The project is based on a design by a team of Pratt undergraduate architecture students developed in an Advanced Design Studio led by Duks Koschitz and Robert Brackett in the Fall of 2021.
The project advocates for design activism and raised awareness of film plastic waste in New York, using repurposed materials to make a lightweight inflatable structure.
The structure served as an easily deployable drop-off location for film plastic recycling. The colorful patchwork of recycled material drew attention to how much film plastic we use in our daily lives. The project stands as a physical visualization of film plastic waste and its environmental issues, such as plastic bag recycling. The Pop-Up’s double saddle shape - created by a pattern consisting of concentric square tubes - served a dual function: the concave spaces act as collection areas, while the convex spaces form the roof of the structure.
Pop Up/Drop Off not only collects plastic to be recycled, but also encourages community members to participate in film plastic recycling and seeks out permanent public drop-offs for future recycling. Currently, in-store drop-offs are the only way film plastic can be recycled in New York State!
Pop Up/Drop Off will be re-used and installed in other neighborhoods to promote better recycling habits for film plastic.
Designed and fabricated by
Initial design research by Pratt Institute's undergraduate architecture students
The d.r.a Lab is a center for design research in architecture at Pratt Institute, which advances knowledge that correlates topics in geometry to manufacturing processes in order to provide sustainable building solutions. Geometric principles can be tied to advanced fabrication and thereby transform sheet-goods into high performance building systems. Their innovative projects use technology to improve materials and building systems economically, sustainably, and equitably.
Pneuhaus is an art and design studio that specializes in exuberant transformations of public space. Their immersive sculptures and environments are inspired by physics, biology, and craft, and incorporate the lessons of nature in both form and function.
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