waste to
wonder
Waste to Wonder is a new element for Jia CURATED 2025. It focuses on using discarded materials and simple, low-tech techniques to create sustainable design solutions—repositioning waste as a tool for craftsmanship within community-focused functions.
Through a series of context-responsive and explorative works, Waste to Wonder highlights how discarded materials can be reimagined through functional design. From furniture to wayfinding, retail concepts to spatial interventions, the focus is not merely on form, but on purposeful transformation—where waste is given new life through process and intent.
It will be categorised under several functions, featuring contributions from individuals, collectives, and foundations across a range of disciplines. Each explores how sustainability can be meaningfully embedded into the objects and systems that shape our everyday lives—resulting in work that is not only conscious, but also practical, enduring, and adaptable.
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Millimeter Manifesto provided the initial concept and design direction for the communal furniture—establishing a flexible framework that responds to shared, everyday environments. Their approach centres on openness and adaptability, allowing the pieces to be reinterpreted through making. The resulting forms balance considered design with social intent.
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CushCush took the design further—developing it into a system of easy-to-assemble modules suitable for hands-on workshops. From refining mock-ups to resolving structural details, they translated the original concept into something practical, accessible, and replicable. As both maker and developer, CushCush bridges design thinking with direct community engagement.
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LagiLagi and CushCush Gallery co-organised a workshop programme in collaboration with universities, using the communal furniture as a platform for environmental education through making. LagiLagi, an initiative by CushCush, encourages children and young creatives to rethink everyday waste and explore upcycling through creative play. CushCush Gallery supports this by fostering multidisciplinary collaboration in art and design—creating a space where education, sustainability, and creativity converge.
Studio andramatin reimagines the bookshop as a reflective retail space shaped by Waste to Wonder principles—using reclaimed materials and modular design to create an environment that is both functional and intentional. Featuring a curated selection from Gavra Books, the space becomes a point of access to ideas on design, sustainability, and material culture. Beyond retail, it serves as a quiet educational corner—inviting visitors to read, reflect, and connect with the broader themes explored throughout the exhibition.
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