Indra's Cloud - Art reusing plastic debris

Sometimes waste can be used in curios ways to communicate a problem instead of throw away objects we reject.
An object hasn’t just one life.
At the Lumenhouse in Brooklyn is  visitable CONVERGENCE, a group exhibition that brings together seven contemporary artists responding to the current environmental crisis in our oceans.
The exhibitions is organized in affiliation with Project Vortex, a not-for-profit organization committed to reusing plastic debris from our oceans and shorelines. The title references convergence zones - the ocean currents that collect the vast floating islands of non-biodegradable trash, the largest of which are several thousand miles across. Each artist's work, suggests creative possibilities for reuse of plastic and other consumer byproduct materials that often otherwise enter the waste stream.
Between the artists, Anne Percoco exhibits Indra's Cloud, a floating raft comprised of over 1000 plastic bottles constructed to draw attention to the polluted conditions of the Yamuna River in India. The mobile public sculpture brings to life an ancient mythe of Indra and Krishna raising Govardhan hill.
In Indian mythology, Indra is the god of war, storms and rainfalls. Indra’s Cloud is a sculpture representing the destructive environmental forces affecting the natural resources. This floating structure made by plastic bottles cruised the Yamuna river in Vrindavan reminding that water is a delicate element, a part of human heritage.
This poetical operation reveals the hypocrisy in day-by-day behavior. Srivatsa Goswami of Vrindavan Radharam Temple says:” We religious people are hypocrites in our relationship to Yamuna. We say she is pure, but we use Bisleri (a brand of mineral water) in our temples. If Yamuna is pure, let use Yamuna water, or else let admit that there is a problem and get on with fixing it”.
When the ride finished, a local NGO (Friends of Vrindavan) used the bottles from the sculpture to grow saplings, which were planted in and around Vrindavan.

anja visini




CONVERGENCE
October 16-December 12, 2010
Opening Reception: Saturday, Oct 16, 7-9PM



http://lumenhouse.com/exhibits.html
http://www.annepercoco.com/indrascloud.html

Annie Leonard#02 - The Story of Electronics

Embracing new technologies brings up a huge question: What do you do with the old stuff?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans generated about 3 million tons of electronic waste in 2007. Out of all that waste, only 13.6 percent of it was recycled — the rest wound up in landfills or was shipped to developing nations. The country’s growing mounds of e-waste are cause for concern both from a health and environmental perspective, so it’s important for consumers to properly dispose of unwanted electronics.
Electronics contain a variety of toxic components like lead, mercury, arsenic, beryllium and brominated flame retardants, some of which cause cancer and other adverse health effects
Because electronics contain so many toxins, it’s important not to throw them away with the regular trash.
Bringing discarded electronics to recycling or take-back centers is a noble action, but it’s important for consumers to only choose reliable programs.
Annie Leonard released a new video called The Story of Electronics, in which she explains why "design for the dump"is toxic for people and the planet.

http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/27/electronics-recycling-101-the-problem-with-e-waste/
http://storyofstuff.org/electronics/
http://www.storyofstuff.com/

smart works # Abitare di passaggio/design experiment on the "emergenza dimora" programme

This graduation thesis started thanks to a collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano for a project called “Emergenza dimora”, which aims to launch and realize micro-structures for temporary hospitality as an alternative to common night shelters, distributing them on the metropolitan area of Milan and Bergamo (Italy) and improving the comfort and community for the inhabitants; the purpose of the project is to promote the rehabilitation process and the social reintegration of the person to be charged with, widening the coordination nets between the organizations as to do so will develop new sustainable management forms.

[click on the image to enlarge]

The temporary care homes should be a step towards self-sufficiency and privacy usually offered by a private house, whilst avoiding private spaces that can create conditions of exclusion and isolation.
The proposed model is a “public residence” with domestic spaces, as domesticity is the fundamental answer to the real need of comfort for the users.


Daytime is divided into different moments, specified by a typical space structure; the night is reserved to hospitality whereas during the day the same spaces are dedicated to secondary activities – call center, counseling center, library, laundry, recycling point, lost and found etc. - which can be integrated with the hospitality.


The structure must be able to change its configuration during the day and to evolve, according from time to time to the rising necessities.
The main consequence of this way of operating is the relevance of flexibility and adaptability of the internal space. It is necessary to give a wide range of possible transformations, attempting to make the first step towards experimentation of new spaces and aggregation units.


