Merit Award in Interiors – Echoes of Waterways:Shunde MixC by Atelier Glow

Project Overview

SuperBin im_factory is a resource recycling facility in Hwaseong, South Korea, that challenges the traditional image of afactory. Designed more like an art museum than an industrial plant, it reimagines waste infrastructure by turningdiscarded materials into new resources through an innovative sorting and logistics system, embodying a circulareconomy.

To accommodate the long processing machinery needed for PET waste—sorting, shredding, washing, and packaging—the building adopts a U-shaped layout, fitting within the constraints of a 9,886 m² site. This 150-meter-long formensures efficient spatial organization: the first floor houses machinery, the rooftop handles vehicle circulation, and theinner U contains office, exhibition, and cultural spaces. This layout provides a clear visual understanding of the fullprocess.

Visitors are welcomed by an entry landscape that sets the tone for the space. Designed as an engaging zone with azigzag path and visible factory interiors, it features reused trees from a demolished apartment complex, extending therecycling narrative into the landscape.

im_factory also functions as a cultural platform, expanding beyond waste processing to public engagement. SuperBin,the facility’s operator, develops eco-friendly content such as tours, exhibitions, and upcycling workshops. Thisapproach aims to transform public perception of waste from something to be avoided into a valuable resource. Byintegrating design, education, and sustainability, im_factory redefines what a waste facility can be.

Project History

Not only does ‘im_factory’ creates new value from waste by utilizing artificial intelligence, robotics technology, and bigdata, but it also considered sustainability in the construction process by reusing discarded trees from existingapartment demolition sites. In addition, a cultural and educational space are planned to provide a place where therecycling culture can be expanded through participation in viewing and content development. After an overallexperience, visitors, especially in the younger generation, will return back to their daily lives and take action to makeearth a safer place by cherishing the environment.

Project Team

Architect : Leehong Kim

Company : Leehong Kim Architects

Associate Architect: –

Owner: SuperBin