By the year 2050, there will be more plastic waste, by weight, in our oceans than there are fish, the World Economic Forum reports. With such an abundance of plastic (literally) floating around, entrepreneur Gregor Gomory knew there had to be a way to put it to use. Inspired by the work of Peter Lewis, a New Zealand-based engineer whose research laid the foundation for the use of waste plastic to create building materials, Gomory created RePlast, a material comprising plastic sourced from the oceans and machine-compressed into the dimensions of a typical concrete masonry unit. Because the blocks do not require a binding agent, such as glue or adhesive, their carbon footprint is negligible compared to concrete. RePlast blocks also boast thermal and acoustic performance that traditional masonry can't provide. The project, which is being run out of Gomory's New York– and Los Angeles–based startup ByFusion, is still in its early stages; he and his team are exploring possible applications for the new material. “We don’t want to say this is RePlast—this is how you should use it and you can’t change it,” Gomory told SustainableBrands. “We want to see RePlast used in a modular way in low-income housing, for example. There are much smarter people out there than us that will have ideas.” [World Economic Forum + SustainableBrands + ByFusion]
ICYMI: Autodesk is helping project teams visualize their designs in 3D. [ARCHITECT]
The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture has launched a peer-reviewed journal covering topics in architectural technology like emerging materials, construction techniques, building systems, and digital fabrication. [The Journal of Technology|Architecture+Design]
Washington. D.C.'s new clean-energy plan calls for at least half of the city's power to come from renewable sources by 2032, a costly proposition that is causing the District to explore options for financing the technology in its low-income neighborhoods. [The Atlantic]
The U.S. is getting an offshore wind farm. The partnership between developer Deepwater Wind and GE Renewable Energy will be located off the coast of Block Island, R.I. [Wired]
Inventor Elon Musk's colossal Gigafactory—built to churn out enough batteries to supply Tesla's forthcoming Model 3 electric cars—is expected to be the largest building in the world by footprint when it is completed. [The Verge]
A global light pollution map shows how much of the planet is illuminated after dark. [CityLab]
TinyBop, a maker of educational smart phone apps for children, has created a game called Skyscraper. With imagery from Herman Miller illustrator Mike Ellis, the app explains how tall buildings work and helps kids solve problems as they conceive their own towering designs. [Fast Co. Design]
Zaha Hadid Architects and Spanish ceramics company Porcelanosa combined forces to design one of the most architecturally-inclined bathrooms in recent memory—utilizing Hadid's signature fluid lines throughout. The Vitae collection is made up of nine pieces including a bathtub, toilet, bidet, and mirror set. [Gizmag]
