Plastic is an incredible material. The big problem with it is how we are using it and discarding it in nature. It was with this idea in mind that The Plastic Museum was created: to show the vital role that plastic plays in our lives and the possibilities that its reuse and recycling offer. Opened in Madrid on May 8, it not only contains plastic but was built entirely from this material. Through the artifacts displayed inside, including objects for health care, communication, construction, food, and sustainable mobility, the visitor will learn about the essential functions that plastic provides us when used correctly.
The roof of Euston Station in London is the large-scale architectural setting for the virtual application of the comprehensive Metaplas system, created by students from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. As part of an investigation carried out in Research Cluster 8 (RC8) of the Master's program in Architectural Design, students developed a 3D printed multimaterial system from biodegradable and recyclable thermoplastics. Transforming a series of flat panels into complex three-dimensional forms, students created a structural system with geometric folds that allows for passive control of the lighting of interior spaces.
The Shing Mun River in Sha Tin, a residential town in Hong Kong, has struggled with plastic waste pollution for years. Household waste that is not properly recycled will either end up in landfills or floating in the river. In 2018 almost 17 million plastic items, or 40,000 items daily, were found to be drained into the ocean via the Shing Mun River, mostly being food packaging, cutleries, and household plastic bottles. This quantity of plastic pollution in the river and surrounding environment could eventually jeopardize the natural ecosystem irreversibly.
Students at the School of Engineering, RMIT University recently published a study experimenting with a new form of waste management and recycling. As they note in their research, cigarette butts are the most commonly discarded single waste item in the world, with an estimated 5.7 trillion having been consumed around the globe in 2016. However, the materials in cigarette butts—particularly their cellulose acetate filters—can be extremely harmful to the environment due to poor biodegradability. The RMIT study builds on a previous research study by Mohajerani et. al (2016) that experimented with adding discarded cigarette butts to clay bricks for architectural use. In their research, the RMIT students found that such a measure would reduce the energy consumption of the brick production process and lower the thermal conductivity of the bricks, but that other issues including bacterial contamination would have to be addressed prior to successful implementation. Below, we explore this research in more detail, investigating its relevance to the architecture industry and imagining possible futures of application.
https://www.archdaily.com/956164/is-it-possible-to-create-lightweight-bricks-by-recycling-cigarette-buttsLilly Cao
Newly built houses, with their sizable carbon footprints, don’t just contribute to climate change. For many Americans, they’re also too expensive—a bitter irony in cities rife with vacant buildings and record evictions.
Given the urgency of both issues, projects that retrofit livable housing into existing low-carbon shells (the initial embodied carbon was spent long ago) might be worth a closer look. We searched for them and came across a handful that promise a cure for housing insecurity and excessive greenhouse gas emissions.
According to a survey by the Brazilian Association for Recycling of Construction and Demolition Waste (ABRECON), there has been an increase in the recycling of construction and demolition waste (C&D) in Brazil in recent years. According to the 2015 report, 21% of the total C&D was recycled in the country that year, while in 2013 the rate was 19%.
The outlook is promising but not yet ideal, and the growth of recycled C&D materials is still considered small. In Brazil, construction waste can represent between 50% and 70% of the total municipal solid waste. This means, we still need to advocate for a more common practice of material recycling and reuse in architecture, especially in Brazil.
When a material runs its course and becomes obsolete, whether because of wear and tear, a change of style, a tear-down, or a remodel, many are tempted to simply toss it into a scrap heap and send it to the landfill. In the grand majority of cases, however, these materials can be repaired, recycled, and reused in a vast array of creative endeavors. Of course, depending on the material and its characteristics, this can also present a challenge. In the case of windows and doors, particular care must be taken to keep them intact throughout the dismantling or demolition process and even afterwards, an inspection may be necessary to determine their viability for future use. Of course, many avoid the path of re-utilization altogether and opt for new materials that make for an easier and more uniform project.
As levels of pollutant emissions have increased over the years, awareness has also grown regarding actions that can be taken to minimize the damage caused to the planet. As a way to promote waste reduction or prevention, the 3 R's rule is created: reduce, reuse and recycle. These actions, together with sustainable consumption standards, have been promoted as a means to protect natural resources and minimize waste.
With the aim of supporting architects to become active agents of sustainable design, this week we present a selection of facades that incorporate different recycled materials. Beyond the typical uses of plastic and glass, in this article, you will find innovative materials such as mattress springs, ice cream containers, plastic chairs, and recycled waste from agricultural and industrial products. A look at 21 remarkable projects using recycled materials to create an attractive facade.
