Waste Wall 1, 2 + 3

Oxford (UK) 2022-24

OB1 Live, Oxford Brookes University, UK

Three phases of a five-year project to design and build wall cassettes for a demountable modular building made from ultra-locally sourced waste material. The building will provide a sheltered space on campus to assemble large objects, models and structures. The aim of the project is to teach students Circular Design principles as well as to embed principles of ethics, professional skills, safety and sustainability in their developing design process. Passports were produced for each wall cassette listing the material provenance, assembly and disassembly instructions.

In phase 1 students made all layers, internal and external of rainscreen cladding cassettes from material sourced from local businesses and waste streams. Phase 2 focused on the selection, processing and transformation of construction waste sourced from a university building project on campus. Phase 3 brought new focus on durability with the first installation in a courtyard on campus, the planned location for the building. The cassettes will remain in position in their exterior location for several months over the winter so that their performance can be tested as part of the students’ technology studies. Cassettes will be evaluated for their performance across factors such as weathering, thermal performance, water resistance, strength, durability and acoustics.

This project uses three virtuous circles:

1. Local Circular Economy. We are activating new parts of the local circular economy by identifying sources of local waste that is suitable for construction
2. Circle of mutual aid. By building this space for making, it will help more students to build more things.
3. Circle of learning by doing. By becoming builders, we become better designers because we can empathise better with those who build and occupy our buildings.

Client: Oxford Brookes University

Support and advice: Local businesses, Willmott Dixon Construction, Matt Gaskin, Christina Godiksen, Andy Sumser, Gary Mattingley, Denise Morrey, Oxford Brookes University Estates and Campus Services Team, TDE Faculty Facilities Team, TDE Health and Safety Team, Glass Tank Gallery.

Tutors: Jane Anderson, Ralph Saull, Khisha Clarke, Michael Spooner, Ben Hutchinson, Jake Aiken Winter, Tom Dawson, Maddalena Laddaga, Tatiana Southey-Bassols, Mathilde Redoute, Shoichi Sado.

Students: Year 1 students of Architecture and Interior Architecture in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Research Questions: to test the feasibility and performance of low-value ultra-local waste as a building material. To test the feasibility and effectiveness of a live project as a way to teach students sustainability, safety, ethics and professional skills.

Link: ob1live.org

Photographer: Jane Anderson

+, 101+, Architecture, Curricular, Interior Architecture, Oxford Brookes Univ., Permanent, Self-funded, Self-initiated, Students with tutor, Undergraduate, United Kingdom, Years