In a world generating tons of waste that is no longer useful, needed, or wanted, this project is designed to address these inefficiencies by proposing an experimental tool where technology acts as a mediator or filter, aiming to shift our perception of waste from a problem to an opportunity, thereby reconsidering waste as a legitimate resource for repurposing.
The central question is: How can waste be considered as a potential resource in design without reverting to its raw material, thus reducing the waste sent to landfills and minimizing excessive recycling process? The project combines critical and experimental thinking, inspired by the design “cradle-to-cradle ” principle of regenerative
The tool uses 3D scanning and digitization technologies to create digital twins of waste materials. These materials are scanned, de-abstracted, and sorted into a digital material library. By using generative tools and coding, these twins are analyzed, optimizing techniques for minimal intervention and allowing for manipulations that suggest repurposing solutions according to predefined guidelines.
The project seeks to contribute to the field by presenting waste in a new perspective as an adaptable and accessible resource, challenging preconceptions about waste, and overcoming its traditional labeling as garbage.
Leena Ammari is an architect and designer from Jordan, now based in Jerusalem. Partner at Place-Arch Lab studio. Leena holds a BSc in architectural engineering from JUST, Jordan, and has 12 years of experience in restoring, renovating, and adaptive reuse of various buildings and sites. She holds an M.Des in industrial design from Bezalel. Leena explores overlaps between natural and artificial, physical and digital, historical and modern. She is curious about materials, parametric design, and bio-inspired generative design.