UPLIFTING THE UPCYCLES: TEXTILE WASTE FACILITY IN CIGONDEWAH

• Main Author: Rahmanda, Amalia
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Arsitektur
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/81514
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The clothing industry in Indonesia has experienced rapid growth over the past two decades. This development has had a positive impact on the economy, evidenced by the fashion industry's contribution to GDP increasing by 13.74% by the end of 2022. However, alongside the growth of Indonesia's clothing industry, the amount of waste generated from both production and consumption activities has also increased. In 2023, textile waste contributed 2.5% to the total national waste, equivalent to around 2.3 million tons of waste. Of this amount, only 0.3 million tons were recycled, with the rest ending up in landfills. The amount of textile waste in the environment has been exacerbated by the fast fashion trend in the industry. Fast fashion accelerates the production and consumption cycle, leading to an increase in textile waste, particularly from used clothing. In response to this issue, thrifting has been promoted as a solution to reduce textile waste in the environment, including in Bandung. However, thrifting has now shifted its focus to selling imported second-hand clothing. This shift has caused the current thrifting trend to no longer be seen as a solution. In fact, thrifting is now considered a new problem because much of the imported second-hand clothing is not suitable for use and ends up as waste. The ongoing issues in the clothing industry have prompted fashion enthusiasts in Bandung to innovate in production, leading to the upcycling trend. Upcycling is considered effective in addressing waste issues because this processing activity does not involve melting or destroying raw materials but rather relies on creativity. This approach allows the products created to have economic value and be resold. This closed-loop production-consumption cycle represents a form of a circular fashion system, an economically and environmentally sustainable fashion industry system. Unfortunately, upcycling activities are still limited. Waste collection for processing is also still conducted individually by business actors through social media. This often becomes an obstacle due to the lack of a dedicated textile waste collection center in Bandung. Despite its potential as a fashion city, Bandung still lacks a strategic textile waste management system. Architecture can play a role in facilitating textile waste processing activities, from collection and processing to the resale of produced goods. Therefore, this project aims to provide an integrative and participatory textile waste processing center to realize a circular fashion system. The project serves as a medium to promote upcycling activities in the community. The main spaces accommodated in this project include a waste and material bank, processing/upcycling area, workshop space, exhibition space, and commercial space. To achieve its vision and mission, the project addresses four main design issues: creative spaces and collaboration hub, architecture as a behavioral nudge, user comfort, and green building design. These design issues are addressed through a design concept based on relevant theories.