ABSTRACT
Rotterdam-based Superuse’s original name, 2012 Architects, came about because some of the founder members of the studio were living in a street where 18 houses were planned to be demolished. ‘Superuse’ requires people to propose future scenarios for discarded material that extend its life and add value. This requires a new perception and understanding of the potentials of these materials to be substantially more useful than previously thought. Similar in many ways to Rotor in Brussels, Superuse is taking on the challenges of resource efficiency and closed-loop systems in a systematic manner. In many ways Superuse Studios looks like a conventional design studio, perhaps because its completed projects are extensively published in the design press. In 2005 Superuse completed what many people believe to be Europe’s first contemporary house made from a selection of waste material. Superuse procured this using its ‘Harvest Mapping’ methodology.
