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Recycled packages in modern architecture

ARCHTHEO'12 Conference, Istanbul, Turkey

REchitecture- this is architecture against the consumer society. A design using already used goods and materials, as one recognized non-polluting building material. REchitecture uses the scrap in one very provocative and powerful way, making us to believe in one more balanced and ecological lifestyle. According to the type of the used materials, this architectural model could be divided into different categories – vehicles, electrical devices, packages or just objects. 
The following report outlines the application of commercial packages in the architecture. It is following through the historical development and suggesting basic classification of this type of REchitecture.
Since the beginning of our civilization, packages have been integral part of the human evolution. The necessity of easy keeping and transportation, firstly of foods, has been vital for their development. The skills and technologies are the foundation of keeping the products fresh - from the wicker basket, through the animal tripe and pots to the modern day numerous types and forms of packages.
Since the Ancient Rome we can find examples for REchitecture of packages, built in the land shaft of the capital. Usually the big amphorae, in which the sailors delivered different oils to the city, have been used more than once and in the end they were smashed and used as a building material in the Roman concrete. Not so easy to recycle were one concrete type of Spanish amphorae. They were extremely hard to brake, which made the local authorities to find a special place to dispose them. This was not a landfill, but deliberately and targeted building of a hill in the city, which nowadays we know as Monte Testaccio. Especially impressive is the technique of building- one layer of smashed and one layer of solid amphorae filled with smashed parts of them. The hill is 36 meters high, which is impressive. Long time after the building of this hill, we still are not able to find so organized and meaningful construction from unneeded and no longer used objects. Examples of REchitecture have always existed, however they were more likely a product of a “do-it-yourself” principle. The first image, coming in mind is the interior of the middle-age inn, where the tables are made from wooden casks and chairs made from crates of fruits. Information about similar usage is available up to the middle of the 19th century.      
After the Industrial Revolution the society started denying the idea of “do-it-yourself” and started following the culture of “disposable usage” not only for packages but for many more everyday goods.
Some of the first defined examples for REchitecture from packages are the Nomadic Museum from the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and KeetWonen /students dormitories/ of TempoHousing. Both projects have been finished in 2005 from shipping containers. 
Since then the idea for building from packages has been developing very quickly, in unison with the public opinion about ecology and recycling. Starting with the shipping containers, REchitecture sees in the packages new, unconventional material and most importantly a provocation, which is vital for the modern day society.
Because of the incredibly huge variety of modern packages, the report’s main idea is to show one possible classification, dividing by types and materials, as well as possible usage in the construction of the building.
* Shown examples in ІІІ. are result of the author’s research.
Multiple examples type “do-it-yourself” with doubtful aesthetic qualities have created hostility towards REchitecture of packages. In a sense this has been overcame for the massive elements, such as shipping containers and pallets, thanks to their shape and easy usage. Glass bottles also break through the skepticism after the rising popularity of Buddhist temple built almost entirely from bottles. Prejudices are still an obstacle for the other types of REchitectural solutions for packages. Their variety and the need for provocation and powerful influence constantly wanted from the society, will bring us to the more broaden usage in the architecture and design.

