The Five-Year Build
Use what we have.
Build what we need.
What if materials we discard today could one day help communities build, rebuild, and recover?
Altera Circular Systems is advancing research into how post-consumer textiles and other underused resources could become practical building materials—with the long-term possibility of supporting more resilient housing, disaster recovery, and community infrastructure
WHY NOW
Homes are being lost.
Floods, fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, mudslides, and other disasters can erase years of stability in hours.
Human interference compounds the impact.
Climate change, deforestation, altered waterways, development patterns, and ecosystem degradation can intensify risk and reduce natural protection.
Useful resources are still discarded.
Altera asks whether some of what we throw away can become part of what helps us build again.
The possibility
Waste could become part of what helps us rebuild.
The ambition is real: research materials that could eventually contribute to housing, shelter, rebuilding, community repair, and more resilient local infrastructure.
Possibility is not proof. Before these materials can help anyone, they must be researched, developed, tested, documented, and proven safe enough for real-world use.
Housing & Shelter
Explore future material pathways that may expand the range of practical building options.
Rebuilding
Build toward materials that could one day support repair and recovery after disruption or disaster.
Community Resilience
Connect materials research with local skills, workforce pathways, education, and community capacity.
Resource Recovery
Investigate whether discarded materials can remain useful instead of ending their life as waste.
The goal
The Five-Year Prototype Challenge
Move from an early research question to a viable, documented prototype within five years.
Research → Test → Develop → Prototype → Prepare for Use
This is a challenge, not a shortcut. Safety, evidence, responsible development, and the right expertise come first
Year 1
Define
Questions, research leads, use cases, materials, standards, and partners.
Year 2
Investigate
Preparation methods, binder pathways, safety concerns, and performance needs.
Year 3
Formulate
Candidate material systems, comparative testing, failures, and iteration.
Year 4
Prototype
Build and document a physical prototype supported by research and testing.
Year 5
Prepare for use
Evaluate cost, certification, manufacturing, implementation, and future pathways.
This takes a coalition
The mission needs more than belief. It needs people.
You do not have to be a scientist to help. You can volunteer, make an introduction, contribute expertise, open a door, fund a research need, or simply help the right person find us.
Volunteer / Join
Research, outreach, events, operations, communications, grants, and program building.
Connect Expertise
Scientists, chemists, engineers, labs, universities, builders, manufacturers, and recovery organizations.
Sponsor / Partner
Bring funding, facilities, technical knowledge, equipment, implementation support, or collaboration.
Donate
Help fund the research, partnerships, programs, and infrastructure required to move toward prototype.
Follow the Five-Year Build.
We intend to document the research milestones, partnerships, failures, lessons, community programs, breakthroughs, and progress toward prototype.
Researching whether discarded and underused resources can become practical materials for a more resilient built future.
Five-Year Challenge: move from research question to a viable, documented prototype.
Researching whether discarded and underused resources can become practical materials for a more resilient built future.
Five-Year Challenge: move from research question to a viable, documented prototype.
EXPLORE
LEGAL
FOLLOW US
For community. By community. With community. • Use what we have. Build what we need.
Altera Circular Systems is fiscally sponsored by Embolden WI (501(c)(3)). Donations are processed through the fiscal sponsor and may be tax-deductible as permitted by law.