the bar,” said architect.
New finishes contrast the existing walls in the bathroomIn the restroom, a concrete wall was left in its original condition, contrasting the new tiles and fixtures that were installed during the renovation.
In an effort to support local brands and designers, the architect sourced furniture and lighting from within the city’s tight-knit design community. The lights are by a Luminaire Authentik and the furniture was designed by Atelier Appareil, the furniture arm of Appareil Architecture.
Other projects in Montreal include a newly opened coworking space by Ivy Studio and a retro coffee bar downtown by Ménard Dworkind.
The photography is by Olivier Blouin.
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