RePlaced

NEW NARRITIVES
3D EXPERIENTIAL SPACE

by for.m.atter
Sabrina Thomason, Georgia Barrington

Scope of installation

Plastics in secondary and tertiary applications have great potential in solving issues of longevity and wear on traditional building materials. Nothing lasts forever, except plastics do. With single-use plastics being so widely consumed and discarded, access to this raw material is nearly
limitless.

RePlaced aims to explore this potential with the hopes of applying HDPE's recyclability to the lack of shelter faced by people without homes in Toronto. By exploring how we can re-melt and recycle HDPE into modular building units, we can explore the  potential of creating longer term and lower barrier-to-entry DIY shelters for people in need.

Due to COVID-19 lockdown measures, we were unable to physically fabricate a speculative interior, but have developed a series of drawings and a video to describe the potential of this work.

Watch this video “How to Recycle HDPE: a process for RePlaced” to learn how werecycled HDPE at home.

Aerial photograph of 12lbs of collected HDPE | 85+ Bottles | 5 Families

Image of shredded plastic after heating to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and compressing into a flat sheet.

Material triptych showing three marbled plastic tile samples. To produce thesesurfaces, chunks of plastic of different sizes were cut by hand (shredded flakes, 1“ x 1”, 2“x 2”), heated, twisted and rolled to remove air bubbles and create a marbled effect.

To quantify how many bottles a person might need to collect to create one unit of building material, we considered the most common size for household goods. The three household bottles pictured above are examples of easily found material that weigh 50grams on average.

Based on the average 50g plastic bottle or container, the image above displays how many bottles are required for three sheet goods of different thicknesses.

Based on the average 50g plastic bottle or container, the image above displays howmany bottles are required for twelve 6” x 6” stackable brick units.

Based on the average 50g plastic bottle or container, the image above displays how many bottles are required for eight 1/2” hex tiles.

Based on the average 50g plastic bottle or container, the image above displays how many bottles are required for eight 1/2” scalloped tiles.

This speculative visualization displays a new vision for Toronto’s encampments through the use of recycled building materials. It gives a glimpse of anew encampment typology that is joyous, colourful and cares for both its inhabitants and the environment. Though the structures may be temporary, these building materials would be less flammable, water-tight, and could offer a short-term dwelling that a person could take pride in, while also reducing their environmental footprint.

Georgia BArrington

Georgia is a mature student in her third year of interior design at Ryerson University. Her interests include spatial explorations of time, memory, and heritage. She values accessibility and sustainability, and her process is most fruitful when making guides her thinking. With a keen interest in emerging digital fabrication techniques, she is looking to work on projects that marry design and technology to create radical concepts. Previous experience includes four years in marketing and communications, and three years in business administration in the arts and culture sector.

Sabrina Thomason

Cliché as it might be, I am driven by a desire to make the world a better place through mindful design that practices principles of radical simplicity, function then form, and hedonistic sustainability. I am currently studying at the Ryerson School of Interior Design in my 3rd year. I have a specific interest in thinking through making, looking to mother nature and her irregularities as inspiration and precedent. Be it through the proposal of healthier materiality or challenging a traditional methodology with a green alternative, I work hard to weave elements of best environmental practices throughout all my projects considering both the health of those inside and the natural world outside.

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