From Trash to Treasure by Katie Fisher and Siraaj Mitha

From Trash to Treasure explores creative and playful ways of reinterpreting waste materials, with the aim of reactivating and redistributing them back into a cycle of use. To emphasise the abundance of waste plastic and timber found in the Royal Docks we have enveloped our bench in recycled timber and compressed plastic tiles.

The Royal Docks has a history of continuous development and change, and is host to a diverse range of communities who bear witness to this. From a workshop with students at UTC, this project engages with some of the young people who live in the area, in order to share their experiences of this development. What do they think of the changing landscape around them and what do they want for its future? Our aspiration to platform their voices within the city fabric can be seen within the timber tiles of the bench.

From Trash to Treasure is by Katie Fisher and Siraaj Mitha, two architects who have worked collaboratively since meeting at Stanton Williams Architects in 2018. Their practice approach centres community engagement and local people’s voices within their designs and challenges the ways in which finite materials are used.