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Innovative Reclaimation through community-based collaboration

Savannah College of Art and Design Emergent Structures: Waste to Wealth

Key words: cities, production activities

Savannah, GA USA

CONTEXT: Public housing tracts are being demolished, yet the standard demolition practice demoralizes the local population and generates massive amounts of landfill. A new way of looking at these materials allows for community involvement and local, equitable wealth creation.

PROJECT: a city-wide, multi-pronged initiative to deconstruct buildings, reclaim valuable materials, and re-introduce them into the local context in manifold ways in order to change the public’s perception of ‘waste.’

DESIGN ROLE: to transform the public perception of ‘waste,’ and facilitate collaborative engagement between common and uncommon partners.