Scrap Metal Recycling: Crazy Can Sculptures

There’s often a large amount of difference between community service and innovative design. Canstruction is an annual event that’s aimed at changing that. The design event is held in cities all around North America, Australia and across the world. Over an 8-12 week period, teams of engineers, architects and students band together to create fascinating and amazing sculptures out of thousands of cans of food.

Following a public exhibit of the sculptures, all of the food is donated to local food pantries and shelters. Created in 1992 by the Society of Design Administration, Canstruction has collected over ten million pounds of food. More than 130 local competitions are expected to be held in the 2009/2010 season. LINK

Sustainable Village Provides Innovative Shelter and Safe Haven

With simple evolution of one of man’s basic methods used centuries ago united with a little modern technology to construct shelter and housing, an innovative architect has created a small eco-sustainable village to accommodate 80 children, 10 staff, and a small school near Kathmandu, Nepal, in the Himalaya Mountains — the first of its kind for the region.

Using a technique developed by Cal Earth in California, architect Nader Kahlili worked with the Pegasus Children’s Project to build a small sustainable village of over 40 “super adobe domes” to provide permanent shelter, using solar panels and a Bio Gas plant for sun and wind energy.

The main building material is simply what’s abundantly available throughout the world — the soil beneath our feet to mold and shape into an eco-friendly home.

Standard polypropylene sandbags in rolls about 14 to 18 inches (35 to 45 centimeters) in diameter and up to a mile long, are cut to length and filled with dirt, sand, or clay, using 10 parts of soil to 1 part cement for added longevity, making these ’super adobe’ homes that can last for decades. LINK



LINK: Youtube