LOOKING FOR WASTE
I’m looking for waste, extra material, and factory byproducts, to use simply and beautifully as architectural materials.
(It would be so easy: I’d get published, everyone would celebrate me, and I’d be well on my way to becoming a famous architect. “Have you heard about that kid who made beautiful bricks out of those extra plastic tubs from the dairy plants in Malawi?”)
Only… there doesn’t seem to be any such waste in any of the factories that I’ve visited so far. I can’t even seem to locate a junkyard. This place is maddeningly efficient; with not much new material coming in, many here keep reusing whatever they can get.
There are just those flimsy blue plastic bags that people toss on the side of the road. I wonder if we can do something with them.
The search continues…
I believe this is one of the top blogs on the Internet, maybe the top one.
[...] plenty to be thankful for. Many kids in Malawi this year can also be thankful for Avik Maitra, but they need your junk to make new toys. Avik, a recent Masters in Architecture graduate from Colombia University has just [...]
[...] plenty to be thankful for. Many kids in Malawi this year can also be thankful for Avik Maitra, but they need your junk to make new toys. Avik, a recent Masters in Architecture graduate from Colombia University has just [...]
[...] plenty to be thankful for. Many kids in Malawi this year can also be thankful for Avik Maitra, but they need your junk to make new toys. Avik, a recent Masters in Architecture graduate from Colombia University recently [...]
Actually, I think you can do great stuff with plastic bottles. First, if you fill them with mud and leave them to dry you have bricks. Or fill them with air and close them tight and tie them to make toy rafts, or fill them with water to different levels and make a musical instrument..