VIRTUAL Barcelona
Abstract
This project employs a values network approach to map out and provide visibility for opportunities of circular exchange between pre-consumer textile waste producers, fashion locales, council resource centres, local communities, based within Brisbane’s (Australia) urban setting. The project builds upon the European Investment Bank’s (2021) key steps for cities to transition to circularity with community connectivity in mind. These include ‘characterising and analysing local context and resource flows, identifying idle assets, and conceptualising options and strategies’ to develop sustainable circular communities. The project is centred on mobilising localised social exchange and regeneration of key urban centres through the articulation of ‘contact zones’ alongside waste recovery, and considering the socio-cultural factors needed to transition to circular communities of textile reuse. Intergenerational hubs identified through the mapping process provides the basis for ‘contact zones’ of meaningful local economies of production, material reuse and circular practice. The goal of these circular hubs is to inform future ‘circular-oriented development’ within existing urban centres for bottom up sustainable change within cities. The paper reports on outcomes of the mapping study and stakeholder feedback. Key findings include opportunities for intergenerational approaches of skilling/upskilling to engender textile reuse cultures within fashion neighbourhoods and build sustainable social networks within the city.
Dr Marissa Lindquist is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, registered architect, and fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA). Her research fields include intergenerational communities, neuroarchitecture, circular communities and material reuse enabled through digital prefab processes. Marissa is a Chief Investigator for the National Health and Medical Research Council exploring Intergenerational Living and Learning Campus Environments ($1.15M) and the Human Building Interaction Group QUT.
Tiziana Ferrero-Regis is Associate Professor of Fashion at the School of Design, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, co-leader of the TextileR Groups and a chief investigator at the Centre for a Waste-Free World, at QUT. Tiziana combines a background in the fashion industry (Vogue Italia,
Milan) with a scholarly background in fashion theory, cultural studies, and sustainability. Her research focuses on circular economy in local contexts. Her recent projects include co-design with an Aboriginal community, and a funded project about sustainable public procurement in Brisbane