I just finished devouring the latest issue of local architecture and design magazine ARCADE: 27.1 Revitalize Regenerate Re-source. This issue (the first of four installments) was dedicated to stories of smart design as solution to waste, said ARCADE Editor Kelly Walker.

I picked up a couple copies of the handsome, large-format publication last Thursday at ARCADE's fall launch party. The celebration took place at the Metropole Building in Pioneer Square. Krekow Jennings Construction and Murphy Varey Architects, two firms currently working on the historic building's reconstruction, joined the ARCADE staff in welcoming architects, design aficionados and art walkers to the party.

The tales that unfolded on ARCADE's black, white and deep maroon pages were informative, innovative and cleverly laid out. The first installment's guest feature editor was Pliny Fisk III, co-founder and co-director of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems in Austin, Texas, one of the oldest non-profits in the United States concentrating on sustainable design and planning. I highly recommend reading his piece "Really Going For It!" in which he asks, ‘what’s it going to take to create a sustainable future where waste is a resource?’ Fisk’s conclusion is really more of a rally call to reconstruct the economy to incorporate waste than a logistical vision of how to do that, but it was still a great read and quite inspiring.

This issue also covers some of our favorite Worldchanging ideas, including zero waste, green building and the prowess of the Danish waste-recycling network.

It's refreshing to see this stylish-looking magazine from the ultra-hip design world cover something as seemingly lowly as garbage. Many imaginative people, however, are now starting to see waste as a resource that we can use to revitalize our economy and reinvent how we look at everything from toothbrushes to skyscrapers. And personally, it's borderline intoxicating to realize that there is an entire army of creative designers and architects out there who are ready, willing and energized about redesigning waste until is isn't waste anymore.

As Kristine Matthews proclaimed to designers everywhere in her article Plastic-A-Holics:

As designers we need to inspire this generation to realize that a sustainable design approach means something smarter, different and more exciting than traditional thinking. We need to lead by example, showing through our own work how these principles can be applied in the real world (and not just for pro-bono projects!).

For designers, the first step is to admit we have a problem. The next step: make change happen.

You can find this issue of ARCADE online, and at various bookstores and cafes throughout the Seattle area.