AOD is all about showcasing inspiring case studies and best practices from around the world.
For instance, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (shown) or the Kamikatsu Zero Waste Center (below), although very different, are both brilliant precedents not only for material reuse, but for completely rethinking society’s relationship with waste. These are the kinds of community-driven property developments and city planning policy changes that there should be more of in the world. Discovering these projects and others like them has had a profound impact on the long-term vision for AOD, and we hope the work shared here inspires you as much as it has inspired us.
Encouragingly, there is a growing body of literature and research supporting the viability of ‘urban mining’, and there are a number of innovative design practices, upcyclists, makers and artists producing phenomenal work using reclaimed materials. AOD seeks to add to this momentum by serving as an educational and inspirational resource.
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Salvage, Reclamation, Reuse, Repurposing, Upcycling…
If it diverts waste from landfill creatively, we call it Art of Diversion.
Whatever you want to call it, we need more of it in the world.
The AOD Equation: Creativity Without Waste
If a process is creative but involves the use of new raw materials instead of reclaimed materials, then it isn’t Art of Diversion. Likewise, any process that diverts materials from landfill but doesn’t result in something creative or though-provoking is not what we would consider Art of Diversion.
Only when a process results in the creative repurposing or upcycling of existing building materials can it be called Art of Diversion. AOD is, by definition, re-creative. It is creativity unwasted. It is anything that uniquely combines reclamation and reuse, and it requires both care and ingenuity. It is the antithesis of the way things are often done.