I read in clusterflock that Herr Heineken ordered the design of square-sectioned bottles that could be used as bricks once the contents were consumed. He came up with this idea after seeing that bottles could not be easily recycled in some areas of the world and went to waste. These areas also happen to be short of constructing materials. The bottles, designed by architect N. John Habraken have also added texture in its sides to aid the cementing of bottles to one another.
This is a good example of the replacement template from Goldenberg and Mazursky excellent book. The replacement template states that new product ideas can be generated by using a component existent in the product or the immediate environment in order to fulfill a required function. In this case, one object of the environment (bricks) are absent or scarce. In terms of Goldenberg and Mazursky template we can think that bricks are excluded and their function is replaced by other elements of the environment (disposed of bottles).
If you are interested in reading a little more about using bottles for construction, take a look at this post in treehugger.
If you are interested in reading a little more about using bottles for construction, take a look at this post in treehugger.
