The Dutch architectural firm, 2012Architecten, takes recycling VERY seriously…and literally as well, at times. Prompted by the shortage of fossil fuels and other natural resources, the company is on a mission to design products and buildings and develop strategies to facilitate the transition to a sustainable society.
The main goal of the group is to re-purpose discarded materials in an attempt to divert trash from the waste stream, but as architects and designers, they have the talent and creativity to fabricate truly fantastic things. The term they use to describe this movement is “superuse,” and when it means transforming old refrigerators and washing machines into a mobile ice cream stand, it is truly something super.
Ayasha Guerin of Inhabitat explains,
Superuse requires architects to abandon their instinct to create with exact measures and instead design with rough estimates and crude material descriptions in order to adapt reusable materials to opportunity.
The SPijs car was built by Wout Rockx (Xenomobile) and Joris Rockx. Within minutes, what appears to be a pile of brightly painted red and white home appliances “undergo a transformer-like cranking to reveal an open space for scooping and serving cool treats,” writes Guerin.
From the 2012Architecten website:
We build art projects and architectural installations, sometimes with our own hands. These projects function as the laboratory, where the functional and architectural potential of materials is investigated. The most suitable materials are developed into products or architectural components. The experience with the materials is combined with ergonomics and functional diagrams to create furniture, interiors and projects for public spaces. This results in aesthetically surprising and extremely functional design.
Let’s hear it for re-use and the efforts of groups like 2012Architecten. Raise your cup or cone of ice cream and say “bravo” to the creative minds that can turn trash into treasure.
