This was Spiral Island I, a floating island in Mexico made entirely of discarded plastic bottles.  Designer Rishi Sowa laid out the bottles to support a structure of bamboo and plywood, over which he poured sand and planted plants.  Why was it called Spiral Island I?  Because it was completely destroyed by Hurricane Emily in 2005.  Apparently there is a Spiral Island II, but no word on if it can survive 120-plus mph winds.

Source: Wikipedia
(Photo by Randy McCallum)

The monks in the Sisaket province of Thailand used over a million recycled glass bottles to construct their Buddhist temple.  The Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple is made up of green Heineken bottles and brown Chang Beer bottles.  It was constructed as a “visual reminder to the scope of pollution and the potential we can make with limber minds.”  Which is exactly what I’m sure every frat boy across America was thinking when he built a beer tower in his bar room.

Source: GreenUpgrader

This urban building looks like something Mel Gibson might have used as a set in his latest apocalyptic tirade.  Architect Emilio Ambasz created this building which is
“passively solar, evaporatively cooled, extremely energy efficient, seamlessly bringing the built and natural environment together.”  And it even collects rain water for the building flora!

Source: Weburbanist 
(Photo by Emilio Ambasz)

Container City is a company that takes old shipping containers and recycles them into “office and workspace, live-work and key-worker housing.”  And might I say – cool.  Imagine the possibilities.  You could ship yourself to Europe and never have the leave the comfort of your living room. Check out The Daily Green for a huge gallery of structures made from shipping containers.

Source: Container City

This old house in Nevada is made entirely of recycled beer bottles.  According to WebUrbanist, it was built in 1907 from 50,000 empty bottles.  Why?  Because there was a shortage of lumber in the deserts of Nevada.  Unfortunately, Vegas didn’t take their cues from this awesome construction.  Personally, I’d love to see a giant “beer-amid” in place of the Luxor Casino. 

Source: Environmental Graffiti

This house, located in Sunset Beach, California, was converted from an old water tower in the 1980s.  And now you can rent it as a party house!  I lived near this house for years.  And I can tell you that every time I looked at it, I imagined someone falling off the balcony.  So you might want to rethink it as a party rental – killer party could literally go killer with the wrong step!

Source: Your Party Time
(Photo by Delta X Publishing Company)

This house in Taos, New Mexico, is called the Nautilus Earthship and is made of old car tires and soda pop bottles.  It is powered by solar panels and possibly Smurfs.  Come on, can’t you just see Papa Smurf waving from the window?  Squint a little and look again.

Source: Architect Studio 3D