The use of poor and recycled materials minimizes the costs of the new interventions and leaves other resources available for the difficult management of the entire structure.

Politecnico di milano
facoltà architettura e società
corso di laurea specialistica in architettura
anno accademico 2006/2007

ABITARE DI PASSAGGIO
sperimentazioni progettuali sul programma “emergenza dimora”

relatore prof. giovanni la varra
correlatore arch. roberto murgia

lorenzo dalla benetta | l.dallabenetta@gmail.com
alessandro grassi | info.rnb@gmail.com

kader attia: kasbah installation

Serving as a reflection of the conditions in which the majority of the world's population lives, 'kasbah' by french-algerian artist kader attia is an installation featuring a series of shanty town roofs collected by himself and installed at different angles to make a 350 square meter patchwork of corrugated iron, satellite dishes and other scrap materials.
Visitors are invited to walk across them, but the difficulty of taking each cautious step over this uneven, variegated surface provokes a consideration of the successes and failures of the globalised economy and of the human ability to wrest a livable existence from nothing.
thus, walking tentatively over the work, one not only becomes part of it but also implicitly part of the economic and power matrix that creates these shanty towns.
Kader attia's upbringing in a north african immigrant community, studies in Paris and Barcelona, and three years spent in Congo-Brazzaville and Kinshasa have informed a practice that explores geography, history, gender, politics and philosophy.
'Kasbah' is being showcased as part of the 17th Biennale of Sydney at Cockatoo Island which is the event's main venue.


http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/10286/kader-attia-kasbah-installation.html

Canstruction! Amazing garbage!

Canstruction held its 14th Annual International Competition in Las Vegas this year as part of the Society for Design Administration's annual convention. Canstruction is the Society for Design Administration's community service project that promotes the design community and raises food for hunger relief efforts. This year the SDA remembered Cheri Melillo, who founded Canstruction in 1993. Cheri Melillo passed away in December of 2009 after losing her battle with brain cancer. Cheri conceived Canstruction and worked tirelessly over the past 17 years to spread the vision and the mission of Canstruction to over 140 cities across the US, Canada, Australia and now the world.

http://www.canstructiontoronto.org/
http://www.archdaily.com/64225/canstruction-toronto-competition/

Combining technologies # Les Greniers du Sahel

ITERRae is a project developing conservation strategies in inter-tropical regions.
The evident lack of infrastructures pushed Pascal and Yasmina Fayet to elaborate an efficient solution to store the harvest in the small village of Niomré, in the Louga region, Senegal.
In West Africa almost half of the harvest is lost every year and, paradoxically, the more they produce the more they lose.
Mustapha Kadri, the secretary-general of the Agence Nationale de la Filière Oignon, states that the annual loss in the onion production, a traditional product of shaelian Africa, starts after only two months since the harvest and the quantity rapidly rise from the 30 to the 60% of the product between the second and the third month of storage.
Combining the capacity of the traditional materials to absorb heat and the use of the radiative cooling, it’s possible to obtain structures maintaining the interior at an adequate temperature to preserve the harvests, thanks to the desert climate: its transparent and dry atmosphere lets the solar radiation to penetrate until the lower strata of the atmosphere and the ground. On the contrary, the earth radiation during the night makes temperature go down, rising the 0°C and generating a strong thermal range. The technology combines a structure composed by changing phase materials absorbing the heat (double banco wall with a woolly insulating strata) and a coffer composed by: an aluminium box full of changing phase material; a polyethylene film; an opaque removable cover, that will be closed during the day and removed during the night.
In non-electrified regions a radiant refrigeration is an opportunity: the system doesn't need any energetical supply; the equipment is completely sustainable and non-polluting; traditional techniques are used to build the big barns. Building these structures permits to create new social and economical conditions and work opportunities to improve people's alimentation and consequently their sanitary conditions.
Finally, the landscape also changes thanks to a new and typically African new typology of building: the fields of Africa have the possibility to become greener with a more intensive farming.

