Topic: Colombians Are Building Houses Made Of LEGO-like Recycled Plastic Bricks For ... (Read 359 times)

Tiny homes have become a social movement we can't ignore. People all over the world are choosing to downsize the space they live in for a happier life.

In the U.S., for instance, the typical American home is around 2,600 square feet, but the typical tiny home is only between 100 and 400 square feet. They come in all shapes, sizes, and forms, but they all have one thing in common: they allow simpler living in a smaller, more efficient environment.

People have joined this movement for many reasons, whether it be concerns over the environment or their own finances or the desire for more time and freedom. Most Americans spend one-third to one-half of their entire income on their homes, which means they spend 15 years working just to pay for it.

This has caused 76 percent of Americans to live paycheck to paycheck. But for what? People who turn to this movement are done trying to prove themselves. They just want a lifestyle that can make them feel good from the inside out.

The Cardboard Home

As mentioned above, tiny homes come in many forms. But have you heard of one made out of cardboard? While most people wouldn't think this type of material to be suitable for building a comfortable and safe abode, award-winning architects have discovered how to use it to produce remarkably sturdy and reliable shelters. Dutch design studio Fiction Factory has created a design for a tiny "micro home" using cardboard. Complete with a multitude of applications, such as disaster relief, they claim it can last up to 100 years.

Called the Wikkelhouse, or "wrapper house," the home is made of tough corrugated cardboard panels that adhere to each other with a non-toxic and environmentally-friendly glue.

Pollution is one of the major issues in the world. The increase in human population, and landfill rising and expanding day by day, is leading to increase in plastic waste all over the world, which accumulate in rivers, oceans and drinking water.

A Colombian company, Conceptos Plasticos, has come up with the solution to this problem by recycling plastic into LEGO-like building blocks that families can use to construct their homes.

Conceptos Plasticos transforms plastic and rubber waste into an alternative construction material for housing. The plastic waste is melted and poured into a mould to produce plastic blocks that work like LEGO pieces. The materials contain additive that makes them resistant to fire, and since the structure is plastic-based, it can also withstand earthquakes. The LEGO-like building blocks are easy to assemble and pocket-friendly.

The Conceptos Plasticos model home is divided into two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, dining room and kitchen. It can be assembled in only five days by four people who need not to have any previous experience. The price is very reasonable – only $130 per square meter for 40 square meter home, that is around $5200.

"In Bogota alone, approximately 750 tons of plastic waste is thrown into the landfill site of which only 100 are being recycled. We are making 100 homes out of the plastic in Dona Juana (the city's landfill site), giving value to something that has no market."

-says Oscar Andres Mendez, the owner of the company.