Third Place Winner
Liberty Salvage
Design by
Adam Berton
Juror’s Comment:
Strong infrastructural solution addressing material surplus and community-based upcycling.
Work on:
Enhance architectural distinctiveness and spatial character.
Adam Berton
Adam Berton is a Denver-based designer exploring the potential of reclaimed materials through conceptual research and hands-on making. He works across mediums—including ink, paper, metals, mechanics, casting, wood, and digital tools. To see more of his work, visit his digital studio at vexedcollective.com.
Celebrating Creativity & Vision
Winner’s Spotlight: An Exclusive Interview
Discover the story behind the victory — from concept to creation.
1. Concept & Interpretation
What was the central idea behind your proposal, and how did you translate the theme “Circular Architecture – Waste as a Resource” into a clear architectural vision?
Liberty Salvage began as a case study of George’s Architectural Salvage, an existing salvage facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. While George's operation is successful and diverts large amounts of material from landfills, I studied his system to identify potential improvements. I was also inspired by George’s strong connection to the community and chose to redesign his site to reflect these communal values. His site consists of three separate buildings that I reprogrammed into a dynamic salvage campus.
2. Addressing C&D Waste
Construction and demolition waste is a critical global issue. How does your design directly respond to this challenge, and what specific aspect of the waste stream did you focus on?
Liberty Salvage tackles waste across multiple scales— infrastructural, architectural, and furniture. The existing structures on site are to be selectively demolished to allow the site to be reprogrammed into a multi-structure salvage-oriented campus. Large structural elements, reclaimed from decommissioned roadway infrastructure, slice through the buildings to create circulation routes, covered material storage, and visual connectivity across the site. The furniture scale of material use is addressed through the program of an on-site design and fabrication space, utilizing the existing material as a resource for upcycled furniture production. Considering these different material scales—and how one may feed another—is critical to a more comprehensive understanding of waste stream circularity.
3. Material Innovation
Can you describe the materials you chose to reuse, recycle, or upcycle, and how these choices shaped both the performance and identity of your project?
Innovation lies in the creative design opportunities that emerge from using what already exists. This requires shifting the design process from “design dictating material” to “material dictating design.” While this may not always lead to the most optimized performance-driven solution, value structures must shift to favor limited material impact over technical performance. It requires accepting certain functional limitations in exchange for a unique product—similar to a hotrod versus a new performance sports car. Ultimately, finding ways to create client demand for more raw, lower-impact products is a creative challenge within the niche, leaving ample space to innovate.
4. Design for Disassembly
How did you integrate strategies such as modularity, adaptability, or design for disassembly to ensure long-term circularity?
Design for disassembly was not the central focus here, as Liberty Salvage proposes the disassembly and reuse of existing structures, which presents its own challenges. However, limiting the scope of architectural intervention and leaving raw, open spaces allows occupants to reshape and evolve the interior over time. Additionally, considering structural connections as disassemblable—in both architecture and furniture—is essential for material reuse. Build only what you would want to reuse.
5. Waste Reduction Strategies
Beyond material reuse, what steps did you take to minimize material consumption and reduce construction waste throughout the building’s lifecycle?
Liberty Salvage acts as a machine of urban metabolism. Through its (re)construction, it utilizes large elements of public roadway infrastructure—material already owned by the public—to create new public space. I credit this concept to Single Speed Design and the narrative behind their “Big Dig House.” Once operational, Liberty Salvage becomes a material-hungry machine, consuming waste and returning upcycled products back into the local community.
6. Aesthetics & Circularity
How did you balance environmental responsibility with architectural expression? In what ways does your project demonstrate that sustainability and aesthetics can coexist?
Salvaged components and existing materials define the aesthetics of Liberty Salvage just as they already do at George’s material storage yard. Beyond environmental benefit alone, material is saved for its embodied character, a reflection of culture and past narratives. This aligns with one of George's core motivations for continuing his work. I envision a future where architectural beauty is not purely formal but emerges through site-specific analysis and coincidental material availability, redefining structures as contemporary relics. As an architectural concept, Liberty Salvage embodies this thinking, where the use of salvaged materials for diagramming and physical modeling define their own design aesthetic.
7. Feasibility & Implementation
Do you see your proposal as immediately buildable, speculative, or experimental? What challenges and opportunities might arise in bringing it to reality?
I see this project as feasible but accompanied by many challenges, and I still have numerous unknowns to consider. What is the ownership structure—public, private, or collective? Where does the material currently stored onsite go during (re)construction? What are the construction phases? How will the city and neighborhood respond to and work with this design scope? How does one procure large pieces of public roadway infrastructure? These questions only scratch the surface of the logistics required. When considering projects of this level of research complexity, it also becomes a challenge on what client or entity is willing to fund such a multifaceted architectural process.
The true challenge is determining entity is willing to fund designers to take on a project of this scope while still enabling a livable wage.
8. Message for the Future
What do you believe architects and designers must rethink today to move from linear construction practices toward a regenerative, circular built environment?
I’m energized by the continued growth of salvage design theory and conceptual work. Theory is essential for advancing the conversation, but the real challenge is implementing these concepts in practice. I believe in learning through action and have gained countless lessons from building furniture out of salvaged materials. In architecture, I look toward firms like Lendager, B+, and Pihlmann Architects, who are structuring their practices around this approach. I hope this movement remains an open-source ecosystem of architectural knowledge, allowing all entities to build, or more accurately, rebuild, through shared support. The construction discipline is already so complex; we will need every small effort possible to push this movement further.
Share this design journey
Spread inspiration and connect with innovative design perspectives
