Locations
Currently, the country most involved in these sustainable strategies is the United States, followed by Spain (especially the cities of Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, Seville and Granada), the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. Also worth mentioning for their contributions are Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Mexico, Poland and Switzerland and, in the background, Belgium, Chile, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Nigeria, Norway, New Zealand, Peru, the Kingdom of Lesotho and Uruguay.
Materials used
Among the recycled materials most used in ephemeral architecture, the following stand out, ordered from highest to lowest demand:.
These modules and their groupings are characterized by economy, ease of assembly, adaptability, resistance, simplicity, sustainability and integration into the urban environment, in such a way that they generate natural, dynamic, warm and comfortable spaces, properties inherent to the succession of wooden slats that, in addition, evoke the forest from which said components come. For this reason, they have been used for the construction of envelopes, street furniture, several examples of emergency architecture (as is the case of "The Gap Filler Pallet Pavilion", in Christchurch) and even symbolic works of art (among which the "Forêt II" pavilion by Philippe Allard and Justin Duchesneau, in Montreal should be highlighted).
The grouping of these elements usually occurs for protest purposes, since it raises citizen awareness about the garbage generated and the need to recycle it, although the potential that said grouping has when it comes to forming undulating surfaces, isolating from inclement weather, containing liquids that give color and dynamism to the whole or generating lighting effects based on solar irradiation is also of interest. They are widely used both in pavilions (among which it is worth mentioning the "Parking Canopy" by Garth Britzman, in Lincoln) and in protest and collective events (including the event "Public swimming pool on the bottom of Campo de Cebada" by the collective Luzinterruptus, in Madrid).
When generating ephemeral architectural spaces we can find this material both as a representative idea of recycling, and as recycled itself. In both cases this material satisfactorily exhibits characteristics such as lightness, self-construction, economy, manageability, resistance, warmth, comfort, respectful integration with the environment, ease of transport and ease of assembly, although in the first case the spaces are built in order to raise user awareness about respect for the natural environment, sustainability and the ecological footprint (as is the case of the "Expositive Cardboard" project by the studio Samaruc and Andy Paneque, for the exhibition of the XIII Certamen de Valencia Crea), while which in the second show both the satisfactory abilities of the recycled product and the artistic evocation of its previous usefulness (among which examples include the "Cardboard Cloud" exhibition by the Fantasticnorway studio, at the DogA Center in Oslo).
These elements have been frequently used to configure permanent buildings, mainly due to the ease of assembly, the ease of stacking as modules, their resistance, their self-supporting capacities, their spatial capacities and the distribution possibilities that their standard measurements admit, in such a way that the transportable, removable, temporary and even parasitic qualities with which these containers were designed have been ignored, important details that have been claimed in ephemeral projects such as the studio's "Container City". O+A, for the theater festival Over het IJ") in Amsterdam, although they have also been exhibited for ecological, experimental and collaborative purposes"), as can be seen in examples such as the "Cootainer", a transportable urban greenhouse designed by Damien Chivialle.
The piling of waste materials is a radical procedure whose results are generally heterogeneous and chaotic spaces that are based on reclamation and social interaction. Specifically, the intentions that are generally used are either political and protest manifestations about the prevailing consumption model (ideas emphasized in projects such as "Eres lo que Tiras" by Basurama, installed on the beach of Benicássim for the FIB in 2007), or artistic and symbolic manifestations about the temporality inherent to everything (as is the case of "The Big Crunch" by Raumlabor, in Darmstadt).
These objects can be seen as stacked modules to configure ephemeral facades and retaining walls or as main elements in certain urban events, mainly for recreational purposes. Due to their spatial configuration, they can be filled with compressed earth for hygrothermal and structural purposes (system initially addressed by Michael Reynolds), but their elasticity, adaptability, lightness, resistance and safety have been mainly considered, optimal characteristics in interactive installations (among whose examples are the swings designed by Basurama in the "RUS" project in Lima).
Other materials worth mentioning are construction containers, chairs, scaffolding, plastic cups, shopping carts, baskets, tin cans, old clothes, garbage containers, plastic bags, construction pipes, plastic rings, disused boats, burned out light bulbs, telephone booths, car bodywork, cushions, DVDs, packaging, food cans, umbrellas, worn breakwaters, empty tetrabriks...
Artifacts made
The projects are designed with very diverse functions, since the large amount of materials gives us an immense range of action and ideation, but the most recurrent purposes, ordered from greatest to least, are:
Generally with a view to raising social awareness about sustainability, recycling, nature or the ecological footprint, but also with the aim of symbolizing change, the passage of time, limits and progressive degradation. Among the many examples, it is worth highlighting the ephemeral installation "Hangs Laundry to Create Art" (by Kaarina Kaikkonen, Tampere, 1999) made with second-hand clothes hanging on ropes, generating a domestic space beneath it.
Sued for their symbolism and economy. It is worth highlighting as an example the project "Head In The Clouds: a plastic bottle pavilion" (from studioKCA, New York, 2013), consisting of a surface resulting from the juxtaposition of 53,780 recycled plastic bottles and milk jugs, through which various lighting effects are generated.
Economic constructions in accordance with the demanding and non-conformist characteristics of said events. Special mention deserves projects such as the "Theater Of Fly" stage venue (by the Assemble Collective for the Chichester Festival Theatre, West Sussex) made with pallets, scaffolding and canvas provided by the users of the cultural endowment themselves.
Projects for which the use of recycled materials provides economy, assembly speed, lightness, adaptability, sustainability and availability. Such is the case of the transitional emergency shelter "Pallet House" (by I-Beam Studio, Kosovo, 1994) built with pallets filled with straw, paper and old clothes for refugees from the Kosovo war.
Sustainable examples of political and economic response. Among its examples, it is worth highlighting the series of urban guerrilla art prototypes "Skip Conversations" (by Oliver Bishop, 2008) consisting of ephemeral public spaces of escape from the city made in construction containers.
Ephemeral, light, affordable and transportable projects. As an example, it is worth mentioning the series of minimal transportable housing "Garbage Dumpsters Turned into Living Containers" (by Philipp Stingl, Germany) made for the homeless using recycled garbage containers.
Useful architectural learning mechanisms, due to both the economy and availability of materials and the varied configurations that their distribution allows. Such is the case of the initiative "I used to be trash" from the ETSAM ephemera master's degree (Madrid), based on the reuse of recycled cardboard and plant elements to clandestinely provide a cozy and natural atmosphere to the chaotic environment of the Ciudad Universitaria metro exit.
Made with donated, manageable and economical materials. Among the numerous examples, it is appropriate to mention the removable artistic installation "Organic Growth Pavillion" (by , New York, 2015) raised by volunteers") reusing umbrellas, stools, photographic tripods and bicycle wheels.