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Disillusioned with architecture, Palestinian-born architect Danna Masad returned to her homeland after years abroad to search for a new purpose. She found it in the garbage of Ramallah. Masad is now leading a design studio that specializes in turning local waste material into furniture. Frustrated that so much of what was being designed and built in Palestine was sourced from outside, Masad has emphasized the importance of local products and materials. Luckily, garbage is plentiful.

With three other young architects, Masad founded ShamsArd Studio. Their recycled furniture designs include old doors and piping turned into tables, packing crates turned into dinette sets and oil barrels reconfigured into love seats. Their work has been featured in design publications worldwide, and in June they held an exhibition featuring 42 different designs. In addition to its work in furniture, ShamsArd is developing a variety of ecologically minded landscape and architecture designs. Similar to the studio’s furniture, these designs rely on locally sourced materials and strive for sustainability. Masad and her studio are quickly establishing themselves as the driving force behind the emerging movement for urban sustainability in Palestine. And it all started with a little garbage.

Nate Berg is a writer and journalist covering cities, architecture and urban planning. Nate’s work has been published in a wide variety of publications, including the New York Times, NPR, Wired, Metropolis, Fast Company, Dwell, Architect, the Christian Science Monitor, LA Weekly and many others. He is a former staff writer at The Atlantic Cities and was previously an assistant editor at Planetizen.