For the outdoor area of the Gernheim Glassworks, students from the Detmold School of Architecture and Interior Design, together with Michel Melenhorst, Professor of Contextual Design, developed a walk-in sculpture made of recycled glass and discarded building materials. Considerations of sustainability and circular economy were incorporated into the design of the Transparent Things project. Faidra Oikonomopoulou and Telesilla Bristogianni (TU Delft), who developed Re3 Glass, a new generation of recycled and reusable cast glass components for construction, provided consulting services.

Glass recycling is a multi-stage process that is becoming increasingly important in times of resource scarcity. Faidra Oikonomopoulou and Telesilla Bristogianni have set themselves the task of developing usable elements for architectural applications. Under the guidance of Professor Michel Melenhorst, students at TH OWL are applying the methods developed by the two scientists. The Transparent Things project involves playing with the properties of the material as well as experimenting with glass recycling processes and the specifics of the location.

Architects and engineers Faidra Oikonomopoulou and Telesilla Bristogianni are conducting research at TU Delft into structural applications of cast glass. They were involved in the development of the glass façade of the Crystal House in Amsterdam, for which they received the Society of Façade Engineering's Innovation Award 2016, among other accolades. As part of the Re3 Glass project, they developed a reversible system made from recycled cast glass components. The project was nominated for the New Material Award 2018 and the STARTS Prize 2020 and was exhibited at Venice Design 2018, Dutch Design Week 2018, Milan Design Week 2019 and the Vitra exhibition depot.