The green building architecture has been exploring a new boundary. The Dare (Development Association for Renewable Energies) realized a very original and ingenious project: a house made of PEC plastic bottles. The first structure has been built in the village of Sabon Yelwa, in the north of Nigeria. It gauges 58 square meters and it offers all the comforts of a traditional house: two bedrooms, one kitchen, one patio and a toilet.
As a result the house is biological, bulletproof, earthquake and fire resistant. Dealing with not degradable material, the project becomes noteworthy especially in terms of eco-sustainability and innovation. Besides, the experts consider the house realized with PEC plastic bottles an efficient solution also against earthquakes. Innovation and functionality are the two essential key aspects of the Dare project. Indeed such innovative project allows many Nigerian people – living in poor conditions- to have a house, which otherwise would be prohibitive if constructed through the traditional way.
The structures are realized by filling the plastic bottles with the sand. At a later stage, the plastic bottles are piled in layers and tied with a rope. Mud and cement complete the work of art. The structure has been accurately studied to avoid the production of greenhouse gases and to be energetically auto-sufficient, through the use of photovoltaic panels and biogas. Besides the sand in the bottle works as thermal insulation, keeping the interior temperature at 64 degrees fahrenheit year round.
The project paves the way to the realization of other similar structures with PEC plastic bottles. An elementary school in Suleja, will be built according to the same modality. The usage of relatively “poor” materials involves also other different parties of the world. Maria Ponce’s “ Casita Encantada” in San Salvador has currently become famous for its multicolor walls, realized with bamboo canes. A real fairy tale house built with ecologic and natural materials.
In South America –Bolivia, Mexico, Argentina and Uruguay- the “ Casa de Botellas” project made inroads. Houses build with reused materials –mainly plastic and glass- will be assigned to low classes people. Such project will potentially reduce the residential deficit and creates new jobs, since specialized staff is required to build ecological buildings.
EcoArk – in Taiwan- completes the list of structures realized with reused materials. It will be a structure of 26 meters which will include a museum, an amphitheater and air conditioned systems. The structure, first in the world for its genre, has been projected in order to resist to atmospheric phenomenon like typhoons and earthquakes. The road towards an eco-sustainable future is widely opened.
Creative Cosmopolitan 