Community House
Type: Renovation
Location: Svejstrup, Denmark
Upcycling: Bricks, wooden boards, doors
Year: 2023
The renovation explores the interplay between upcycled materials and the value of the existing architecture by transforming a small brick barn from storage space to a community house. To reduce the use of resources in the renovation, the overall approach was to maintain the structure as it is and patch the existing openings and gaps with used and residual materials.
Landscape of ‘House 14A’
Type: Landscape
Location: Hellerup, Denmark
Upcycling: Concrete tiles, bricks, natural stones
Year: 2024
The project investigates the use of reclaimed pavement materials collected from local construction waste containers. These materials were upcycled to create distinct areas in the garden, including small terraces and pathways within a green and wild planting design. One pathway, connecting the street and the house, is made from concrete cut-offs from standard pavement tiles. A highly generic material, commonly seen in public landscaping all over Denmark. When square pavement tiles are trimmed to fit corners or irregular areas, significant amounts of residual waste are generated. This project explores the aesthetic potential of integrating every fragment and irregular cut-off into a new pavement pattern.
Courtyard of Sciences Po de Caen
Type: Landscape
Location: Caen, France
Upcycling: Pierre de Caen
Year: 2023
A transformation of a courtyard at Sciences Po University in Caen using remnants of the local stone ‘Pierre de Caen’, extracted from a local quarry. Due to cosmetic standards, only 25% of the extracted stone is utilized in production. This project shows the untapped potential of the local material that lies beneath the city’s surface.
Summer Atelier
Type: New built
Location: Islandsbrygge, Copenhagen
Upcycling: Tabletops, floor planks, construction wood, polycarbonate, roof tiles
Year: 2018
This pavilion functions as gruppe-aja’s summer atelier and workshop.
The upcycling consists of various materials, from used tabletops and leftover planks, to plastic sheets and construction wood from a demolished pavilion nearby. The building's design is based on the existing dimensions of the found materials, and the joints are designed for assembly, allowing the materials to remain intact if they need to be replaced, demolished, or reused in the future.
Columbarium
Type: Exhibition
Location: Kunsthal Charlottenborg
Upcycling: Aerated concrete
Year: 2022
A series of models made from used aerated concrete, cut up, stacked, and reorganized. The models examine the effects of different patterns and patinas in the stacked tectonics, playing with rules and exceptions within an architectural system. This aesthetic approach to reuse constitutes an attempt to rediscover the value of seemingly worthless material.
The Art of Limitation
Type: Research
Upcycling: Bricks
Year: 2021 -
An ongoing study of pavement patterns made from residual products is produced at the Petersen Tegl Brick Factory. The bricks are upcycled at the factory before being crushed and reintroduced into the production chain. These residuals come in various specific sizes and shapes, and this research explores a low-tech design methodology that incorporates the specific shapes and limitations of these leftover materials into brick patterns or mosaics.
