“My ABC is secondary”

This week, Paula Dörfler, Frank Gfeller, and Mirjam Wolffers of the Competence Center for Secondary Raw Materials at the University of Bern are guests of the Sitterwerk. Within the framework of the three-part series “My ABC is . . .,” they have reorganized the holdings of the Kunstbibliothek and the Werkstoffarchiv and created new categories, references, and compilations that provide insights into their field of research.

The group from the Institute of Geology deals with the processing of mineral waste in line with a sustainable closing of material cycles. In this context, recovering industrial waste or replacing raw materials in industrial processes and building materials are the topic. For example, in the case of sand—currently one of the most important non-metallic mineral raw materials—what will be important in the future is replacing it more and more with secondary raw materials in order to conserve natural and increasingly-rare resources. In the Sitterwerk’s collection of books and materials, there are diverse samples of the small-scale material, for instance as a source material for the production of glass, the main component of concrete, or a mold material for art casting. The texts, stones, pictures, debris, and rarities that the members of the competence center have brought to light based on their specific perspective will be presented in a public round-table discussion on June 8.

Following the event, it is still possible to see the overview in the Werkstoffarchiv and Kunstbibliothek until June 30.