Sustainable living projects: Five homes made from recycled materials

It’s not just shipping containers being converted into modern homes. 

A rising global interest in sustainability has sparked numerous innovative homes utilising secondhand materials.

Here are five examples from around the world. 

1. Silos

Melbourne residents are most likely familiar with MAP Architecture’s Islington Silos project. 

As the title suggests, the apartment building located on Islington Street Collingwood has converted 19 silos into 47 residential dwellings.

By preserving original facade and the heritage listed James Hood & Co. Malt Store entrance, the project breathes new life into the site that has been part of Collingwood’s history since 1878.

Photo: Andrew Ashton

2. Concrete pipes

Former storm drains and sewers have been converted into cosy ‘”sleepers” in hotels. 

Tubohotel in Tepoztlan, Mexico has been designed by architecture firm T3arcw as affordable, hostel-style accommodation. 

The pyramid formation of the pipes is said to reflect the Aztec pyramid of El Tepozteco that overlooks the town.

The design of Tubohotel is influenced from Dasparkhotel in Ottensheim, Austria where each pipe forms an individual hotel room. 

Dasparkhotel allows utilises sanitation and other hotel facilities from existing public infrastructure, allowing the hotel to operate on a “pay as you wish” system. 

3. Beer bottles

Graduate architect Li Rongjun built a 300-square-foot (28-square-metre) office in Chongqing, China out of 8500 glass containers.

The two-storey office is made from 40 layers of beer bottles with the lower half made from brick.

Built by Rongjun and his father over four months, the project reportedly cost over $15,000 to construct. 

The long-term stability of the structure is debated given the second floor has no load-bearing walls. 

Photo: ChinaFotoPress, Getty

4. Windows

In 2012, American couple Nick Olson (a photographer) and Lilah Horwitz (fashion designer) set off to build a cabin made completely from discarded materials.

The home’s defining feature is a wall of salvaged windows found at garage sales and antique stores.

Reportedly created for just $US500 ($728), the glass cabin is located on a property owned by Olson’s family. 

The couple use the cabin as a holiday home to escape from the city. It does not have electricity or running water.

Photo: Matt Glass & Jordan Wayne Long

5. Ships

Towering over a cliff on South Bass Island in Ohio is converted ship home The Benson Ford. 

Built in 1924 for the Ford Motor Company, the Benson Ford (named after Henry Ford’s grandson) was originally used to transport iron ore across the Great Lakes. 

In 1984 after it had been stripped of its engine, Frank J. Sullivan brought the ship to the island and eventually transformed it into a lakeshore residence for his family. 

It has since been sold to its current owner, Bryan Kasper.