"Le Greniers du Sahel" is a program supported by Pascal and Yasmina Fayet with common aims: environmental protection; support to food safety; creation of new remuneration activities and economical development.

anja visini


http://www.iterrae.org/
http://dailymotion.virgilio.it/video/x7vkhy_ecoact-projet-les-greniers-du-sahel_webcam
http://www.babnet.net/cadredetail-10631.asp
http://s280572833.onlinehome.fr/iterrae/ne3/media/images/dPresseParis1%20ITERRae.pdf

Recycled polymer architectural brick: EcoARK

The creative minds at miniWIZ recently debuted the POLLI-Brick, a recycled polymer bottle that can be interlocked to build an incredible array of structures. Made from recycled PET bottles, the lightweight bricks offer excellent acoustic and thermal insulation and can build anything from fences and roofs to pots for plants, skylights and beautiful walls of light.
POLLI-Bricks possess incredible thermal and sound insulating characteristics in addition to an awesome strength to weight ratio, which should make them a hit with architects and builders alike. While you can’t yet get these at your local building supply mega-store, the economy, versatility and structural potential of the POLLI-Brick may just be what a struggling building market needs.
Now a Taiwan company has built a three-level exhibition hall -- EcoARK -- using about 1.5 million plastic bottles. According to Reuters, the building was commissioned by Far Eastern Group and will be donated to city government in Taipei. But what's really interesting is the fact that the objects used for the facade are more than simple plastic waste bottles. The product being used here is called Polli-Brick from Hymini.
Polli-Brick is made with recycled PET bottles -- kind of like with the 111 Navy Chair -- to create an interlocking shape that's light weight and structural at the same time. When connected, Polli-Brick almost looks like a honeycomb.
The architectural blocks are translucent and allow natural light to filter through the material. As used in the new EcoARK, the curtain wall is said to be able to withstand typhoons and earthquakes, according to The China Post.
The China Post also said EcoARK is "the world's lightest, movable, breathable environmental miracle ... it can be taken apart and reassembled at another site after the exposition." Sounds interesting ...

http://inhabitat.com/2009/01/15/polli-bricks-by-miniwiz/
http://www.notcot.com/archives/2009/01/solarbulb.php
http://www.jetsongreen.com/2010/04/interlocking-polli-brick-used-for-ecoark.html
http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/14/ecoark-pavilion-made-from-1-5-million-plastic-bottles/
http://www.miniwiz.com/

more and more pallets #architecture

Pallets are cheap and ubiquitous, with over two billion in circulation around the world, which explains the remarkable resurrection of “ Palletecture projects” lately. The unexpected modular reuse of everyday materials is nothing new in architecture—seemingly every term in architecture school brings with it experiments in the tiling of things like cable ties, styrofoam cups, plastic water bottles, and so on—but the spatially dramatic effects of this particular experiment in large-scale, off-kilter pallet-stacking are worth seeing. In fact, a kind of micro-village of equally fluid forms built entirely from pallets would be fascinating to see…
Architects and designers have been having their way with them, building theaters, refugee housing , art and architecture...

'Pallet house' was designed by Schnetzer Andreas Claus and Pils Gregor, students from the university of vienna. made out of reused pallets it is modular, energy efficient and affordable making it good for low income housing.
Back in 2008 they won the Gaudi European Student Competition, for their design, which was seeking designs for minimal houses of leisure for the XXI century on sustainable architecture. Since then they have exhibited in numerous cities in europe including Venice, Vienna, Linz and Grenoble.

http://www.palettenhaus.com/#
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/9690/pallet-house.html


Denis Francois Oudendijk collaborates with Jan Korbes, a self proclamed purveyor of Garbage Architecture, and usually uses reclaimed materials for small or medium size architectural and design projects.
Its variety of work leads up with urban context and day-by-day life, giving a weird vision, well integrated in an actual context where needs are approached with creativity and quickness.
He choosed pallets to design this 150 people theater in Amsterdam.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/theater-made-from-recycled-pallets.php
http://wrongdistance.com/?p=2050
http://www.vlnr.info/html/n-projecten.html


[Image: photographed/copyright by Mila Hacke, Berlin].

