Everyday, millions of tons of garbage are dumped into landfills and
consigned to perpetual disuse. But when creativity meets
resourcefulness, waste can become the material for building. Never
before in history has the impact of man on this planet been so
important. The construction industry is one of the most polluting in the
world, so contemporary architects can play a fundamental role by using
waste, and--what's more, ingenuity--to convert it into structures that
are useful, imaginative, and beautiful. In our society, garbage is
considered filthy, and we want only to hide it from sight. Rematerial
features projects that rescue discarded materials from paper cups to
cargo containers and transform them into imaginative, attractive,
efficient buildings and projects that are sustainable, innovative, even
daring from a conventional perspective.
Rematerial brings to light a movement of diverse professionals from
around the world who address this fundamental theme: the reuse of
materials with architectonic purpose. Though the results are as varied
as the designers, all their proposals stem from the intention of giving
new life to what had been thrown out.
Complementing the built work shown here, the book presents a series of
initiatives aimed at promoting the use of waste in architecture, and
articles that illustrate a wide panorama of the contemporary recycling
culture.
