plastiki arrives in sydney

'plastiki' arrives in sydney's darling harbour
image © designboom
'plastiki' sailed its way into sydney's darling harbour today after traveling 130 days
and 8000 nautical miles from san francisco.
the boat made from 12, 500 recycled plastic PET bottles was the brainchild of british adventuer
david de rothschild - founder of adventure ecology. 'plastiki' began her adventure nearly
four years ago after taking inspiration from a report issued by UNEP (united nations environment
programme) called ‘ecosystems and biodiversity in deep waters and high
seas’ and thor heyerdahl’s
epic 1947 expedition, the kon-tiki. david
de rothschild and his five member crew sailed from
sydney to san francisco hoping to raise awareness about the amount of plastic floating in
the world's oceans.

image © designboom
adventure ecology commissioned company exploration architecture to design the vessel.
it is engineered almost entirely from the 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles that provide 68%
of the boat’s buoyancy. a recyclable plastic material made from srPET makes up the
super structure and the mast is made with a reclaimed aluminum irrigation pipe.
the one-of-a-kind sail is hand-made from recycled PET cloth and the secondary bonding
is reinforced using a newly developed organic glue made from cashew nuts and sugar cane.

image © designboom

the plastic bottles attached to the catamaran
image © designboom

image © designboom
the plastiki is ‘off-the-grid’ relying primarily on renewable energy
systems to function including:
solar panels, wind turbines, trailing sea turbines, bicycle generators, a vacuum water evaporator
for desalination, a urine-to-water recovery system and rain water catchment, a separating toilet
and waste storage with evaporative technology for weight reduction, hydroponic vertical garden
and an electrical system based around a bank of six 12 volt batteries.

'plastiki' - solar panels
image © designboom

'plastiki' - solar panels
the boat's overall design and sail plan only permits it to sail with the wind just forward of
her beam - she is a down-wind vessel. in keeping with the design ethos there are no
centreboards so the boat sometimes goes sideways, as well as forward.

'plastiki'
image © designboom
plastiki will be on display in front of the maritime museum, sydney for a month.

image © designboom

david de rothschild
portrait © designboom

the plastiki crew with 14 year old parrys raines who supported the 'plastiki' voyage
image © designboom

'plastiki' departing san francisco

the bottles underwater


the bottles underwater

the boat's hull

detail of the plastic bottles
adventure ecology has worked with a number of experts in the field of boat building,
architecture, sustainable design, engineering, materials, and innovative design technology,
including:
michael pawlyn – concept architect
andy dovell – naval architect
andy fox – boat builder
nathaniel corum – cabin architect and sustainability consultant
jason iftakhar – solar array designer and consultant
heath nash: plastic bottle roof shade
utilizing waste materials, these structures are based on repeat patterns that draw from architecture of harare, zimbabwe, formed through the use of plastic bottles of all shapes, sizes and colors.
coca cola: plant bottle and give it back rack
a family of 100 percent recyclable merchandise display racks - made from recyclable corrugated cardboard - for use in grocery and convenience stores.
one tenth: PET bottle humidifier
two new resource-efficient products include a humidifier that runs on water bottles and a fan that you can roll across the table.
yeti's alphutte
alphutte grindelwald is a truly unique mountain holiday home. from the outside it resembles a traditional barn, but within it o...
michael schoner: coathanger chopper
the clothes hanger moves through out the space, controlled by radio and propelled by two computer fans.
RENAULT 4 ever behind-the-scenes
'horsey' by eungi kim
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