where are the bottles coming from?

In the search for the basic material to build our flower, the plastic water bottles, there are important questions that are being raised, such as,
- where do the bottles come from? why are there so many of them and yet it is so difficult to have access to them?
- which is the price of our waste?
- how available is it for everyone?
- which is the process that follows the moment we throw the bottles away?

and well, since this class is based on the use of ¨free available trash¨to build our structures, it can be interesting to think not only about the problem of availability of drinkable water, but also about the cost of recycling our trash, about the recycling process in general, and about the whole system, economical as well as social, that is feeding from the excesses of our society.

Here is a link to an interesting website, www.storyofstuff.com, which explains a little more about this...

Recycling Center Contact

I have a friend that works at a Recycling Center. He is always providing us material for... any past purposes.

Do we need more bottles?

If we do,
How many, and what kind?
He might not be able to chose that much, but we can place an order.

Please contact me if needed.

Have a great day!

Berta

Youth Empowerment School- YES

I´m updating the High School process here since I will not be there tomorrow to share comments out-loud with you all. To get from feedback, please comment here, OR email me.

YES School has agreed with us coming in the classroom!!
We can have 3 consecutive Fridays (3 different classes 10:20-11:20/ 12:35-1:35/ 1:40-2:40), and the followed last Saturday, so we will need to schedule to go and do a couple presentation in 1-4 different topics:

1. Social and Community Design Talk

2. Urban Water/Filtration/ Waste Talk

3. How to use Plastic Bottles for Building Systems
4. Design Charette with the kids in order to know WHAT to build (it will be smaller scope, and their ideas- for now that´s the idea, suggestions?)

5. Saturday all-day workshop to do a Hands-on Experiment (TBD)

The Nº1 Talk will be done by (cross fingers)either Architecture for Humanity or Young Planners Network -high School students.
Nª3 and Nº4 could be design to be in one unique 1 hour Session. What do you think?

The questions now are:

* Who is interested and commited?
* When will that work in your semester schedule?

and the big one:

* Do we want the final workshop to happen at the same time that the EnormousFlower Construction? Is it happening over the weekend?
* Do we want students to come to Wurster and help build?

And if it is a different thing,

* Ideas for what to build in 8 hours on a Saturday with the High School students?
* Can we offer them to re-use your Enormous Flower in their brand new High School Farm Project? (just an idea from me, not yet sure)

I can try to get volunteers from somewhere else to do some of this different work. I don´t want to overload students with an "on the side" project. It´s just that it´s such a good timing, and so exciting to see others reactions, and it´s your work that you are sharing!!!

Thank you so much EVERYBODY for the opportunity, the great work and the effort!
De verdad, Thank you!

PD:
This are some Image references about the "Drink Me Furniture" idea that I had last week. PlasticBottled Filters integrated in urban furniture that can be drunk "poquito a poquito". They will appear and disappear as the water is collected and distributed.
Some "Bottle Art"




Gerhy Cardboard Chair (1000$!!!!!!!!!)


Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo carved 1000 figures out of ice and placed them on steps in the central Gendarmenmarkt square, Berlin on Sept 2nd 2009 where they began to melt within about half an hour. For or funded by the World Life Fund.


And... you never know what can happen next...


Architecture for Humanity has a San Francisco Chapter Project called Street FUNiture that can be looked at, for inspiration or for expanding their furniture collection!
http://sites.google.com/site/afhsanfrancisco/street-funiture

Sabina Nieto and Berta Lázaro Collaboration

Our interest in joining the course for the EnormousPlasticRainFlower is one of open documentation. We may or may not be in the position this semester to integrate the design research with a high school program; however, we would at the least be interested in condensing and compiling research along the way--to create a "How to" document.

Our proposal is to archive the studio's process documentation from this recycled rainwater catchment project and create a document that can be shared for further reproductions of such a worthwhile endeavor.

Our secondary idea, after sharing this project with the YES high school of Oakland, would be to share this research with Architecture for Humanity. From the ground up, PlasticFlowerCisterns could sprout around town, with a manual of sorts guiding the way.

We will be posting ideas and other projects on How-to Documentation, soon

Thank you all!

PS: I just wanted to share some pictures of recycled architecture so that the email is not that boring ;)
I got the info from here. It´s a summer music Festival in South Spain FIB Benicassim, that has an art program on the side. This was on the 2004 Edition.

Waterfall