The use of brick plays a very important role in the architectural history of the United Kingdom. Construction techniques that involve brick and stone have been in constant progress. In fact, brick production improved over time, making the material the most popular one in the construction industry. From the 18th century onwards, brickwork was predominantly used in domestic and industrial architecture, but later on, it was introduced to the structure of warehouses and factories, as well as other various forms of infrastructure.
While many of these buildings are still operating to this day, it comes as no surprise. Refurbishment and reuse are highly recommended techniques, and in many cases, the only methods to maintain densely populated European cities. Therefore, the challenge lays in reusing these buildings and recycling the materials available, always trying to retain as much of the original structure as possible.
Whether you're looking for an upgrade or to replace broken pieces for floors or walls, tiles are always an effective and readily available option for any project that you have in mind. With their relatively low production cost, tiles are rarely reused or recycled and, if they are, it's usually for their original function.
Whether we like it or not, every architect is a recycler.
The phrase “Swamp Yankee” is neither a diss nor a stereotype. Swamp Yankees lived in pre-20th-century New England. They were those poor folk who could only afford to live near water – where disease, vermin and bad weather regularly wrecked lives. Those folk never threw anything out that could be reused (someday). They bartered and they salvaged as a way of life. There was never waste (“waste not, want not”). Swamp Yankees made recycling a lifestyle. Sustainability was not a Green choice – it was the way they survived.
Stockyard of recycled building materials waiting for reuse . Image Courtesy of NY Engineers
“Out with the old and in with the new,”....or so they say. In the United States, a cloud of dust and debris paired with a wrecking ball and bulldozer tends to represent signs of forward progress, innovation, economic activity, and the hope for a better future through architectural design.
Commonly used as storage support for products in supermarket stocks and fairs, pallets are versatile. After their primary function has been discarded, the reuse of pallets for other purposes is increasingly common, collaborating to the reduction of the amount of waste discarded, especially as raw material for the creation of furniture and decks. However, going beyond the commonly highlighted DIY furniture tutorials on youtube, these structures are gaining ground as the main element in the construction of ephemeral architecture, such as small pavilions and urban installations. In fact, these small pieces can be stacked and united together in different ways and patterns.
Recycled and reused materials continue to grow as a more attractive alternative in the construction field. They are at most times a coveted sustainable substitute to conventional building materials, offering a financially resourceful solution when appropriately sourced and implemented. Aside from saving up on raw material costs, establishing recycling facilities or factories might present a good opportunity to generate jobs within a local setting (collecting, handling). The recycling process might also be used as a gateway to lower energy consumption, with some plants eventually generating their own power through specific material transformation techniques (Heat generated power).
Some researchers define the Anthropocene as beginning at the Industrial Revolution. Others identify it with the explosion of the first nuclear bomb, and others with the advent of agriculture. Regarding the precise timeline, there is not yet a scientific consensus. But the notion that human activities have been generating changes with planetary repercussions, whether in the temperature of the Earth, in biomes, or in ecosystems, is one that has become increasingly popular. The anthropocene would be a new geological era marked by the impact of human action on planet Earth. This acknowledgement of human impact is particularly disturbing if we consider that if the entire history of the Earth were condensed in 24 hours, humans would only appear in the last 20 seconds. Whether in the massive extraction of natural resources or in the carbon release from vehicles and industries, it is well known that a large part of the fault lies with construction activities, especially in the production of solid waste due to waste and demolition. In Brazil, for example, civil construction waste can represent between 50% and 70% of the mass of solid urban waste [1]. Many will end up being discarded irregularly or thrown in landfills to be buried indefinitely.
Recycling and upcycling of materials and structures have become more and more popular in architecture as alternatives to the production of components in construction, typically associated with increased energy consumption and high levels of pollutants released into the atmosphere. The main difference between these two methods is that, while the former uses a certain amount of energy to process the material before it is reused, the latter does not require this process, but rather reuses it just as it was discarded.
The concept of Design for Disassembly (DfD for short) gained increasing traction in recent years, as it addresses the growing concern around the high consumption of resources and low recycling rate within the construction industry. The following article details on the method and features guidelines for a design process that facilitates the dismantlement of future buildings, with the scope of providing a better understanding of this principle within the broader framework of the current practice and circular economy.
.jpg?1600352094 "Flamboyant Residence / Perkins+Will. Image: © Nelson Kon")
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_Andrew_Meredith.jpg?1595351859 "© Andrew Meredith")
_Nigel_Rigden.jpg?1595352119 "© Nigel Rigden")
_Ben_Pipe.jpg?1595351948 "© Ben Pipe")
.jpg?1594127477 "Pavilion built with recycled material transforms public space in South Africa. Image: © Ella Petousis")