Social prerequisites for development of architecture from recycled materials

EPU'2012 Conference, Pernik, Bulgaria

As an integral part of the development of the societies, the architecture reflects their situation of a period. In different studies we draw on knowledge from the preserved specimens of architectural art and from them we make conclusions about the social, economic and cultural development of civilizations. Thus, looking from a similar but slightly different angle, we establish connection between the history and the development of modern architecture and the generated waste from the society.
By the 19th century the majority of generated waste were of organic origin. Handmade objects determine the need for re-use – on the one hand their cost and on the other the symbolism of some of the belongings for their owners. Since that time, there are many examples of furniture of the poorer classes made from barrels and wooden crates covered with old blankets and sheets for upholstery.
This tendency changes after the industrial revolution and urbanization. The products suddenly diminish their value and mind their mass production the skill to repair something broken is no longer needed, because there is a possibility to buy something newer and more modern. The commenced construction of apartment buildings in major cities, also contributes to this effect. The storage spaces become smaller, which leads to inability to keep different "things" kind of unnecessary but in good condition, that after changing their original function would have logged back into use.
To afford yourself to throw away just because you can buy something new is an expression of supremedis play of wealth. Through this feature a strong social division of people is outlined: between those who can afford to throw and those to whom to discard is a sort of value.
Similar division, but in different proportions we can find in a global scale between so called developed and developing countries. Source: UNEP (2011)
1. In developing countries the percentage of organic wastes is extremely high. Taking into account also the chronic shortage of raw materials, it shows that the population preserves a big part of the inorganic solid wastes with the purpose of their secondary use with another function, which we call recycling.  The lack of enough buildings on the other hand, forces people to use these “re-materials” in construction:
1.1. In the Brazilian poor districts, very often the buildings are so close to one another, that there is no place for windows and even in daytime they need additional lightening. Due to high price of electricity, they could not use such lightening. Engineer Alfredo Mozer reaches an incredibly simple solution to the problem. In transparent plastic bottles he pours a solution of water and small amount of bleach, then hangs the bottle from the roof so that a small part of the throat peeps above. So made this plastic "bulb" has about 60W power and lights easy and free the homes.
1.2. Another example again in Brazil and again in plastic bottles is for the production of panels for water heating through greenhouse effect, which is created in bottles when heated. Such systems, however, on the principle of the heat exchanger are successfully applied in the U.S. for conditioning in rooms.

1.3. After the devastating disaster in Haiti a great shortage of medical care is felt. The NGO "Containers 2 clinics" sets up a mobile clinic consisting of two shipping containers. Open for the first time in October 2010 the mobility of this medical center and its rapid operational work gives a breath of fresh air to the medical services in the country. Projects of this organization grow and thrive and this year it is expected a similar structure in Namibia to be built.
1.4. Even the religion uses recycled materials in its sacred building structures. Situated at about 600 km from Bangkok, Thailand the so called “Temple of the million bottles”. The extravagant idea began in 1984 when the monks began to decorate their shelters with glass bottles. Attracted by by this, tourists began to donate more bottles, causing a snowball effect. The caps also came into use - they are embedded in a complex mosaic.
1.5.We can find the next example for REchitecture in the developing countries in the Palestinian lands next to Jerusalem. Young architects and engineers from the Italian group ARCό undertook the difficult task to build school for the local community. The main chosen material from them is the automobile tire. For the construction of the complex of 350 square meters 2200 numbers of tires were used, whereas the total price reached the negligible82 000€ for the project in year 2009.
These are only some examples from thousands that could be presented for buildings made by necessity, which examples in most cases we are willing to overlook neglect.
2. This is not the case with projects from recycled materials, built in the developed countries.  Here, for their perception by the public contribute two main factors. The first one is the long-lived campaigns for recycling and ecological balance that impose on society more responsible position. Second factor is the intervention of architects and designers in the construction of such buildings. This greatly helps softening the senses and balancing of forms in an otherwise difficult to perceive composition being modeled to provoke.
2.1. The purpose of group of students from Norway is provocation, when they build their small almost cubic 50 square meters pavilion.  It has been entirely built from used doors and windows, a big part of them taken from the nearest office building, which was prepared for demolition.
2.2. The Wing house of Arch. David Hertzwas built from Boing 747-200 and really stands out from the rest.  The house is situated on a hilly plot of 220 acres in Malibu, California. Greatest effect have the roofs of the building, which are actually the wings of the airplane. Not only the wings but almost all parts of the airplane are integrated in a “domestic” way in the house. 
2.3. Interesting decision in the interior design take BRC Design with their binary collection, made from old circuit boards. Very powerful, it is aimed primarily at the computer generation that wishes to have a "connection", even while resting.