The Palettenpavillon by Matthias Loebermann is a structure made entirely from shipping pallets, ground anchors, and tie rods. Designed to be easily assembled and dismantled, and then entirely recycled at a later date, the resulting building is intended as a temporary meeting place pavilion for the World Ski Championships in 2005.
As the architect writes, the 1300 shipping pallets are "characterized by a complex geometry of open and closed surface portions," with the effect that a staggered stacking of each unit produces "interesting netlike structures." They add that the deceptively curvilinear form becomes a "cave."

http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/pallet-house.html
http://www.aml-partner.de/palettenpavillon-bilder.htm

more and more pallets #furniture

Revale is a project by Brazilian studio Design Simples, aimed to improve the work and life of the Unindo Forças woodwork cooperative in Vale do Sol (Barueri, Sao Paulo).With the idea to provide the conditions for the cooperative to compete with higher quality goods, the studio designed these stunning pieces of furniture with the material the group uses for its work: recycled pallets.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/sleek-recycled-pallets-furniture-to-improve-work-of-cooperative-in-brazil.php


Nina Tolstrup of Studio Mama is a London designer who created the Pallet Chair. Based on budget constrictions and found materials, her design fashions a used pallet into a lovely and more modern version of the comfy adirondack chair.
Pallets are the new new and for good reason: they are sustainable, recycled, and make use of discarded packaging. The interesting part of these very basic but serviceable chairs is that they can be ordered online for a mere £10 ( $US 15) and the instructions downloaded. In addition, unemployed workers in a slum of Buenos Aires are making them in a furniture co-operative.

http://www.studiomama.com/


Homeless Chateau, 2008, is a prefab one person living module, measuring approximately 4 x 8 x 4 feet and made from FSC certified and recycled materials. It is designed to be used inside another building, such as a warehouse, and is fully self-contained, including a bed and cooking and toilet facilities. There are hooks for clothing and towels, and a built-in shelf unit, made from a pallet, for storage of food, books and other items. A rubber flap over the entrance provides privacy, and one end of the structure is made from translucent polyurethane to let in natural light.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/homeless-chateau.php


Swiss designer Sibylle Stoeckl has come up with a new way to repurpose old and discarded wood pallets. In a series called Le Cageot, Stoeckl takes standard crates and turns them into modular pieces which can be combined and stacked into a variety of shapes and sizes. The unfinished wood also makes an ideal canvas for a little bit of color and creativity, and the raw yet refined look will provide the perfect compliment to any room.

http://www.sibyllestoeckli.com/s/
http://inhabitat.com/2010/02/24/wood-pallets-repurposed-into-modular-furniture/



http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/pallets-for-people.php
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/recycling-pallets-into-art-and-architecture.php

Watertower in Sudan by H3AR architects

The conflict over water and land in Sudan has created political unrest for decades. However, in 2007, scientists from Boston university discovered and underground lake in the region of Darfur, Sudan. This lake is tenth biggest lake in the world (31, 000 m2) and would have great potential in resolving the conflict if managed correctly.
Addressing this water issue, polish firm H3AR architect and design recently proposed a building that allows access to underground waters through the application of water pumps.This building is meant to provoke economical development but also stimulate cultural exchange and the coexistence of the three different religions and languages in Sudan.
The building walls are constructed using compressed dry stacked clay bricks, made on site using a rough mixture of earth, cement and water. The bricks would be baked in the hot sun, thus, requiring no extra energy and limiting the environmental impact of the materials.
The choice of using this technology represents the desire to introduce alternative and sustainable technologies within a context that is tied to stardardized though not always optimal building practice.




For a similar theme, this time dedicated to western countries, Ryszard Rychlicki and Agnieszka Nowak of H3AR received a special mention for their proposal for eVolo Skyscraper competition 2010.
The façade of the tower consists in a systems of gutters, focused at shaping and modeling the surface of the roof to capture as much rainfall as possible flowing down the building to meet the daily needs of its inhabitants. Average daily consumption of water per person is 150 liters, out of which 85 liters may be replaced by rain water. Within the last thirty years water consumption has significantly increased in the developed countries.
Under a roof’s surface, there are water reservoirs in the form of a large funnel and reed fields, which serve as a hydro botanic water treatment unit. The unit processes water into usable water that is further transmitted to apartments.
After seeing the two projects I ask myself if it’s possible to adjust this idea to Africa or countries in need in a correct mix of utility and possibility. Can small devices be projected with the aim of collecting water in an efficient way? Can them be realized with cheap material by the population and work? We’ll try later…


http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/9406/hugon-kowalski-watertower-skyscraper.html
http://www.h3ar.pl/

http://www.existingvisual.com/2010/03/12/rain-collector-skyscraper-evolo-skyscraper-competition-2010-ryszard-rychlicki-agnieszka-nowak-of-h3ar/

