CONVERSATION: ReCraft Design Studio

ReCraft is an international design studio based in Copenhagen that upcycles demolition waste into delicate tiles, among other things. They are part of the Royal Academy Startup Hub 2024-25, and this April, they showcase their work at the exhibition Recycle! at DAC. Meet ReCraft aka Matti Kemppainen, Karoline Cecilie Aigner and David Maxmilian Schneider.

During the graduation exhibition at the Royal Danish Academy in 2024, it was impossible to miss the large table brimming with delicately showcased wooden frames with different tile samples. The beautifully staged setting drew everybody’s attention, and you instantly felt the urge to touch and feel – and clad your entire home with the selection of tiles. Then you almost started to cheer  –arms in the air on the inside – when you read the text and learned they were all recrafted from demolition waste. Cheer for the hope and aesthetic beauty that sustainable design and functional objects could possess – represented in these products.

I also learned that the exhibitors called themselves ReCraft. Later that summer, I read their application to join the Startup Hub at the Royal Danish Academy, where we train entrepreneurs with a sassy idea as a pilot project. Today, seven months in, the trio has only grown in competence, insight, knowledge and potential clients. I am in awe of the startup-likes of ReCraft, who focus on the often overlooked materials and put them to reimagined use. The world needs new perspectives and new ways of looking at resources. Please meet Matti, Karoline and David and learn about their vision for the future of upcycled repurposed materials

How did you get the idea to focus on leftover construction elements?

It began during our architecture studies at the Royal Danish Academy with a simple question: what happens to a building when it is no longer in use? Our research discovered that deconstructing a building is often as complex as designing and constructing a new one. While sites are reimagined and new spatial ideas take shape, the physical materials are left behind and are rarely part of the conversation.

It revealed a blind spot in the process: Most building materials—especially bricks, concrete, and asphalt—are downcycled or discarded after their initial use despite their durability and embedded energy. They are treated as waste, even though they still carry structure, texture, and memory.

In this exploration, we fell in love with the possibility—of giving forgotten matter a new role, not as waste, but as something meaningful again.

How do you see the potential in demolition waste?

Seeing potential in demolition waste means seeing construction not as a linear process but as a circular one—where material use does not end but continues, where value is not lost but rediscovered.

Reimagining what we already have presents a huge opportunity. Instead of extracting and importing more, we can shift our attention to the materials around us—local, available, and full of untapped potential. This change not only reduces emissions and creates local jobs but also lays the foundation for a new kind of industry—one based on transformation rather than production.

Ultimately, the goal is not to create waste at all. But until we get there, we need systems that recognize waste as a sign of imbalance—and treat it as a resource for change. The real potential lies in closing the loop, crafting carefully, and proving that something discarded can become desirable again.

How did you go from moss-grown tile to delicately crafted tile?

We approached it by unfolding the material layer by layer. Each step brought new insight into what is possible and how much can be achieved by doing less. It was never about covering up the past or judging it but about revealing what was already there. Along the way, we engaged with craftsmen, conducted interviews, and applied cross-disciplinary techniques—from stonemasonry to carpentry—to understand not just the materials but how they could be worked with care.

In the process, we uncovered more than the tile beneath the moss-covered pavement—we uncovered the crafting itself. That became the beginning of ReCraft Design Studio.

What is it with tiles that are both functional and seducing simultaneously?

What makes tiles so compelling is that they are modern ornaments. In contemporary architecture, we have moved away from decorative gestures like stucco and moulding, yet tiles remain. They are accepted because they serve a clear purpose while offering texture, rhythm, and surface quality. They are architectural fragments that quietly hold structure and story—rooted in a long craft tradition, yet entirely at home in modern spaces.

Tiles are among the few architectural elements that balance expression and function pragmatically: They can be produced in advance, transported easily, and assembled on-site. They follow the logic of industrial construction but also preserve the intimacy of handmade design. Each tile is part of a larger system yet holds its own detail, imperfection, and memory.

How can you change the mind of the consumer?

Danish culture has a long tradition of appreciating design, especially furniture. Chairs are passed down through generations, not only because of their original design but also for the stories they carry. Could the same not apply to the architectural elements that shape our spaces?

We believe value lies not only in form but in the narrative—where the material comes from, who shaped it, and how it has been transformed. Reuse allows us to craft with memory and design with what is already here—not by importing general ideas of luxury but by revealing beauty in the familiar. Maybe beauty does not lie in marble mined from afar but in a concrete tile recrafted from an abandoned social housing block in the south of Zealand. Understanding a material’s story fosters emotional connection and shifts our visual expectations.

Their surfaces are raw, imperfect, and honest—in contrast to the anonymous, clean, standardized material aesthetic used in much of today’s built environment. By designing with reuse, we offer not just alternatives but new ways of seeing and framing value for consumers.

What do you wish for the industry? And the planet?

We wish the industry would listen more to the environment, the materials already available, and the knowledge embedded in the craft. A shift toward a local approach, grounded in place but enriched by global knowledge, could open new pathways. This means using local materials in Denmark, which are shaped by tradition and refined through contemporary technologies.

We wish the industry would be bolder. The construction industry often avoids risk, and new or reused materials are frequently overlooked because they are not yet approved like those we have relied on for decades. This hesitation limits progress. An institutional safety net—some form of assurance or shared responsibility—could help reuse-based solutions gain ground. It would allow developers to take steps forward without bearing the risk alone.

What have you made for the exhibition at DAC?

The exhibition at the Danish Architecture Centre, “Genbrug!”, is about reuse in architecture and opens on April 10. We contribute with an installation called “Reimagine Waste: Ingredients from the Past,” portraying a kitchen, as it is one of the most frequently replaced elements in apartment renovations and, therefore, a major polluter.

We sourced materials from a school in Smørum, the old town hall in Høje Taastrup, and a selection of unknown leftover pieces. These materials were crafted into new products and used to design and build a structure with history and character. The installation is about reimagining what is possible and questioning the sterile aesthetic of the contemporary kitchen and the materials and environmental impact behind it.

We used the kitchen and cooking process metaphorically to portray our working process. We work like chefs: sourcing (selecting materials with intention), preparing (cleaning and processing them), crafting (reshaping them with skill), and serving (returning them to use). In this process, we are not simply reducing waste—we are revaluing what was overlooked, proving that beauty is not lost with time but rather refound through care and craftsmanship.