TIP TAKES, 2024
Made in collaboration with John F Hunt, Orms Architects, and Elliott Wood
Presented at London Design Festival 2024, Material Matters, Bargehouse Oxo Tower Wharf
Studio TIP’s launch project takes a deep dive into the creative reuse of industrial materials from the construction industry, transforming 2.5 tonnes of waste material from a demolition site in central London into a site specific installation at Material Matters. The project investigates the question
How can creative reuse add value to circular systems of industrial materials within the construction industry?
The construction and demolition industry produces over half of the total UK’s waste every year (62% in 2019, DEFRA). Although reuse initiatives in retrofit and demolition are continuously developing, a percentage of materials remain unusable for structural or architectural reuse. Through TIP TAKES the studio wanted to investigate the creative potential of these materials that slip through the net.
This ongoing body of research sees compassionate actions of handling, storing and sorting of materials that were intended for downcycling, followed by a playful making approach. Made up of sculpture, tapestry, seating and loose materials, the installation presented the materials in a way that celebrated their existing properties, beauty and potential value .To try and measure the subjective creative value, all of the materials were available to the public to take away in exchange for recording their creative vision.
To enable this exchange and to embody circular principals everything was designed and built for deconstruction with bolts, straps and removable fixings. In addition each material had a digital passport accessed through a QR code, giving visitors background information and a log of where the materials are going next. These passports have been developed by Studio TIP in collaboration with Orms Architects.