Duration: 3 Days (3 hours per day)
Target Audience: Design students, architects, design enthusiasts
Workshop Goals:
- Understanding the primal concepts of waste, recycling, upcycling
- Creative thinking regarding material selection and design opportunities
- Developing creative and functional upcycled designs
Day 1: Introduction to Waste, Recycling & Upcycling
Theme: Understanding What is product life and What Happens to Waste Materials
Session Plan (3 hours)
- Introduction & Icebreaker (30 min)
- Welcome and participant introduction
- Presentation on recycling & upcycling: history, principles and environmental impact
- Discussion: Potential of upcycling in design and daily life
- Material Exploration (60 min)
- Hands-on activity: Identify and analyze different discarded materials (plastic, wood, textiles, metal, etc.)
- Discussion: How different disciplines apply upcycling
- Case Studies & Brainstorming Session (60 min)
- Preperation of work groups
- Presentation of successful upcycling projects in architecture, product design, and fashion
- Group brainstorming on creative reuse ideas
- Short group exercise: Sketching initial concepts
- Q&A & Wrap-up (30 min)
- Summary of key takeaways
- Homework: Participants collect waste materials for the next session
Day 2: Design Thinking & Prototyping
Theme: Developing Upcycled Products
Session Plan (3 hours)
- Design Process Introduction (30 min)
- Brief on design methodologies: brainstorming, rapid prototyping, preperation
- Exploring aesthetic and functional aspects of upcycled products
- Concept Development (60 min)
- Group activity: Participants present collected materials and ideate potential projects
- Sketching and developing initial design proposals
- Prototyping & Experimentation (60 min)
- Hands-on work: Cutting, assembling, and testing material combinations for a mock-up
- Exploring techniques (weaving, binding, melting, folding, etc.)
- Feedback & Refinement (30 min)
- Peer review and instructor feedback
- Planning adjustments for the final day
Day 3: Finalizing & Showcasing Upcycled Creations
Theme: Presentation and Reflection
Session Plan (3 hours)
- Final Prototyping & Refinement (60 min)
- Completing and refining upcycled designs
- Testing functionality and durability
- Documentation & Presentation (60 min)
- Participants photograph and document their process
- Preparing short presentations on their projects
- Exhibition & Discussion (60 min)
- Showcasing final pieces
- Group discussion: Lessons learned, challenges, and future applications
- Wrap-up and certificate distribution
Expected Outcomes:
- Increased awareness of appying sustainability issues in daily life through upcycling
- Hands-on experience in transforming waste into functional objects
- A completed upcycled product or prototype
