Recycled packages in modern architecture

Since the beginning of our civilization, packages have been integral part of the human evolution. The necessity of easy keeping and transportation, firstly of foods, has been vital for their development. The skills and technologies are the foundation of keeping the products fresh - from the wicker basket, through the animal tripe and pots to the modern day numerous types and forms of packages.

Since the Ancient Rome we can find examples for REchitecture of packages, built in the land shaft of the capital. Usually the big amphorae, in which the sailors delivered different oils to the city, have been used more than once and in the end they were smashed and used as a building material in the Roman concrete. Not so easy to recycle were one concrete type of Spanish amphorae. They were extremely hard to brake, which made the local authorities to find a special place to dispose them. This was not a landfill, but deliberately and targeted building of a hill in the city, which nowadays we know as Monte Testaccio. Especially impressive is the technique of building- one layer of smashed and one layer of solid amphorae filled with smashed parts of them. The hill is 36 meters high, which is impressive. Long time after the building of this hill, we still are not able to find so organized and meaningful construction from unneeded and no longer used objects. Examples of REchitecture have always existed, however they were more likely a product of a “do-it-yourself” principle. The first image, coming in mind is the interior of the middle-age inn, where the tables are made from wooden casks and chairs made from crates of fruits. Information about similar usage is available up to the middle of the 19^th century.       

After the Industrial Revolution the society started denying the idea of “do-it-yourself” and started following the culture of “disposable usage” not only for packages but for many more everyday goods.

Some of the first defined examples for REchitecture from packages are the Nomadic Museum from the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and KeetWonen /students dormitories/ of TempoHousing. Both projects have been finished in 2005 from shipping containers. 

Since then the idea for building from packages has been developing very quickly, in unison with the public opinion about ecology and recycling. Starting with the shipping containers, REchitecture sees in the packages new, unconventional material and most importantly a provocation, which is vital for the modern day society.

Because of the incredibly huge variety of modern packages, the report’s main idea is to show one possible classification, dividing by types and materials, as well as possible usage in the construction of the building.

І. Classification by type

1. Primary- these are the packages reaching the customer, often covered with advertisements and made for disposable usage. 

2. Secondary /group/ packages – contains a lot of products, reusable.

3. Tertiary /transport/ packages – they are used in grouping the secondary ones for facilitating the transportation, for them to be reusable is a must.

ІІ. According to the materials

1. Metal;

2.Wooden;

3.Glass;

4.Plastic;

5.Paper;

6.Styrofoam;

ІІІ. According their place in the construction of the building.

1.Constructive Element ;

2.In the interior;

3.In the exterior;

* Shown examples in ІІІ. are result of the author’s research.

Multiple examples type “do-it-yourself” with doubtful aesthetic qualities have created hostility towards REchitecture of packages. In a sense this has been overcame for the massive elements, such as shipping containers and pallets, thanks to their shape and easy usage. Glass bottles also break through the skepticism after the rising popularity of Buddhist temple built almost entirely from bottles. Prejudices are still an obstacle for the other types of REchitectural solutions for packages. Their variety and the need for provocation and powerful influence constantly wanted from the society, will bring us to the more broaden usage in the architecture and design. 

ARCHTHEO'12 conference, Istanbul, Turkey