[photos by Lam Nguyen]
Pop up Café, which has been constructed entirely from recycled materials is an outcome of the project developed by the team from Newcastle University. It is designed to challenge the perception of what is and what is not considered to be waste.
Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the café project has been carried out largely by postgraduate architecture students as part of a linked research project. The project connects research directly with teaching and develops a sense of responsibility amongst young designers to use and source sustainable materials.
As well as collecting the waste material, the 18 students have been working with engineers to design the basic “building components” so the café can be easily dismantled at the end and moved to a new location.
The café is planned as a venue for ‘customers’ to take ownership of design and engineering ideas, making these directly relevant to life in the city. The U-Café idea is to incorporate these social and cultural needs from the beginning, by designing and engineering with people and not simply for them.
(Extracted from Newcastle University press release)
The important focus of the project for architectural students was learning through making and construction. Therefore, many alterations and changes to original design were implemented in the process testing the techniques and materials.
