If society is to embrace the principles of a circular economy, shouldn’t people themselves start fixing stuff and reusing parts on a much larger scale? But how do consumers become makers? These questions are the foundation for researchers Tanya Tsui and David Peck. Within the European Pop-Machina research project, they seek to enhance collaborative production within urban communities. They ask themselves: how can the maker movement take a pivotal position in the required transition?
“I am trained as an architect and used to work in Hong Kong, collaborating with NGO’s in China,” says Tanya Tsui. She now works as one a team of researchers on Climate design and Sustainability at TU Delft, who are trying to find means and methods to further a circular economy. However, most of the research in that area zooms in on technical solutions, reconsidering end-of-life solutions for buildings and building products. Tsui: “Societal solutions are equally important!” Moreover, proposed solutions are mainly business-oriented, aimed at generating commercial value on the basis of a different economic model.
