This project aims to advance the concept of material circularity in architecture by exploring methods and prototyping sustainable design solutions that upcycle surplus and waste materials for use in temporary fitouts and interior activations.

It is part of [RE]Maker, a practical research project by Dr Sofia Colabella and Katie Skillington from Melbourne School of Design, at the University of Melbourne. In partnership with RipCurl, their work is investigating methods of upcycling of wetsuit surplus materials in architecture, and in particular the use of these materials for interior design fitouts and temporary pop-up pavilions.

As Innovators in Residence in the Fishermans Bend Circular Design Cluster the RE[MAKER] team will draw on their design expertise and innovative research to design a partition system that uses neoprene cuts and timber from old palettes. The partitions will transform part of the open warehouse into a flexible event and exhibition space that showcase circular design approaches in action.

Working with Rip Curl and the other Innovators in Residence, the project will also demonstrate how cross-industry collaboration can accelerate the adoption of the circular economy model, enabling capacity development and behaviour change - and that fighting throwaway culture and resource depletion is a matter of design.