Analysis on Current Reuse Design for Sustainable Space

(Background and Purpose)Korea is confronted with problem of waste materials being discarded in the idled space that is left unattended for a prolonged period in the wake of industrialization of nation despite introduction of‘Zero Waste’ system and heightened interest in the system which is based on the underlying notion of sustainable development. Reuse design is a concept of using materials more than twice for their original purpose in the original form or reprocessing them for other purposes so as to re-create them, and contributes to conservation of energy and resources because useful elements can be recovered from old and discarded materials for use in their original form without need for reprocessing. In other words, utilization of reused materials means reuse of materials through simple physical processing of raw materials; reuse of materials through assembly and dismantling of raw materials; use of materials permanently through generation exchange of undamaged and undecomposed raw materials; and auxiliary use of parts of raw materials or entire or products in whole or in part even after the end of life. Thus, this study is significant in that it classified materials systematically and identified the items of necessary categories through investigation into domestic and overseas cases involving utilization of reused materials as a basic investigation aiming to spur supply and promotion of reused contents to be developed in the period ahead. (Method)The scope of this study was limited to the materials and space corresponding to the concept of‘reuse’. In this study, 20 domestic and overseas cases involving utilization of reused materials were investigated. We examined the type and design characteristics of each space being investigated and looked into the type of reused materials that were utilized. The data were obtained from field trip, literatures, and websites from May 1, 2015 to December 31 of same year. (Results)The study analyzed the type of space where reused materials were utilized in domestic and overseas cases. The results suggested that reused materials were utilized in complex cultural space, cafe, leisure space, park, etc., in Korea. Particularly, reused materials were utilized in cafe relatively more commonly than other space. In overseas cases, reused materials were utilized in residential space, Culture and art complex, amusement space, park, commercial space, etc. In addition, waste space, waste container, waste mwtal, waste wood, waste plastic pallet, waste articles were utilized for floor, wall, and ceiling among waste materials reused for interior components. Among others, waste container and waste wood were used commonly for floor, wall, and ceiling altogether. (Conclusions)In Korea, reused materials were found to be used primarily in cafe and their utilization increased in specific regions. In overseas countries, shutdown factories and historically significant buildings were often reused in their original form and were developed into sustainable space, rather than being reused temporarily, thereby acquiring economic value. In Korea, it would be therefore necessary to expand the reuse into other regions or other spatial types, so that the reuse does not remain a social phenomenon limited to specific regions and occurring only temporarily. For that, succeeding studies would need to investigate into perception of users towards reused materials, extent of their satisfaction, and requirements based on results of analysis in this study on current utilization of reused materials.