Opening circular materials knowledge through design: the contribution of fab labs and makerspaces to circular economy adoption

Journal article

Alessia Romani*, Valentina Rognoli, Marinella Levi
The Design Journal, 2026 May, pp. 1-25

DOI: 10.1080/14606925.2026.2666269

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Cite

APA Click to copy
Romani*, A., Rognoli, V., & Levi, M. (2026). Opening circular materials knowledge through design: the contribution of fab labs and makerspaces to circular economy adoption. The Design Journal, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2026.2666269

Chicago/Turabian Click to copy
Romani*, Alessia, Valentina Rognoli, and Marinella Levi. “Opening Circular Materials Knowledge through Design: the Contribution of Fab Labs and Makerspaces to Circular Economy Adoption.” The Design Journal (May 2026): 1–25.

MLA Click to copy
Romani*, Alessia, et al. “Opening Circular Materials Knowledge through Design: the Contribution of Fab Labs and Makerspaces to Circular Economy Adoption.” The Design Journal, May 2026, pp. 1–25, doi:10.1080/14606925.2026.2666269.

BibTeX Click to copy

@article{alessia2026a,
  title = {Opening circular materials knowledge through design: the contribution of fab labs and makerspaces to circular economy adoption},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  journal = {The Design Journal},
  pages = {1-25},
  doi = {10.1080/14606925.2026.2666269},
  author = {Romani*, Alessia and Rognoli, Valentina and Levi, Marinella},
  month_numeric = {5}
}

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ANVUR Class A Journal Area 08, Sector 08/C1 (Design)

Abstract

Fab labs and makerspaces support circular economy practices through community engagement and knowledge-sharing, shaping sustainable and inclusive futures thanks to open design principles. Using materials from waste, scraps, and by-products represents an emerging design practice in these contexts, focusing on embedding circular economy principles into new products by retaining resources. Nevertheless, the strategies adopted to disseminate their use remain unexplored in similar bottom-up contexts. This work investigates the dissemination of circular materials knowledge toward circular economy adoption within fab labs and makerspaces. Starting from fab lab and makerspace repositories, 35 case studies were selected and analyzed, considering their activities, connections to the circular economy, dissemination approaches, and user engagement. Sharing the knowledge about circular materials represents an emerging practice for fab labs and makerspaces, transferring their experience and know-how. By working with practitioners and designers, they make materials knowledge accessible through bottom-up learn-by-doing activities, enabling circular economy practices in local communities. 1

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Keywords

sustainable development // Knowledge transfer // Digital fabrication // Materials experience // Experiential learning // Circular design // Circular economy

Resources and links

📑 Full text (publisher version) 2
📊 Analysis Dataset (Excel Spreadsheet) 3

Romani, A., Rognoli, V., and Levi, M. 2026. Opening circular materials knowledge through design: the contribution of fab labs and makerspaces to circular economy adoption. The Design Journal, 1-25. DOI: 10.1080/14606925.2026.2666269 ↩
Romani, A., Rognoli, V., and Levi, M. 2026. Opening circular materials knowledge through design: the contribution of fab labs and makerspaces to circular economy adoption. The Design Journal, 1-25. DOI: 10.1080/14606925.2026.2666269 ↩
Romani, A. 2026. Dataset_A.Romani_2026_TDJ Dataset Repository. Available at Zenodo.org. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15097062 ↩