Plastic Research Facility, Pacific Ocean

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The Plastic Reseach Facility is a conceptual design.

The North Pacific Gyre is also known as the plastic continent and is the collection point for all plastic waste materials that the oceans current wash from beaches across the world. This project looks at methods of setting up a research facility on an island in the gyre as a way of investigating the recyclability and harvesting potentials of these materials.

The scheme uses a method of on-site component fabrication that extrudes the semi molten harvested plastics into a system of clip and stack blocks whose geometric character allows a completed puzzle-like structure forming walls, floors and roof. These components test the inherent structural capacity of plastic and re-evaluates their longevity in the natural environment. The idea of a crumbling component adds to the articulation of the building and resembles the erosion of natural materials in harsh conditions.

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