The founding members met while still students at Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid. Rejecting the conventions of architectural education, the group took to the streets – engaging, participating and learning from the city around them.
In addition to their architectural projects, Basurama has also developed a unique community training program around the concept of waste. Residuos Sólidos Urbanos (Urban Solid Waste or RUS) is a public art multi-format project that considers waste, both in solid and spatial senses. The projects look at waste as a material resource with which to reactivate abandoned space. Waste + Wasted Space = New Public Spaces.
RUS is effectively a prototyping process and provides speed training for communities with little to no economic resources. The ambition is to leave a community with the skills to convert its own waste into productive improvements. Each RUS project starts with a research trip to get in contact with locals and get to know the city (conflicts, community, NGOs, artists, universities, etc.). From there, the research is organized, local collaborators are chosen, projects are designed and the group subsequently works with municipalities to secure local permissions.
We had a chance to speak with Nicolas Herringer of EXYZT, along with Alberto Nanclares of Basurama on Social Design Insights. Listen to the episodes below.
