The construction process generates a significant amount of waste. Every new building contributes to the global volume of construction waste, which is often sent to landfills. Every year, 1.3 billion tons of waste is produced from various cities. Recycling prevents a vast amount of this waste from ending up in landfills, thus slowing down the depletion of natural resources. Recycling, which requires much less energy compared to the production of new materials, reduces the carbon footprint and reduces the high amount of water used in material production.
Construction waste is generated in various amounts during the demolition of a structure, transportation of materials, and use in construction. Construction waste that is not recycled accumulates and forms huge landfills. To prevent this, recycling in architecture offers two primary approaches:
- Using a recycled material as a building element
- Reusing construction waste in another construction
Selling saleable scrap and donating waste can reduce waste generation to a certain extent, while reusing construction waste in another project also reduces overall costs.
Construction waste materials:
Construction waste materials that can be frequently recycled can be listed as follows:
Concrete and Rubble: Concrete waste, one of the most used materials in construction, can be crushed and sized to be used as aggregate or filler in new concrete mixtures. In addition, recycled concrete can be used as a sub-base for walkways or highways.
Asphalt: Grinding old asphalt layers and using them in new asphalt mixtures supports recycling.
Wood: Crushed and fragmented wood can be used as fuel or as lumber components in areas such as cladding, flooring, and roofing. Recycling wood prevents deforestation caused by excessive consumption.
Metal Waste ( Iron, Steel, Aluminum): Melted and reshaped metals can be used for cladding modules, structural elements, roofing, and more. Metal recycling, which prevents excessive greenhouse gas emissions, benefits the natural ecosystem.
Bricks, Tiles, and Ceramics: Crushed and sized, these materials can be reused as fill material and aggregate. Recycling these materials, which make up a significant portion of construction waste, significantly reduces waste.
Glass: Glass, which is produced at high temperatures and causes a large amount of energy consumption, can be melted, reshaped, and reused.
Plastic: Plastic waste, which is very harmful to the environment and ecosystem, can be reused as a coating on facades, walls, roofs, etc.
Cardboard and Paper: Paper waste, which is frequently generated in construction, can be recycled into new paper products.
10 inspiring projects:
Here are 10 inspiring projects creatively crafted using recycled materials, showcasing innovation and sustainability in design.
ZigZag House
Location: WA, USA
Architect: David Coleman Architecture
Year: 2006
Designed as a 2400 square meter residence, ZigZag House is a seemingly simple structure from the street, exploring concepts of edges and intersections. When you enter the building, the explosion of complex intersections becomes apparent and enlivens the space. This iconic structure of modern architecture, combined with sharp geometric lines, has used plastic materials that are quite worrisome in terms of recycling. The north wall of ZigZag House is covered with recycled bottle green polycarbonate. The polycarbonate wall, which gives a greenish glow to the surrounding walls at night, allows light to enter the center of the building, forming the main part of the circulation inside.
This house, which is an inspiring work of architecture made with recycling, was also built using local and recyclable materials as much as possible. The design of ZigZag House, which encourages a sustainable lifestyle, is an inspiring structure that brings together the aesthetic concerns of modern architecture with environmental responsibilities.
Manav Sadhna
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Architect: Yatin Pandya
Year: 2012
Manav Sadha is a multipurpose activity center built in the largest slum of Ahmedabad. Built using recycled materials, the center provides an affordable and high-quality building alternative for urban poor. Approximately 27.4 million tons of waste generated in urban centers of India contributes to a great deal of environmental pollution. Manav Sadhna, built using household and municipal waste, is a low-cost project that has helped reduce pollution.
The walls are made of fly ash bricks bound with cement, molded bricks made from landfill waste residues, stabilized earth blocks, recycled glass bottles, and recycled plastic bottles filled with ash and waste residues. Interior partition walls use vegetable crate wood panels. The center’s floor and roof slabs are made of glass and plastic bottles, brick-filled slabs, stone paving, and cement-bonded particleboard covered with clay tiles, with the cladding finished with fly ash and waste residue. The vegetable crate is made of packaging and coated paper waste for the panels of the doors, the frame of which is made of oil cans. The canopy created for the common areas is made of waste plastic.
Manav Sadhna, which acts as an important center for the low-income community, has recycled waste into affordable materials. This center, which is an inspiring example of construction with recycling, is a non-polluting and environmentally friendly structure.
Glass Chapel
Location: Alabama, USA
Architect: Rural Studio
Year: 2000
Located in a central area of Mason’s Bend, the Glass Chapel is an inspiring example of recycled architecture, serving as a community gathering space, a chapel for the local choral group, and a distribution center for children’s summer school meals. Built with inexpensive and recycled materials due to lack of funds and resources, the chapel’s roof and facade are made of recycled car windows and windshields salvaged from a Chicago junkyard.
The chapel’s exterior is a colorful mosaic created by assembling glass pieces of various colors and sizes. The chapel’s interior is brightly lit thanks to its large glass surfaces, which provide plenty of natural light. The recycled wood used in the chapel’s construction contributes to the aesthetics of the building.
With its compressed earth walls and a roof constructed from recycled car windows, the Glass Chapel is an inspiring example of how industrial waste can be repurposed for architectural purposes.
