Plastic + Recycling + Architecture = Homes for all

Precious Plastic General
1

Hi, i’d like to start saying i’m sorry about my english, but i thing you’ll understand. Ok.

My name is Eduardo, i’m from Brasil, and i’m an Architecture student, and last year i saw the precious plastics project, wich gave me an idea, but i don’t know much if this is plausible, so, please, help me out.

Around the world, there is some projects, and even concrect things, about plastic recycling and civil construction, like “conceptos plasticos” from Colombia, that turns plastic waste into entire houses, it all in 5 days without specialized (labor?).

In Brasil, there is an established industry of plastic roof tiles, wall coverings and other types of uses for the plastic in peoples houses, mostly recycled.

So, i started to think about create a movement, trying to build some machines, and, at least to get started, create cooperatives, that, today, only produces cheap products with a lot of work, allowing poor people to have their own buisiness and expanding the access to plastic products, and, in the future, even building houses like the “conceptos plasticos” ones, reducing the lack of housing

My city have 3 big universities and other 3 small, including 3 architecture courses, material engeneering, 4 civil engeneering courese, 3 mecanic engeneering courses, besides tecnic courses.

So, what do you guys think about it? how far from reality are my thoughts? i know that the conceptos plasticos’ bricks are made from extrusion, but in huge machines…

If someone get curious about conceptos plasticos: https://conceptosplasticos.com/

thank you!

0

2

Hello friend!

I am Žan from Slovenia. I am also an architecture student and understand the problems you are talking about. I believe that there is a future in plastic as a building material. However… I think that a lot of possibilities in building with plastic comes from 3D printing. There is one company from russia called Apis Cor, which produces a 3d printer which prints some kind of “concrete” which is certified as a building material. I think it is possible to substitute some of the materials used in this with plastic materials. Look at their website and think about it, maybe they have some answers to your problems.

I also think, that the prices are currently too big for plastic construction – ~200.000$ for their printer.

Best regards,
Žan

3

You can take a look at plastic wood, usually is 50/50 plastic /wood, sometimes 60/40 but it need add other chemical product, by the way it will be recyclable.
Maderplast, el bosque plastico etc. etc. there are a lot of company doing nstuff with this material.

4

Does anyone know if there arecompanies which have created a viable product similar to conceptos plasticos who are publishing the plastic mix formula ?

5

Hi, I’m also interested in achieving something like that, lego-like bricks for construction, and I’ll also be working on a mold, but my question is with what to mix, or if it will be 100% pet or other plastic recommend. greetings from Mexico

6

@eduardomatheus

I like the project and think I understand what it I you want to achieve… no ideas yet, but if you or anyone comes up with any concepts I’d be more than willing to design it… All I need is a picture, and maybe some relative sizes if possible, and I’ll work some 3D magic

7

Also, check this #D Printed Bamboo joint… Bamboo seems to me to be one of the best materials, behind only hempcrete, for house construction, and the idea in this video unites bamboo construction (at least for furniture, and maybe for house construction [actually, want yall’s opinion on that, would the bottle around the baboo hold in a house project?]):

8

in new-zealand

Nigeria

9

Yes , lets decentralize “Conceptos plasticos”, how about upgrading Dave´s extrusion machine and creating the molds for the building blocks.

10

Saw that! Lets decentralize the process!

11

@herowe
Please, contact me inbox and let me know how much progress you are making!

12

@patodel82
Man, please see Conceptos Plasticos… they built houses from recycled plastic, but they have some big machines… they are going pretty well, i think…

13

@edwardomatheus
Awesome! I like where everyone’s thinking it at. Personally I think it is possible to make recycled plastic lumber that could be used for housing without 3D printing. 3D printing is pretty cool, but as previously said those house building printers are too expensive for most. Plus, I like the idea of still having people build the houses by hand. I’m trying to have heated type 2 plastic pressed into lumber molds. Fencing, 2x4s, and tiles would be a good place to start. It’s a good idea to avoid structural/weight bearing portions of the house.

14

Hi Eduardo!
I think a full house made of plastic is feasible in the future I think there a road to run about design, different types of plastics used and a lot of experimentation.
But I share the dream (http://onearmy.world/community/forums/topic/home/) and think that the way to get there is by starting (eating the elephant by parts) so, I want to start by making floors for people who have mud as floor in their homes.
Although this could be done with a mold there I believe that a 3d printer should be used so a design can be rapidly updated worldwide without costs.
Simplest way to start is by recycling PET and printing it into floor square parts.
Im tryng to get support from goverment to get it done by a prototype and after being proven in a needed area scale the project.
Any feedback, any idea, anyone who wants to start doing this or wants to get presentation i’ve done to the goverment its all available (just like Dave philosophy).
All the best.

15

great idea, have you ever built an prototype?

16

First, about the concrete 3d printing, i think that this is the future, last week i had a lecture about this with an autodesk architect, but, i dont see this coming fast to the favelas in south america, or even to the big and rich cities. I’ve been talking to a professor at my university, who is specialized in plastic recycling, and the things that he told about me how complicated is the sterilization process and others… I don’t know, it seems preety far to me… what gave me hope, was how simple are the precious plastics’s machines, complicated machines make the process of building plastic houses to poor people unfeasible… But, about Sustainable buildings, yes, there is a lot of options, there is a book named “manual do arquiteto descalço” from Johan van Lengen, that contains a lot of experiences in vernacular buildings area… thank you all for replying…

17

Hi, there are loads of ways of building sustainably. Straw bale buildings are one of the best ways, these can be finished with Earthen plasters so that you get a really nice finish and also have a well insulated building, with good design you can make this passive solar so that it in many climates it doesn’t even need heating or cooling most the time.
Plastic on the outside, i.e. tiles can be useful as it can be long lasting and also being outside you don’t have to worry about the off gasses i.e. toxins entering the house.
Check out http://www.cat.org.uk

18

A while back, I made a halfway-complete concept of a “Pocket Housing Printer” on Orchard. The concept is, one-half crawls around and scoops/filters earth from the ground below it–mixes it with an epoxy/concrete–and pumps it to a second machine (below) which extrudes it into walls (and crawls along those walls). You could technically create a machine that takes plastic as part of the input building material! Hopefully, this is one concept to explore smaller machines for 3D printing houses. Here’s the link to the machine, where anyone can edit it: https://3dorchard.com/app/single/58104b60a58e20ad0826e61a/58104b69a58e20ad0826e645

1280×728 48.9 KB