In our last article we talked about our recent interview with Arthur Huang of Miniwiz and their innovative product, Polli-Brick.
We continue our discussion of that interview below, exploring how Polli-Bricks are being used and what the future of this material might be.
Polli-Brick - Application
Polli-Bricks are designed to address exterior curtain wall construction in commercial buildings, especially the typical “big-box” store common in the suburban context. Polli-Bricks serve as a seamless exterior shell, with insulative properties exceeding those of most glass curtain wall systems and certainly outperforming uninsulated metal clad buildings which are common across Asia.
Polli-Bricks are assembled into large panels which then interlock with adjacent panels to create an entire wall system. By itself, Polli-Bricks act as a curtain wall system. The walls are translucent, allowing in natural daylight which reduces the need for artificial lighting necessary when using metal clad systems.
At the present time, Miniwiz does not intend the Polli-Brick for residential construction.
One of the most surprising aspects of Polli-Bricks that we learned during the interview was the load bearing potential of Polli-Bricks. As an air-filled module, the Polli-Brick is relegated to the realm of curtain walls and non-structural applications, but Polli-Bricks are designed so that they can be filled with a mixture of water and sand, creating a more substantial product that can then be used in load-bearing applications. The ratio of sand to water can be adjusted to increase or decrease the translucency of the final wall. With the imagination of architects, this variation in translucency could create some very interesting effects.
Structural Polli-Bricks are currently being used for military barracks. This has brought one of the shortcomings of Polli-Bricks to the forefront. Due to the interlocking nature of Polli-Bricks, if one module were to become damaged, there is no easy method of removing and replacing that module without disassembling large portions of the structure. This is important in military applications - like sand-bags, once the bag is broken the protection provided by the assembly is compromised and that bag must be replaced.
EcoARK:
We first learned about Polli-Bricks through stories and images of the EcoARK Pavilion in Taipei, Taiwan. EcoARK was constructed of an estimated 1.5 million recycled PET bottles and serves as the main exhibition hall of the Taipei International Floral Exposition. EcoARK can be seen as a testing ground to address the issues of building with recycled plastics. The exposition is set to open in November of 2010, but before then, EcoARK has already hosted many events drawing both global attention and some skepticism.
Polli-Bricks – The Future:
If Arthur and the rest of the folks at Miniwiz have anything to say about it, Polli-Bricks have a future in our building industry. They also hope that other architects and innovators will create more products that harness the resources present in our waste streams.
The more immediate vision Arthur has for Polli-Bricks is what he refers to as a Polli-Brick “Popcorn Machine”. The concept is to use a 40' shipping container, inside which would be all the machinery necessary for producing Polli-Bricks. The portable machine could be shipped anywhere in the world and tap into existing waste streams of PET plastic to produce Polli-Bricks on-site, ready for construction.
The “Popcorn Machine” addresses the biggest problem currently facing wide adoption of Polli-Bricks – shipping costs. Currently, to ship Polli-Bricks, as light as they are, means shipping air. Rather than shipping the product, Miniwiz wants to ship the process, reducing the cost of shipping for the final product and serving as a means to reduce waste streams local to the construction site.
Conclusions:
At first, we counted ourselves among the skeptics regarding Polli-Bricks. A fully recycled construction material made entirely of plastic didn't sound like a viable product. After hearing what Arthur had to say about his company and their product, we are converts. Whether its Polli-Bricks or a new innovation inspired by this new material, we feel that the approach of harvesting our waste streams and approaching the construction industry with new, more innovative perspectives is the path to a more sustainable future.