2.4. House from containers. The first impression for architecture from shipping containers is closely connected with narrow and long unwelcoming space. The French architect Patrick Partouche fully contradicts this idea. Incorporating 8 containers in a two-story building, he achieved airtime and free interior design decision, which is not supposed by the modularity of the elements.
3. Bulgaria in the context of REchitecture lies midway between the developed and developing countries. The country relatively recently underwent a period of "needful" use of recycled materials in construction (still to find fences from radiators and tires in the countryside). It is associated with a denied regime, which further incites negative reactions to such examples. On the other hand society goes through hits boom of consumerism, leading to almost zero percent recycling (according to EUROSTAT figures). These factors and the lack of legal prerequisites for such construction put REchitecture in Bulgaria on hold. This predisposes to an intensive future development, the seeds are just beginning to sprout.
The examples concerned here show that despite the cultural differences architectural language is common and unifying.
By intervening ,architects must show, that it is possible to do REchitecture, so that it can be smooth and desired perception for the people, who actually face it.

REchitecture - a reflection of contemporary culture and art on architecture

 

 

EPU'2013 Conference, Pernik, Bulgaria


The industrial revolution gives rise to the epoch of the consumer society and consumerism. Mass production lowers products prices significantly; products that were once unaffordable and unattainable became common for most households. However, this led to a change in the culture of the society. An interesting example of this phenomenon is the refrigerator that completely changes the way we store food and drinks in our homes. We can find yet another example in the literature – especially the one that deals with running a household.  Again, due to mass production, many of the book advices regarding how to do a house chore have become unneeded. Today, we don’t have to do preserves for the winter because you can find relatively high quantity of various fresh groceries in the stores at a low price, during all seasons.  Constant consumption has become the driving engine of the new society. People even buy products they don’t need in order to appear as more affluent, powerful, or belonging to a higher social class.

Post industrial revolution technology development, as well as the rise of the consumer society has led to a number of changes in the architectural solutions. The high density of the working population and insufficient size of the available living area in the cities has led to the design of the apartment buildings. The electricity invention, leading behind the creation of variety of household appliances, has rearranged our functional living environment. The novelties – gramophone, refrigerator, radio and the computer (largely introduced at a much later point in time) – all require their space in the architectural environment. In the beginning, the novelty products were built from known and easily recyclable materials. However, in the course of novelty products’ development, their component materials soon became such that are hard to recycle. This phenomenon, as well as the gaining power of consumerism, especially after WWII, changed inside out the society’s attitude towards products and their subsequent transformation to waste.

Global pollution gained people’s attention at the end of 20th century. Popular culture drew some conclusions regarding the future if the same levels of consumption and ignorance towards ecological issues remain.  Movies, such as “Mad Max” and “Waterworld” convey an apocalyptical feeling and manifest the possibility and necessity to find a practical use of waste materials and include them in the surrounding environment and even construction.   The following introduction to documentary TV shows and TV channels even led to a change in people’s habits.  Answering people’s needs, these shows started producing numerous programs related to the idea of make-it-yourself – concepts that the previous generation was trying to escape from. It makes an impression that many of the shows are directed towards and project the use of used materials in the household. Examples of such shows are ScrapHeap Chalange, among others. The necessity for reestablishing a more natural way of living is manifesting in literature on running a household, dominated by the concepts of doing savings and giving unneeded products a second chance.   The consumer society culture also experienced some changes. This is mostly visible in the textile industry where second-hand clothing is becoming more and more popular.

In general, popular visual arts and music directly reflect social culture and trends. Artists often look at the different, extravagant, provoking and shocking, to express ideas. This makes waste as a powerful means for many artists, as we are familiar with multiple art installations, stimulating our consciousness and directing us towards the problems inside the society.  On the other hand, having in mind that architecture combines art and functionality, it also responds to the examples of the numerous other social and cultural spheres, though often at a slower pace.

Rechitecture – this is architecture that works against consumer society; design using already used products and materials as a commonly acceptable, non- polluting building element.   

Discovering the material called “waste” as an element in construction is still hard and controversial, even though the conceptual definition of “waste” is a product of this same consumer society.  

The interest is directed towards the idea, that despite the social common think, driven by past, post-industrial revolution common culture, the usage of waste materials in architecture and architectural design is becoming trendy and a pop-tendency in modern architecture.

 
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