Use it more | Superuse Studios

Use it more

“Superuse Studios”,  as the name itself suggests is all about super using which in this case means re-using materials effectively. In today’s day and age there is a thirst for experiencing and consuming all things new which has led to an increase in the amount of goods produced as well as the waste generated. This is why there is a necessity for reusing the old in a new way. Their philosophy in their very own words, “Everything is already there, we just have to see and utilise it. In this way we can transform to a sustainable society and limit the impact of architecture and design. To make optimal use of locally sourced ‘waste’ in new design solutions is what we call SUPERUSE. Functionality, sustainability and aesthetics are our guiding principles.”

The story of “Rewind Camping” started from their discovery of abandoned windmill blades. Superuse Studios started their search for its needful owners , and ended up with ‘The Verbeke Foundation.’Windmill blades reincarnated as sleeping units in their second life gifted to them by the architects. The blades were fixed into the punctures of a semicircular dike in a radial manner, which resulted in a central space for camping facilities.

Compost-toilet, Sun-shower, solar cooker and compost heated outside bath, are all made up of the leftovers of the blades. 30.000 kg of Carbon dioxide emission has been prevented by superusing these.

“Duchi” is their first commercial project that has used almost 100% surplus materials. The shoe fitting island of this store is what captivates everyone. It is made up of surplus wood. A conveyor belt which has been taken from a supermarket counter, is placed centrally in between the two couches where customers can walk. The curved glass tinted shelves used for shoe showcasing, are nothing but worn-out Audi100 windscreens.

“Chairway to Heaven” is a part of Library of INSIDERS exhibition, made by reusing two hundred chairs from Arc en Rève, Bordeaux, France. The most orthogonal chairs were tied together to make up a stairway or “chairway” to another level from where the visitors could experience the impressive space and enjoy reading. In the words of the architects , “In building with waste there is no coincidence, if you ‘listen’ well to the material everything will fit in its place, we only give it direction.”

A general problem faced by the architects was the lack of available waste in the region of their project location. This led to the birth of “Oogstkaart”, which is an online platform for all those interested in sharing their supply of unwanted materials as well as expert knowledge on reusing waste. So this adds another interesting facility to the list of those already hitting the internet charts.

By: Kushal Jain