Reforming Grounds: Building with the Earth's Forgotten Resources
A self-build community hub project for reforming landscapes and its industrial surplus
J. Petrova (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
M.J. Smit – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
S.H. Verkuijlen – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
A.B.J. van Deudekom – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
The global construction industry’s reliance on finite, carbon-intensive materials has exacerbated ecological crises, including climate change, habitat destruction, and resource depletion. To aid the architecture and construction industry to move towards a post-carbon economy, this research investigates how surplus materials and agricultural by-products from quarrying and farming could be repurposed into building components for a new regional vernacular architecture. It hones in on methods and techniques for repurposing limestone surplus as a context, to ultimately advocate for transforming post-extractive stone and clay sites into material hubs for learning and making. These hubs aim to foster material sensibility, promote circular building practices, and support participatory self-build residential projects that empower communities towards self-resilience. The findings demonstrate what types of surplus there are, possible repurposing methods, and what sorts of regional architecture could be born out of such productive landscapes.