Reconfigured explores how reclaimed furniture pieces can serve as adaptable modules for designing new furniture pieces. By categorizing discarded elements by typology and function, the project enables adaptive reuse, allowing furniture to evolve with its users. Modules can be sourced from landfills, streets, online platforms,  or your friendly neighbour. The project raises awareness of urban waste streams and envisions a future where furniture is valued as a long-term resource.

In this case, discarded (chair) legs and tabletops are transformed into nesting tables using threaded rods. With accessibility as a core principle, Reconfigured aims to grow and explore further co-designed adaptations of these modular pieces.

About the project’s approach

Reconfigured promotes an accessible, regenerative approach to design by repurposing materials and fostering collaborative networks. It connects communities, waste-management systems, and design ecosystems to create a shared platform for resources and knowledge exchange. By prioritizing reuse over new production, the project minimizes waste, empowers local initiatives, and reimagines material lifecycles.

The process embraces existing structures, reimagining them as interfaces to link previously incompatible parts with minimal intervention. The more adaptable the material selection, the greater the design possibilities, allowing for scalable and flexible solutions.

Reconfigured challenges the wasteful cycle of discarding functional furniture while mass-producing new items. Instead, it promotes reuse, repair, and modular thinking: Can discarded elements function as modules? How can design scale with existing materials? What do urban waste streams reveal? How individual can a module be?

At its core, Reconfigured fosters material care and sustainability by extending furniture lifecycles, reducing waste, and promoting mindful consumption—reshaping our relationship with everyday objects.

About the designer

Stephanie works at the intersection of objects, graphics, and spatial design. She focuses on integrative, collaborative projects that respond to socio-ecological and environmental contexts. Her goal is to contribute to decentralizing production and knowledge-sharing, recognizing the potential of networks to create local impact and empower people to design their own environments.