This is the first house that is built out of revolutionary LEGO-like plastic bricks! The 430 square foot structure comprising of two bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a bathroom and a kitchen cost merely 20,000 pesos ($6,800), four people and five days to construct, and can be a stepping stone towards revolutionizing the trade of construction.
The mastermind behind the design, Fernando Llanos was facing difficulties in transporting materials to build his house in Cundinamarca, Colombia. So he came up with the genius idea of using recycled plastic to start the project. Teaming up with architect Óscar Méndez, he decided to create Conceptos Plásticos, which is an innovative system that creates used plastic bricks to build cheap construction materials that can be used in remote areas.
And adding to the already amazing prospect, they also decided to help the environment and use recycled instead of new plastic despite the difficulties.
“Working with new plastic is simple,” explained Óscar Méndez to the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, “because there are defined parameters, but used (plastic) requires more experimentation. Used (plastic) requires more experimentation,” said Méndez.
The used plastic material was obtained from local recyclers and factories, which was then melted and molded into three-kilo (6.6 lbs) bricks. Adding to the benefit of being easy to work with, the plastic bricks are also great insulators, resist combustion, thermoacoustic and are also earthquake-resistant.
The story began back in 2011, and since then the company has swelled up to 15 employees and recently completed a project of building a temporary shelter for 42 families of immigrants in Colombia. The company was also awarded $300,000 by The Chivas Venture which ensures it will now expand to a more global scale.