Rammed earth stoves in Rwanda

The Mud Stove originated at GAKO in Rwanda. It provides a means of cooking with 2 pots on one fire, much more efficient and safer than the normal ‘3 stones’ that so many people use because the fire is contained and controlled. It is also healthier as the smoke can exit through a hole in the wall. However, as it is made from wet mud, it is slow and laborious to construct, taking up to one week to finish.At EAT, we took GAKO’s basic concept and adapted it to Rammed Earth (RE) construction. With our sturdy wooden mould, 2 people can make a stove in under 2 hours. Being compacted, the earth is unlikely to crack and, being moulded, consistent stoves can be made every time. The RE stove was Improved and then Further Improved giving rise to the name F.I.R.E.S. : Further Improved Rammed Earth Stoves.Making the moulds provides work for local carpenters; making stoves can be a trade for someone otherwise without work, and the finished stoves are very popular, making the kitchen virtually smoke-free and so much safer.

download the earth stove plan

download the solar cooker plan

http://www.eastafricatrust.org.uk/page3.html

http://rammedearth.blogspot.com/2010/03/rammed-earth-stoves-in-malawi.html

http://www.eartharchitecture.org/index.php?/archives/1072-Rammed-Earth-Stove.html

Combining technologies

The Jahili Fort located in the modern-day centre of the city is the largest of Al Ain’s forts. Built in the 19th century by Sheikh Zayed the First, it can be seen from the Al Ain oasis to the west of the city. With its distinct three-tiered profile, the fort is now a national monument, pictured on the 50 Dirham note and often used as a logo or model for new architecture. The old fort was erected at the end of the 19th century.
The fort was recently restored by Roswag & Jankowski Architekten, Berlin.The interior surfaces remain true to the historical appearance. The ceiling consists of palm rafters and palm leaves. A local clay plaster has been used for the interior wall surfaces. In the exhibition areas a grey coloured fine clay finishing plaster made by Claytec was used to create a neutral background for the exhibition spaces. The floors likewise follow historical precedence and are made of rammed earth stabilised with a wax to cope with greater wear and tear.
All new insertions such as doors and furniture, made of corian or wood composite, are coloured white differentiating them from the surrounding building. The external render of the existing walls was examined and repaired where necessary. Previous renovation works had employed a non-traditional plaster with added gypsum for the crenelations. This plaster is too rigid and already exhibited defects; it was replaced with a clay plaster. The building was then given an overall finishing coat of clay plaster. The earth plaster is maintained at regular intervals as is traditional with this historical material. When used as an external render, clay plaster should be regarded as a weathering surface that needs ongoing maintenance, typically every two years, sometimes after sustained periods of heavy rain. Sandstorms are also a cause of erosion.The 90 cm thick external earth walls offer excellent thermal insulation. The additional insulation on the roof improves still further the indoor room temperature and together with the solar protection windows on the façade provide effective protection against the extreme heat outdoors. The building is kept at a constant 24°C using a water-based cooling system integrated into the plaster layer of the walls. This minimizes the need for additional air cooling so that only fresh air is required. The cool indoor temperature of the walls and the reduced need for cold air makes the indoor climate more comfortable and reduces the energy consumption. An actual room temperature of 24°C equates to a felt room temperature of 22°C. The plant and technical installations for the entire fort are located below ground in the buffer zone.
The construction is made of traditionally available building materials including earth, palm products and to a lesser degree also timber. The quartered palm trunks can span a room of about 2.70 m and dictate the strongly partitioned structure of the historic buildings. The walls consist of air-dried earth blocks which can be built directly on the sandy ground without the need for foundations. A matting made of palm fronds covered with earth is laid on rafters made of split and quartered palm trunks arranged at an incline. The small amount of timber available was used for the door and window frames

http://www.zrs-berlin.de/daten/inhalt/menue_02/02_p_architektur/p_architektur_01.html
http://www.eartharchitecture.org/index.php?/archives/1013-Jahili-Fort-in-Al-Ain-Abu-Dhabi.html
http://www.architekturclips.de/webseiten/filme/a_neun/aljahili/al_jahili_kurz.html