New eyes on waste - transforming waste materials in new building design

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how architects can strengthen the interaction between the design process and available existing resources, in order to shortcut material flows and educate the public the underutilized value of waste materials. The thesis project targets on a typical industrial building near Seattle North Transfer Station, and transforms the commonly used building materials, such as concrete, glulam lumber, into new building envelope systems. The design process and proposed methods have the potential to be applied to other projects in future.