Latest thinking

Toying with circularity

Blog

17 May 2015

Lucy Chamberlin

One of this year's Student Design Award briefs asked students to redesign a children's toy to eliminate waste and reduce environmental impacts.

On the bins...

Blog

09 Apr 2015

Sophie Thomas

We're all familiar with dropping items into our household bins - this bottle for recycling, that packet for waste - but what happens to these bags and their contents when they leave our curbside?

Hacking the Circular Economy

Blog

01 Apr 2015

Sophie Thomas

Reflecting on The Great Recovery's partnership with Fab Lab London, Sophie Thomas explains why having circular economy thinking in makespaces provides the perfect combination for disruptive innovation.

The Great Game of Circularity

Blog

23 Mar 2015

Josie Warden

"We need to prototype new types of products, but above all we need to communicate a systemic picture of the circular economy."

Has the circular economy been relegated to the rubbish bins of Brussels?

Blog

07 Jan 2015

Lucy Chamberlin

It looks increasingly likely that the leadership we have come to expect from Europe in launching our fledgling circular economy is being scuppered by the new masters of Brussels and a contingent of business lobbyists.

Stressed out city workers to benefit from new City of London 'maker space'

Press release

19 Sep 2014

Stressed out city workers have been invited to take time out from their hectic schedules and become part of the UK’s growing ‘maker movement’ by spending time in a new community maker space that has opened in the heart of the City of London.

What does a neuroscientist eat for breakfast?

Blog

26 Jun 2014

Lucy Chamberlin

In its quest for a more ‘circular economy’, the RSA Great Recovery is focusing on the links between design, materials and waste. Last week, I visited the Science Museum’s new installation on rubbish.

Speed Dating with the Circular Economy

Blog

22 Apr 2014

Jonathan Rowson

Setting: in a little known boutique hidden inside Café de Paris in Piccadilly Circus, singles shuffle furtively as they prop up the bar. Long since unleashed from ideological matrimony, but increasingly weary of social media and existentially adrift, they have come for a subterranean adventure, hoping to meet ideas they can truly believe in, seeking friendship, and perhaps something more.

Investigating the role of design in the circular economy Executive Summary

Report

31 May 2013

The Great Recovery project, launched in September 2012 by the Action and Research Centre at the RSA, aims to build a cross disciplinary design community that is equipped to support the development of an economy based on resource-efficient principles.