KNIL Warehouses, The Creative and Learning Cluster of Plastic Waste

The integration of a plastic waste recycling cycle with more communal activities, with creative spaces and educational facilities make people aware of the issue, the consequences but also allow waste to become part of the daily routine and for the people to explore the possibilities of its up-cycling and create businesses, in an inclusive environment.

The project's ambition was to show how by understanding the context and by putting first people’s needs, architecture and heritage adaptive re-use can contribute to healthier and more resilient cities. The project unfolds with the integration of a plastic waste recycling cycle combined with a more communal environment, with creative spaces and educational facilities that not only make people aware of the issue, the consequences but also allow waste to become part of the daily routine and thus for the people to explore the possibilities around its up-cycling and thus generate business opportunities in a inclusive environment for all. The combination of bottom up and top down approaches in terms of the programme and in the physical materialisation of the design offers the means for change. Architecturally, the project explores the relationship between waste & people between working & public environment, between openness & enclosure in different scales. From city scale with the transformation of the former railway into a new tram line on a green belt, on a neighbourhood scale with the transformation of KNIL Warehouses into a cluster of plastic waste, while on a building scale this integration is explored through architectural design and building technology. Even though the programme addresses the current urban challenges the interventions and materialisation of the design strive for flexibility and adaptability in order to enhance the qualities of the existing site.