The RepairHub

Abstract

Consumer repair practices are detrimental to advancing the circular economy since they are a vital strategy for prolonging a product‘s lifetime and saving resources. Despite the need for repair services for a functioning circular economy, the practice of Repair for consumers has declined, and more and more citizens prefer product replacement instead of considering the Repair of consumer goods. Research suggests a general mismatch between consumer needs and repair service offerings. (Gobert et al., 2021). The Municipality of Rotterdam wants to facilitate circular behaviour for its citizens. The Municipality is opening a new recycling center with the adjacent Upcycle Mall. It is envisioned as a place for the citizens of Rotterdam to experience the aspects of a circular economy, including different circular economy practices, such as upcycling, recycling and reuse. Designing a Repair offering at the Upcycle Mall for small household electronics and textiles is the task set out to solve in this project.
The local provision of Repair is analysed and structured into four modes: self-repair, Professional Repair, Community Repair, and Non-Profit Repair. A particular focus was put on the local community repair organisations (Repair Cafes) and their challenges.
A literature review and an interview study on consumer behaviour regarding Repair identify the main barriers consumers face. The unique situation of the Upcycle Mall is analysed, and unique opportunities for interventions are identified.
Based on the research findings, a pivotal concept for the Upcycle Mall is proposed: The RepairHub. This repair center leverages its location to trigger repair actions. It introduces the Community Repair Concept as a center for education and links to and empowers the local Community Repair Organizations.The design proposal consists of eight concepts structured in three groups. Three activities to conduct in the RepairHub were designed:
RepairTogether: A convenient Repair Offer for visitors of the recycling center, to give their device another chance.
Sort & Fix: A center to sort, fix and clean the electric devices brought to the recycling center, to make them ready for resale in local Secondhand Stores.
RepairEducation: A concept to educate school classes on repair practices and include Rotterdams Repair Cafes in the Process
Complementing the RepairHub, a comprehensive signage system is designed to effectively guide people to the RepairHub and promote the local Repair Cafes. This system plays a crucial role in encouraging repair actions and making citizens aware of the local provision of Community Repair organisations. In addition, a website and flyer were created to promote these services further.
This thesis concludes with a set of final recommendations to the Municipality to support the Repair Culture and Provision in Rotterdam.