Tecnologia diffusa per rendere sostenibilità ed economia circolare utopie realizzabili. Widespread technology to make sustainability and circular economy viable utopias.

The paper describes a public engagement experience, developed through an “open laboratory” formula, wherein the results of experimental activities on the use of waste, by-products and natural materials for the development of environmental sustainable building solutions were presented. The open laboratory aimed to promote a design and research culture capable of transforming sustainability and circular economy into viable utopias while exploring new opportunities for interaction among multiple stakeholders. The experience was organised in two sections: the first offered an overview of multidisciplinary studies and research that contributed to the development of architectural materials and components, the second focused on circular design activities which were carried out between research and innovative teaching, providing an opportunity to reflect on concepts of reuse, upcycling and disassembly. The communication methods adopted, both verbal and non-verbal, enabled meaningful engagement with a non-academic and non-expert audience, in a logic of "economy of knowledge" which considers knowledge as a public good to be shared rather than merely distributed.