Project: Build//Up - Re-contextualize Our Relationship with Plastic
Type: Competition
Team: Allen Lai
Year: 2020
Location: --
Over the years, the ocean has become a place where humans dispose of their unused objects. More than 8 million tons of plastics are in the sea each year, and it is estimated that in the year 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. Once plastics had fulfilled their functional purpose, it becomes trash and will stick around for hundreds of years.
This project aims to change the world’s perception of plastic waste through data visualization using plastic bottles. Used bottles are re-purposed to construct a playful vertical barrier between the ocean and land. The structure consists of 40,000 bottles. Each bottle represents 200 tons of trash being dumped in the ocean every year. Although a single plastic bottle might not reveal how our consumption habits negatively affect our environment, this installation can become a powerful catalyst that inspires people to take action and build a better, cleaner future.