De Buitenkans

Long description

The sidewalks of the Northern part of Amsterdam are often full of bulky waste. This is part of the system: every few hundred meters, there is a tile stating ‘place your bulky waste here’. Officially the tiles can only be used on set dates, but in reality these locations facilitate a continuous exchange of goods, often in the form of products to be excavated from an enormous pile of junk.

Local politicians demand that local residents improve their behaviour, but we believe it is the design of the system that is wrong. In the same neighbourhood, bookshelves are turned into community libraries, strictly curated by the residents. There are shared clothing racks too, and some residents even share long shelf life foods in public boxes next to their house. 

‘De Buitenkans’ learns from this form of local ownership and organisation. On top of the collection points, a simple structure is placed in which people can organise and display their goods. The structure offers shelter, so that goods no longer instantly lose value when they discarded. Besides a collection point, it becomes a display of all available goods and materials in the neighbourhood.

Modules of ‘De Buitenkans can also be adopted. Local residents can use the book unit just as they do now, but this time using furniture that is designed to be outdoors. Local neighbourhood amenities, like schools can adopt modules for educational purposes.

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