In this studio, the Master of Architecture students actively foraged for raw materials in the area surrounding an old barn in Saint-Martin-Choquel, near the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale in Northern France. Working in small groups, they began their research with a specific assigned category — one of earth, stone, fibres, or wood — using it as a starting point to investigate the properties and identify additional waste streams available in the region.

Through research, collection, and hands-on experimentation, students explored how these materials could be combined or transformed to form a new material. Following the collective research phase, students individually selected a waste-derived material system and used it to design a folly positioned inside or adjacent to the existing barn. Each project was informed by the chosen material and a guiding verb, with the aim of pushing the material to its limits while reinforcing the existing structure and the regional context of Nord-Pas-de-Calais.