The Lene Campus is based at the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in a context of a hard Brexit. The project aims to reject seeing the border as a division typology but rather a tie which can be used for economic and environmental benefit. UTRTC, is a facility responsible for testing, storing, and improving the activewear manufactured from upcycled plastic bottles. All processes which involve bottles in a state of waste are based on the Northern Irish side of Lene and then processed into textile products in Ireland at 0% tax when passing the border. This way the finished products can be shipped to EU countries at no additional cost.
UTRTC, a facility which is a part of the Lene Campus proposal. Responsible for testing, storing and improving the textiles manufactured from upcycled plastic bottles. It is a place where students get to learn, collaborate, work and research to gain experience, earn money and bond together despite cultural differences. The building bridges the gap in the product manufacturing sector where individuality is lost in the automated processes. It is filling the lack of sense of community in what we now call a ‘warehouse’. By involving electric lorries in the programme of the building, people can get fully immersed in the infrastructural processes. They also play a key role in powering of the warehouse when not in use through sharing electricity. It is a futuristic concept that challenges beliefs about social divisions and attitudes towards a warehouse typology, often associated with a ‘’steel box’’.
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