Inventors are currently trialling recycled plastic road technology in the Netherlands, says The Economist, with a 30 metre bicycle track opened in early September.
The first prefabricated PlasticRoad track in Zwolle consists of modular sections made in a factory from 70% recycled plastic and 30% polypropylene. Developers say it includes recycled plastic equivalent to more than 218,000 plastic cups or 500,000 bottle caps.
Sensors to measure temperature, the number of bike passages, durability, flexing and the flow of water through drainage channels, are also fitted inside the path.
Two Dutch firms – KWS, a road builder, and Wavin, a firm that makes plastic piping – are developing the product in partnership with Total, a French oil-and-gas firm.
The trial follows an Australian test project installed in May, with a substance called Plastiphalt laid onto a 300 metre stretch in Craigieburn in Melbourne.
The Plastiphalt was made from recycled material from more than 200,000 plastic bags and packaging, 63,000 crushed glass bottles and toner from 4,500 printer cartridges. All this was blended into 50 tonnes of reclaimed asphalt to create 250 tonnes of road-building material.
The two projects are being monitored for performance.
Image: PlasticRoad.
Melbourne school with no classrooms:
Victoria’s first vertical state school welcomed its first students earlier this year. So-called ‘learning neighbourhoods’ have replaced classrooms inside the multi-level building, says Architecture and Design.
Learning can take place indoors or outdoors at South Melbourne Primary School, depending on the weather, in spaces designed by Hayball in collaboration with Tract Consultants.
“Each learning neighbourhood will effectively accommodate 75 children with three teaching staff,” says Hayball director Ann Lau.
“This is very much about collaborative learning rather than didactic learning.”
The school combines community services and schooling in the one space, writes Foreground. Any ‘hard’ borders between the school and its surrounding area were erased, to create a public facility that invites the community in.
Successful products are often followed by copycats. Over the past year we have become aware of an increase in reproductions of the Linea range attempting to create a similar aesthetic at a lower price. This can compromise the overall durability and environmental credentials of projects being delivered, affect ongoing maintenance requirements, and in some instances pose a risk of injury to the public. The design of Linea is deceptively simple while delivering exceptional attention to detail. Details matter not only for beauty, but also for providing durability, and safety, that will last decades. Linea strictly uses the highest quality and sustainable materials, has passed rigorous strength tests, and is designed for longevity, with easily replaceable parts. The product range is the result of hundreds of hours of research and development …
Melissa Gerke, our Communications and Education Specialist, is bringing a fun, interactive and informative presentation about our carbon neutral journey and latest products to customers in cities around Australia and in the US. In 30 minutes (plus Q&A) we will explore materials and finishes, touch and feel samples, and bond with your colleagues over delicious treats. There will also be a mystery prize for a lucky winner (optional). 2024 cities and dates include: Select from three catering options (optional): To book, contact Melissa Gerke mgerke@streetfurniture.com
Street Furniture Australia’s entire product range and manufacturing operation has received carbon neutral certification through Climate Active™. Achieving carbon neutral certification marks a significant milestone in our operation and the culmination of a four year long process of detailed measurement and analysis. Climate Active™ is the only Australian government-backed carbon neutral certification programme for businesses to measure, reduce, and offsets their carbon emissions. It is one of the most rigorous carbon-neutral programs in the world. An approved Emissions Reduction Strategy (ERS) is central to achieving certification through Climate Active. Street Furniture Australia has elected to use SBTi validated science-based targets to ensure their ERS is meaningful and aligns with the 2015 Paris Agreement – to limit global temperature rises to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. For those emissions that can’t be …
Kanye’s housing renders: Kanye West’s Yeezy Home design and architecture collaborators have released images of an initial pre-fab concrete concept design, with a Brutalist aesthetic, on Instagram. Very little information has been offered about the architectural renderings, posted by Jalil Peraza, a long-time West collaborator who teamed up with architect Nejc Škufca and industrial designer Vadik Marmeladov to bring us a first look at Ye’s housing vision. Peraza told The Urban Developer his intention is to create a “scalable” low-income social housing scheme using prefabricated concrete. His company, Face Modules, has prior experience with low-cost prefab commercial pod systems. Should West’s project go ahead, a ’tilt-up’ method of construction, using cranes, could be used to erect as many as 30 house panels per day. It could be the start of West’s new city. Or perhaps he is currently …
Kanye West – rapper, fashion designer and now city builder? Kanye West appears to be turning his sights from music and sneakers to architecture and city-building. “Don’t let him do this,” writes Brentin Mock in CityLab. In the final 15 minutes of an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, ticking well over 8 million YouTube views in 20 days, Yeezy walks his 300 acres and muses, “I’m gonna build five properties, so this is my first community. I’m getting into development. Anybody who’s been to any of my cribs knows I’m super into developing homes. This is the next frontier for me.” “I’m going to be one of the biggest real estate developers of all time, like what Howard Hughes was to aircraft and what Henry Ford was to cars.” His …
Could glowing trees light our streets? Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say cities may be able to cut back on power use and emissions with plants and trees that glow at night. If successful, MIT hopes their research could be used to provide low-intensity indoor lighting, or transform trees into self-powered streetlights, according to the Urban Developer. Currently researchers have embedded specialised nanoparticles, including the chemical that gives fireflies their glow, into the leaves of watercress plants. The plants were shown to give off a dim glow for nearly four hours. This new method avoids the need to introduce a glowing gene into the plant, a far more laborious task, and with further optimisation the engineers say they could light up a desktop – or even a streetscape. “Plants can self-repair, they have their own energy, …
