Given the amount of materials we can use in a project – which is very varied – there is a material that we have forgotten some, plastic , which normally we associate to other minor uses in the architecture and that intrinsically we recognize as an unsustainable and detrimental element for the environment.
But, considering the type of structures of plastic that we use (Apart from a few physical characteristics that can improve or contribute aspects beneficial to construction) can be recycled…
Can we build the skin of a building that it can be recycled, or simply change it, or transform it in time? It may be a question interesting, considering that many of the materials used in architectural projects they can present affirmative answers or simply the derived cost would be unaffordable for a construction modern.
Using of the plastics recycled in the architecture modern is another reality and capacity that must be considered. Reduction of material costs, benefits to the environment environment and as a climax, well raised we can present buildings as distinguished as the EFEEs (EcoArk in Taiwan) An exhibition building built – in part – with recycled plastic bottles , about 1.5 million bottles constituting the skin of it.
We leave you a short video of the EcoArk so that you can check its magnitude:
Although we are not very aware of it, the plastics in construction are a They form abundant material. In fact, about a 20% of the plastics used in Europe are for construction industry products. And after the wrappers, it is in construction where they are used the most.
If we delve into the world of architecture with plastic referring, not to mere pieces that complement, but to important parts of the building we can see several executed examples deserving of applause. As the one located in the Pau de Vallecas in Madrid (Vallecas 51, work of the study WE ARE Architects) …. “One of the bets has been the use of polycarbonate panels, that play with three color tones green” where the panels of plastic allow for greater thermal insulation and acoustic.
It is a totally recyclable material, with a very low cost of construction, transport and maneuverability thanks to its lightness weight.
Or the building in the photograph of cover, The Watercube was perhaps the monument architecture that surprised the most during the past Games Beijing Olympics. It was designed by the studio architecture « PTW Architects » and continues the patterns of eco-architecture combining aspects artificial and natural.
The plastic cover makes it look like a huge soap bubble as it is lined with EFTE bubbles plastic that resemble those of the Allianz Arena stadium in the Bayern Munich. With capacity for 17,000 spectators, it is a cube of 6,700 tons of steel where the pool changes from color, thanks to the 16.7 million shades of LED system).
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In the case of plastic in architecture , as a material that comes from petroleum, present behavior similar to metals, high consumption energy and high pollution in its production process manufacturing . to these problems we should add the risks on the environment environment in the event of tanker accidents, as well as the geopolitical instability caused by its control.
Apart from environmental aspects – which are important – and their advantages or disadvantages we must understand that the uses of plastic in the construction can take a greater role in the buildings , being that the new ones materials and technology are fostering upward use of plastics as an option to consider in the design of different types of constructions, buildings or homes advancing towards the plastic architecture .
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