Assembling Researchers in Design and the Humanities in a Circular Ecology

This contribution aims at reframing the concept of circular economy (CE) through an experiment with, and reflection on, research-through-design practices. We depart from CE as an efficient process of tidying up or closing circles to open up a discussion of ways cities can productively engage with flows of residual materials as resources in a social-material context. Taking an ecological approach, we investigate interconnected flows of things, people, and perspectives in concrete situations in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. To that end we lean on the logic of assemblage, as developed in Actor- Network Theory, and discuss visualizing tools for putting theory into practice and for assembling researchers in design and the humanities in a circular ecology.