Upcycling: economy, well-being and sustainability in architecture
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The term upcycling may be new, but the concept is not. The reuse of materials and objects has always happened, but the term seeks to highlight a new model of consumption and attention to the environment.
It has recently become popular in the construction, engineering and sustainable architecture sectors, as a way of reusing something that would otherwise become waste.
Unlike recycling, in this case what is reused does not go through major transformation processes. As a result, the raw material remains intact, only the shape of the objects is modified.
All of this is linked to environmental, social and economic perspectives.
Origin of upcycling
Back in the 1990s, in the United States, the concept was used in fashion and soon spread throughout the world and to other sectors.
This is because “fast fashion”, with increasingly accelerated production and consumer appeal, began to be questioned.
Then concepts such as “slow fashion” and “eco fashion” emerged, something like “slow fashion” and “ecological fashion”. The objective is to concern the environment and the economic and social side for the well-being of people.
Many brands and small artisans have started to adopt the concept, reusing materials that would otherwise end up in the trash, often polluting the environment.
Leftover plastic bags, paper or cardboard packaging, aluminum cans and fabrics in general began to be used in the production of clothing, footwear and accessories.
The term itself carries the concept of giving an “up” to reused materials, something like “recycling upwards”.
It's not just about reusing fabrics as cleaning cloths. It's about giving materials a completely new, low-cost function, reducing consumption and increasing their useful life.
Upcycling in architecture
Soon after, architecture began to consider the importance of creating sustainable buildings .
And in this case, the concern became even broader. Removing materials from the environment that would only pollute and reducing costs in the production of decorative objects or furniture.
And also improve people's quality of life, with less water and energy consumption than would be used in the production of objects completely from scratch.
For example, leftover pipes that would be melted down during recycling can be cut, joined with other materials and transformed into a storage container or a lamp, for example.
Or an old wardrobe that would otherwise become scrap and through upcycling can be transformed into up to two or three new pieces of furniture, and best of all: totally unique.
Upcycling also serves as a great reference for home decoration, especially through the reuse of furniture !
Good examples of upcycling
And it's not just the ant-like work of reusing materials at home that is gaining ground. Many brands are starting to invest in the initiative.
Currently, architecture offices such as Ruína , for example, are strongly committed to the idea of transforming materials in the search for sustainable environments.
They created “entulhite”, for example, which has the same function as granilite, but reusing rubble material.
With this, in addition to spaces with exclusive textures, colors and patterns, they can significantly reduce the costs of a project by removing a material from the environment that would only generate pollution.
You can access the catalog and see images of really cool things they have developed.
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