Plastic < EMERGENCY > Architecture

The project explores an architecture of circular cycles related to recycled plastics. With open source technologies (such as the Precious Plastic machines) and digital fabrication, the project encourages recycling, giving these recycled plastics new value by generating new construction materials, for diverse applications. The broader impact of the project is targeted at citizens, both in the material and design processes, customizing design outputs. This creates a platform of awareness as well as sharing knowledge hence safeguarding the environment through plastic aggregation, otherwise risking deterioration to microplastics, this finally generating social and environmental capital, within a circular economic model.

Since 2015, we are living in the World with 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastics, and each year we add 300 million tons of plastic waste. While the current rate of recycling plastic waste is 19%, 10% ends up in the ocean. Plastic in 450 years degrades, becoming invisible to see and manage, polluting water, food and more. 

Although there are a growing number of projects that treat the recycling of plastics, many of these are framed in the fashion and design fields, simply delaying the issue of these becoming waste in the short term (average lifespan of garments - 3.3 years), not dealing with longer term implications. By developing solutions - aggregation - applicable in architecture, and by experimenting on the recycling of already recycled plastics, the project offers a scenario where not only the lifespan of the recycled plastic is extended, but also foresees a vision of spiral design, beyond the recycled plastic’s initial application.

Furthermore, recycled plastics have proven to have good behaviour in terms of structural performance, making them an interesting material to consider for the construction sector, potentially becoming a keystone in reversing mismanaged waste practices, by associating new value (economic, social and environmental) to these.

The project aims to directly involve the local community in all the processes of the project, by training and sharing information and experience in open source with local communities affected by mismanaged plastic waste. The process includes: collection of plastic waste, understanding different types of plastics and their properties in relation to recycling, use of open source machines to recycle plastics, production of recycled plastic, concept design of architectural form, and easy to build construction processes.

The broader impacts of the project serve the environment, both on a local scale, and on a global scale, with the aim of not only generating social capital through the implementation of local innovation and knowledge protocols, but also sharing these on a global scale, consolidating a network of people, and furthermore associating new value to a material that seemingly has lost its value as it no longer served its initial design purpose. This allows to consequently generate environmental value, as well as the potential of associating economic value to waste materials.

Our solution is to encourage on site recycling and construction by spreading knowledge first and foremost in relation to the potential  value of plastic waste. This value is also closely associated to the sharing of knowledge necessary to put this procedure into practice, as well as a bottom-up solution to dealing with situations of mismanaged plastic waste.

Plastics, one of the most mismanaged waste materials in the low income countries, can be recycled with easy-to-use open source Precious Plastic or similar machinery, and can be used as a construction material. We have developed a concept, design and construction strategies for such scenario to happen. 

While using recycled plastics as building material, we can not only decrease the amount of plastics and microplastics reaching the oceans, but also to improve the living conditions, acting against pollution.

The current process has been developed based on the use of the Precious Plastic machines (https://preciousplastic.com/), further consolidating their mission through the development of architectural applications with recycled plastics.