The transition to a circular economy shifts the focus onto reusing, renewing and recycling existing materials and products, considering waste as a resource. In this context, this article aims to describe the life cycle approach’s potential for the development of new building products from textile waste, one of the most environmentally impacting activities at a global level, both in relation to the processes that characterise the supply chain and in relation to pre- and post-consumption waste. This article outlines the research methodology adopted by the cluster “From textile waste to resource” of the Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino, through the description of research projects carried out in partnership with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In particular, it highlights the methodological approach adopted in a “grave to cradle” logic, in which the waste from one process becomes a new resource for another. This article highlights some open issues related to the limits and potential of the use of the life cycle approach as a “tool” to compare different options in a preliminary experimental research phase, to verify the environmental impacts of new materials and products made from recycled materials, and to compare new options with similar solutions available on the market.

Circular economy, participatory design, and experiential tourism are the starting points for the “Il Pagliaru Novu” research project, whose aim is to redesign, in an innovative scope, a traditional Sicilian rural architecture called pagliaru. This paper aims to present such research, which experimented—in parallel—a circular design approach and a virtual participatory design experience to develop a microarchitecture for experiential tourism. We describe the method and design process behind the Pagliaru Novu, and the features—combining tradition and innovation—of such microarchitecture. The design, and especially the entire design process, highlights how a series of constraints related to the pandemic may turn into opportunities.

In line with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the circular economy may become an opportunity for change even in the construction industry, which is traditionally distinguished for its high resource consumption and considerable waste generation. Schools of architecture play a crucial role because the transition towards a circular economy implies the necessary development of new professional figures with wide-ranging skills that may pave the way for new directions in R&D. This article describes three different learning experiences developed at Politecnico di Torino, which have in common the prospect of supply chains in transition. In particular, it discusses the following: the transition of waste from the agrifood chain to the design sector through the experimentation of panels for furniture; the integration of local supply chains for cork, sheep wool, and soil through the design of insulation blocks and panels; and the ‘as-is’ transition of an element originally used as packaging from the agrifood supply chain to the building envelope component sector. These experiences show the possibility of hybridization between sectors that are only apparently distant from one other. Above all, they can be considered ‘exercises’ to train future architects in the experimentation and transformation of matter, systemic design, and divergent and lateral thinking for the development of new building materials and components.