The most ingenious recycled homes

“Using reclaimed and recycled materials is a vital part of the circular economy that we need to establish if we are going to fight the climate crisis,” writes Craswell. Historically, the circular economy has been much talked about in the worlds of fashion and products, but increasingly interior designers and architects are getting in on the act. And their decisions can help eliminate waste by reusing buildings and their material components.

In Reclaimed, Craswell makes the point that “Architects and interior designers can tackle pollution through the choices they make. Architects have a responsibility… to divert useable materials from landfill. Interior designers can do even more,” as interiors often have a shorter lifespan than the building itself. She cites author Katie Treggiden, who researches the use of recycled waste in design. “She believes that building materials and interior finishes made from waste or ‘second-life materials’ are becoming more accepted – or sought after,” Craswell adds.

Pete Collard, curator of RIBA’s exhibition Long Life, Low Energy: Designing for a Circular Economy, backs this up. “When you’re reusing materials directly, there’s an obvious second-hand quality. It’s good to wear your language on your sleeve, presenting your history up front.” Collard believes that “using waste products found on site, which have an aesthetic of their own, means rethinking visual languages, away from pristine.”

Of course, repurposing materials from old buildings is nothing new. In Roman cities, pieces of stone were dragged from one part of town to another to form new buildings. And then in the Middle Ages, parts of timber structures found new homes. So the principles of the circular economy have deep roots. But things changed in the UK in the mid-Victorian era, when mass-produced house-building took off. And with the industrial revolution, the production of materials and furniture was scaled up, and people with money wanted to show off their wealth. “Buying brand new was the way to do that,” says Collard.