L- House
Location: Lodz, Poland
Architect: Moomoo Architects
Year: 2008
An inspiring example of how recycled materials can be transformed into an aesthetic and functional structure, L-House is a housing project inspired by traditional Polish houses, except for its steep roof. Thermopian, which is usually considered waste and used as roofing, is used to cover the entire facade of L-House. This design, which is the first house built with Thermopian, prioritizes energy efficiency. Offering excellent acoustics and thermal and insulation properties, Thermopian also allows for the creation of facades in desired colors.
SOS Children’s Villages Lavezzorio Community Center
Location: Chicago, USA
Architect: Studio Gang
Year: 2008
Designed to foster families and reunite foster children with their siblings and parents, the SOS Children’s Village Lavezzorio Community Center is a residential complex comprising 12 family homes and four duplexes, an administrative building, playgrounds, and a community center. The center is an inspiring example of recycled construction, built in accordance with the principles of reusing waste materials and preserving natural resources.
The design’s facade, which was subject to budget constraints, was made of recycled concrete aggregate. The southwest corner of the building is constructed with various concrete mixtures, including fly ash, Portland cement, and slag aggregates, and is layered in bands of varying colors to demonstrate concrete’s fluid nature. The residential complex’s ceiling is made of translucent polycarbonate panels, allowing natural light to illuminate the spaces and creating light and shadow patterns.
The environmentally friendly SOS Children’s Villages Lavezzorio Community Center, constructed using recycled materials, is an energy-efficient, community-oriented, and inspiring building.
The Plastic House
Location: Dubl?n, Ireland
Architect: Architecture Republ?c
Year: 2009
A combination of innovation and sustainability in its architectural design, Plastic House is an inspiring structure built with recycled plastic materials. In the construction of this house, which was built by recycling waste plastic bottles, containers and other plastic waste, polycarbonate, together with steel, spread like a tree form and created a complex series of overlapping spaces connected to each other. Polycarbonate is used throughout the house, in spaces such as the kitchen, bathroom, storage, dressing room, sleeping area, and workspace.
Redefining the plastic paradigm, the Plastic House incorporates sustainable features carefully integrated to minimize its environmental footprint. With its design that significantly reduces the demand for new resources with the use of recycled plastic, Plastic House is an inspiring example for innovative and environmentally friendly architecture.
La Fabrique
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Architect: BUREAU A
Year: 2013
An inspiring example of the use of recycled materials and the reduction of waste in the construction sector, La Fabrique is a demountable housing project designed to be built by itself. Designed and built in a few days by BUREAU A, this house was built using recycled windows found in demolition sites. Mounted on wooden frames, the recycled glass forms the facade and roof of La Fabrique. Built entirely from recycled materials, this home also features energy-efficient lighting and a rainwater harvesting system, promoting sustainable living and minimizing its ecological footprint.
Bima Microlibrary
Location: Bandung, Indonesia
Architect: SHAU
Year: 2015
This library, which was designed by taking the opinions of the local people into consideration during the design process, is an inspiring example of a recycling design that offers flexible use with its meeting, workshop, etc. units. The facade of the library, which consists of a simple steel frame made of I-beams and concrete slabs for the floor and roof, is made of 2000 recycled ice cream buckets.
These plastic tubs, with their closed or hollow elements, create a pixelated surface when attached to vertical steel ribs. They are angled outward to form an effective rain screen. Approximately half of the ice cream tubs have their bottoms removed, allowing them to function as natural light bulbs, diffusing direct sunlight and creating a pleasant interior lighting environment.
The library, which draws attention with its simple and functional design, is an inspiring structure that shows that a structure with an aesthetic appearance can emerge with the reuse of waste materials.
Manifesto Eco House
Location: Curacavi, Chile
Architect: James & Mau
Year: 2009
This inspiring design, which has become a symbol of sustainable living, is a 160 m² housing project that has emerged with the combination of recycled materials and innovative design. Built from three repurposed shipping containers and recycled wooden pallets, the house prioritizes local and natural materials, reducing transportation emissions and harmonizing with the natural surroundings.
85% of the materials used in the construction of the house, such as cellulose obtained from unread newspapers that insulate the house, reused wooden pallets, and environmentally friendly certified woods, have been selected as recyclable. Manifesto Eco House, built in accordance with bioclimatic design principles such as passive heating and natural ventilation systems in winter and summer, is a design sensitive to environmental problems that is an inspiring example of the transformation of recycled materials into an aesthetic structure.
Recycled Materials Cottage
Location: Panguipulli, Chile
Architect: Juan Lu?s Martinez Nahuel
Year: 2008
Located in the Pirihuecio Lake area, this residential structure is an inspiring example of sustainable living, thanks to its construction entirely from recycled materials. Blending seamlessly with its surroundings, Recycled Materials Cottage is a structure that aims for an environmentally conscious life. Designed with the innovative use of recycled materials, the materials used in this house were taken from other houses.
Constructed with glazed doors from a Horacio Borgheresi house from the 1960s, eucalyptus and local Rauli hardwood floors from a house by Larrain, Swinburn, and Covarrubias from the 70s, and commercial laminated beams and steel parts used for a temporary exhibition, the Recycled Materials Cottage’s design uses modern technologies to transform recycled materials into a functional and aesthetically pleasing living space.
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