folded

Buildings contain many valuable resources that are worth recovering and reusing – they could also be described as ‘urban mines’. Currently, there are still some problems with recovering these resources, as they are permanently installed, it’s too time-consuming to determine which materials are available, and they are often not pure. But what if houses and everything built into them were designed from the ground up to maximise reuse? folded is a modular shower system designed to keep all used materials in a cycle. In contrast to conventional showers, folded uses detachable screw and plug-in connections. This enables folded to be flexibly adapted to requirements and components to be exchanged or replaced as required. For example, the walls of the system are covered with shingles made from recycled polypropylene, which are laid like roof shingles on top of each other to form a watertight shower wall. If a shingle is damaged, it can be easily replaced without the need for extensive repair or replacement of the entire wall. This not only extends the lifespan, but also allows the system to be reused in another residential unit or adapted to individual requirements such as colour and shape. The system is accompanied by the building resource passport. The passport digitally records all installed components and makes it easy to manage them.

Every product and every installed component from folded is sent with an enclosed QR code. When a product is installed, this QR code can be scanned and the information recorded directly in the digital passport. This makes it possible to track, for instance, which materials have been installed and what options are available in the event of a repair, maintenance or return over the entire period of use. The pass also makes it easier for renters to report damage to their landlords. Landlords benefit in particular from the maintenance options, as their residential units are easier to manage and resources can be resold more easily. If the shingles are no longer required due to refurbishment or replacement, they are returned to the manufacturer together with the digital product passport. The manufacturer stores undamaged shingles for reuse. Damaged shingles can be recycled and processed into new shingles as they are based on mono-materials. This not only supplies manufacturers directly with secondary raw materials, but also conserves important resources and keeps them in a circulating system.