Responding to this exhibition's title and tenor, WochenKlausur, which mostly addresses social problems, decided to combine both a social and an ecological approach within its project for Beyond Green.

For every stage set or exhibition design many objects have to be built for temporary use. Therefore an abundance of material like wooden boards, display cases, glass panels, fabrics, and other odds and ends from past shows at museums and theaters accumulates and is generally disposed of after use. Materials that one person considers waste may be the raw materials of a new product for another. For this reason, WochenKlausur has set itself to the task of building a chain between institutions such as theaters and museums that have useable leftover material; social institutions that know what kind of necessities like furniture, interior fittings, and so on are required by people in need; and design schools and institutions that could create ways to upcycle the surplus material in order to produce the required utilitarian objects.

In Chicago, WochenKlausur members worked with University of Chicago students and volunteers to initiate an organization to create this chain. After meetings with a number of social organizations, we discovered a huge demand for furniture and interior fittings for entities such as homeless shelters and clothing pantries. We gathered lists of leftover materials, starting with waste from the Smart Museum, and extended out to involve other Chicago-area museums, theaters, and like institutions that are willing to make their surplus available. Design schools and departments have agreed to join the network and will help transform the materials into new things.

Alongside the organizational work, WochenKlausur has produced an upcycling example. Deborah's Place, a homeless shelter for women, asked for outdoor furniture such as tables and seats for their courtyard. Cable drums, wooden boards, hoses, tripods, and other discarded materials were gathered and brought to the workshop at Midway Studios. There, we upcycled the material according to the expressed need, prepared it for outdoor use, and delivered it to the shelter. WochenKlausur also developed another set of furniture designs, which Smart Museum staff built as prototypes to travel with the exhibition along with documentation of the residency.

To carry on this work we and our collaborators founded a new, non-profit organization named Material Exchange. Material Exchange is now led by team of students from the art departments of University of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They are continuing WochenKlausur's project by developing Material Exchange into a sustainable organization; they will plan and establish the proper system to coordinate this new network of institutions, organizations, and design schools.