Wikado

Superuse, previously known as 2012Architecten, is an architecture office for circular and sustainable design. Its buildings centre on the concept of reuse – from water and utilities to food cycles; building materials to human resources.

In the Netherlands, two hundred windmill rotor blades are rejected every year, destined for shredding and incineration. The rotor blades, weather- and windproof and aerodynamic, have a distinct aesthetic quality. Superuse ‘rescued’ five rejected wind turbine rotor blades to reinvent Wikado, a defunct playground in Rotterdam. The abstract form of the blades, reimagined as slides, tunnels, and climbing structures, gives children the freedom to create from their own imaginations. The rotor blades’ lifespan was prolonged, and rejectamenta became visible, engaging, and of use. Along with the rotor blades, Superuse used local, recycled materials for the rest of the playground, effectively lowering the CO2 output of building a conventional playground by 90%.