Museum Made of 1.5M Plastic Bottles Still Going Strong
FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2017
A three-story exhibition hall that’s made of 1.5 million plastic bottles is holding strong in Taipei, Taiwan.
Originally constructed several years ago for the Taipei International Flora Exposition, the EcoArk Pavilion has recently been converted into a public museum.
The $4.22 million building is the first fully functional public building made of Polli-Brick, a building material made from 100 percent recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Polymer.
Construction and financial services conglomerate Far Eastern Group commissioned architect and Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Ltd. creator Arthur Huang to lead the project that took bottles out of Taiwan’s waste stream to be reprocessed.
The plastic bottles are melted down into PET pellets and re-engineered into a new shape. The bricks feature interlocking grooves that fit tightly together, only requiring a silicone sealant. Those bricks are assembled into panels, which are then screwed and mounted onto a steel frame.
The plastic base allows for the structure to be lightweight—about half as heavy as a conventional building—but still able to withstand most natural disasters and winds up to 80 mph.
The building material also aids in other eco-friendly facets of the structure, allowing for natural ventilation while remaining insulated and supplying natural light that helps solar- and wind-powered systems generate electricity at night for the structure’s 40,000 LEDs. Rainwater is also collected and used as a means of cooling.
Tagged categories: Building Envelope; Construction; Green building; Green design
