The EcoARK Pavilion located in Taipei, Taiwan is the world’s first fully functional, public structure made of POLLI-BRICKS™. Built out of 1.5 million recycled plastic bottles, the nine-story-tall EcoARK is a principle structure for the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition, which runs from Nov. 6, 2010 to Apr. 25, 2011. Its public spaces, which operate totally off the grid, cover an area the size of six basketball courts. The building’s comfortable internal environment comes courtesy of natural ventilation, an exterior waterfall which bathes the structure in water collected from rainstorms as well as POLLI-BRICK™’s high insulation properties. Embedded solar power captured during the day runs EcoARK’s LED lighting systems at night. The building, a new addition to the Taipei skyline, has already hosted numerous fashion shows, a music video filming and countless of public meetings.

Turning Taiwan’s trash into a treasure. The Eco Ark pavilion is hailed as a new benchmark for the future of green buildings and a spectacular showpiece for the Taipei International Flora Expo. Adhering to the mantra of “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”, the nine-storey high Eco Ark Pavilion is built largely out of recycled plastic bottles. It weighs 50 percent less than a conventional building, yet it is strong enough to withstand the forces of nature, including fire! EcoARK is featured in National Geographic's Megastructures.

The EcoARK Pavilion will be disassembled and distributed to over 100 elementary and junior high schools all over Taiwan in-order to teach children about the importance of recycling. These structures will be made up of solar panels and Polli-Bricks™, and will use Waste Fiber Infused Thermoplastic, a new material developed by MINIWIZ.

1,500,000 plastic bottles saved enough energy to power a 60 watt light bulb for 75,000/73 years, a CFL for 89,559/15,184 years, 375/14 tons of plastic, 1,444,500/13 kwh of energy, 72,225/13 metric tons of limestone

(375/14 tons of plastic could save a 33,750/7 cubic meter lake, 2,775/14 cubic yards of landfill space almost 375/14 tons of black gold, 1,082,625/7 kWh of energy, a 30,825/448 cubic meter container of oil, 2,625,000,000 Btu's of energy, a 225/14 cubic meter container of petroleum, enough energy to heat over 225/8 homes, a (5,625-11,250)/56 cubic meter tank of gasoline, enough oil to run the average car for 3,853,125/14 miles or circle the globe almost 20,550,000 times, $15,750.00 in energy)

this means that 150,000 people used one reusable bottle

Facts Edit

• Completion Year : 2010.06
• Site Area : 4,000 (sq m)
• Project Area : 2,000 (sq m)

AwardsEdit

The Earth Award 2010 Product Category

Media Mentions Edit

• National Geographic Channel Megastructure
• BBC
• Business Week
• New York Times
• Inhabitat

See AlsoEdit

• Plastic recycling
• Bottle recycling
• Plastiki