The project focuses on electronic devices which have always been viewed as industrial products, with the intention of creating a DIY environment where they become an artisanal product by sharing and demystifying their technology. In the same spirit, an investigation is conducted on plastic as waste that can easily be processed and recycled at a small scale with ordinary means.
The intervention in the Sewoon Building consists in showing a more circular way of working with waste elements thanks to the e-waste market, artisanal production of speakers, and collection of residential plastic bags. The DIY system also brings knowledge to the visitor, with different actors coming together at specific steps of the process to exchange information, allowing anybody to understand how easily electronics are repaired and recycled. The intervention aims to create a strong relationship with the neighbourhood, using the existing inhabitants and artisans to feed it. This new ecosystem is supported by the creation of a large public market for second-hand electronics – whose merchandise is gathered from all over the city – inside which visitors can buy and sell devices and directly access the DIY workshops where they can repair or refurbish them in a personalized way.
The volume of the market becomes the main architectural element of the intervention. It is lodged in a gap in the rooftops of the Sewoon building, three levels above walking level. From there the volume digs into the building – following the grid of the existing structure, in order to minimize the intervention on it – and branches down to the walking level, from where it can be entered. An important aspect of the design is that the space can function not only as a market, but also as a public living room that can host spontaneous urban life as well as public events such as festivals or concerts.