Out of Waste and Water combines design, research and environmental awareness with the central themes of recycling and water. In workshops and experimental works, used materials are reused, new material combinations and joining techniques are tested, and bamboo as a sustainable building material and Vietnamese design traditions are incorporated. A further focus is on water pollution and microplastics, among other things using the example of the Saigon River. Architecture and design models make the results visible and enable a transfer of knowledge between art, design, science, technology and different cultures.

Out of Waste and Water

One of the greatest challenges is to stop global warming. Topics such as sustainability, environmental awareness, recycling and resource conservation will in future form the basis of all professions, sciences and industries. Universities and colleges can play an important role here. The workshop on the two main disciplines of recycling and water aims to make a contribution to this. The goal is to make these topics tangible, both visually and in content, through design and research. The starting point is an awareness of the use of resources through reuse and processing, as well as the restoration of the lost value of used materials. Design, creativity and brainstorming are the fundamental tools here. The workshop aims to build bridges between cultures and define shared goals.

By working with different spheres in different materials – including the use of bamboo as a sustainable “high-performance building material” – reference is also made to Vietnamese traditions such as lanterns, their form and technique, as a basis for design. Joining techniques in architecture, mechatronics, engineering and construction are examined using these models and further developed with the project’s own techniques. In addition, design, materials science, material combinations and their sustainable implementation and realisation are explored. The recycling and waste problem is directly linked to water as a resource. Microplastics are already found in the most remote regions of the world and have long since entered our food chains. The work therefore includes, alongside protection and conservation, the visualisation of water pollution, one of the most important and pressing problems of our time. The scientific and design-based work on the Saigon River, in the form of a portrait, covers all the relevant parameters of this topic.

Realising the works in the form of architecture and design models offers – in addition to the engineering and natural-science dimensions – the opportunity for creative engagement and visualisation through exhibitions at the university, along with the resulting broad transfer of knowledge to students, visitors and the media, in collaboration with VGU and its partners.

Nguyen Thi Kim Tri; Markus Heinsdorff