Add Greenopia News to My Yahoo!   Add Greenopia News to Google   Add Greenopia News to My AOL   News
Email Article Email     Stumble Upon  Digg It  Reddit
Seven of the Coolest, Greenest Recycled Buildings
      by Katherine Butler
      Friday, March 20, 2009
News Archives


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





 

  Browse Ratings



      Products


   Pets
   Gifts
   Toys

      Corporate


   Airlines
   Beverages
   Breweries
   Candies
   Coffee
   Colleges
   Fast Food
   Governors
   HDTVs
   Pet Foods
   Retailers
   Wineries


greengoer community profile SuperGreenMe community profile KimberlyRider community profile tinktm community profile
Padgett community profile Zendik Arts community profile Kirsten Muenster Jewelry community profile alexisk214 community profile
Ferris Kawar community profile greenlivingguy community profile 220living community profile hyperlocavore community profile
Roberta community profile VictoriaE community profile greencarpet community profile Go Natural Baby community profile



Mon 3/22/2010:
HERS Training for Energy Auditing... more »
Wed 3/31/2010:
GreenROI (Return on Investment)... more »
Sat 4/10/2010:
St. Louis EcoExpo at the St. Louis Science Center... more »
Get the latest green product and merchant ratings from Greenopia. Our monthly newsletter keeps you informed.       GO ยป