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In Amsterdam's neighbourhoods, much of the waste that is disposed has the potential of becoming something else by means of recycling or upcycling. Zero Waste lab –which is part of the organization De Gezonde Stad- is a place where inhabitants can bring their own separated waste in exchange for value coins. Now, Zero Waste Lab now wants to take this a step forward and further develop their own project: from recycling to upcycling waste. In this endeavour, HvA will collaborate by researching the possibilities for upcycling a local waste stream by means of digital production pro-cesses, as well as ways of involving the neighbourhood. Because it is of vital importance for the project not only to be technically possible, but also scalable and economically feasible, Zero Waste Lab and HvA have asked for partnership to the company Verdraaid Goed.
This partnership and specific case study, presented here as ‘Wood for the neighborhood’ can be summa-rized in four main goals:
• (Production) Explore the design and manufacturing possibilities of using digital production to upcycle a local wood waste stream (with an industrial robotic arm)
• (Design) Show how explorative research, when carried on from the beginning of the de-sign process, can bring great added value to the development of project concepts.
• (Social) Demonstrate that involving stakeholders early in the process of reusing and de-signing with waste materials can shape the future in new directions
• (All three) Highlight how this case study is relevant and fits the principles of the circular economy.