The Re-fulfilment Centre – Theatre of Return Products

WINNER of Market 2.0: Circular Economy Hub
+ WINNER
Market 2.0: Circular Economy Hub
The Re-fulfilment Centre – Theatre of Return Products
Team
Name: Ka Wah Francis, Cheung
Instagram: franc.ckw
Nationality: Hongkonger
Institution / Company: Royal College of Art
Returning products has become the norm of online shopping. Roughly 30% of the items are returned for various reasons – half of them get back to the suppliers, while the other half are dumped in landfills.
The Re-fulfilment Centre proposes to turn the dramatic effects of the Return Culture – on the environment and on our relationship with objects – into a possibility of change. The idea is that retailers could get rid of unwanted returns with a partial compensation while the local communities could take advantage of the ample return inventory to create something useful and meaningful. The Re-fulfilment Centre is a new form of charity shopping, taking the shape of a more comprehensive in-house mechanism – from capturing returned goods, to upcycling them in the communal workshop, and reselling rejuvenated items on the local market.
The building is made of three main elements. A light roof supported by a grid of light columns. A system of shelf-walls that support the internal horizontal slabs disposed in a terrace layout. The envelope of perforated metal sheets, which gives to the building an enigmatic post-industrial look. Entirely colonised by objects, the building is a theatre that showcases the spectacle of a new logistic that could give a different value to everyday objects. Envisioned as a reverse of online consumption, this new return industry can allow breaking away from consumerism and come together as a community of makers – a Re-fulfilment Centre that is truly fulfilling. The project challenges the “bizarre normal” of shopping culture, in pursuit of changing practices & collective engagement.


Jury Comments
+ Kasmir Jolma
The Re-fulfilment Centre – Theatre of Return Products gives a tangible solution for solving a growing problem of e-commerce with an intriguing presentation style.
+ Tao Liu / Chunyan Cai
The project is very sensitive, point out the new type of waste caused by the online – return culture, and give out a solution with careness.
Responses