Building Made of Beer Bottles
One Million bottles of beer on the wall. One Million bottles of beer on the wall. Take one down, crush and spin it around, then there is… Okay, you get the picture. In fact, Realm of Design used 500,000 beer bottles to create the limestone looking green concrete facade of their Nevada 30,000 square foot manufacturing building.
The Las Vegas casinos produce 36 millions pounds of glass bottles every year. However, it only took one weekend on the Strip worth of empty bottles to create the facade.
Why Green Concrete?
Conventional concrete isn’t green. In fact, in 2011, the Smithsonian reported that in the prior year, 3.6 billion tons of concrete was produced. Worse yet, cement production accounts for 5% of human produced CO2 emissions which contributes to Climate Change.
On the other hand, the Company’s green concrete called GreenStone is made-up of recycled content. It is comprised of crushed beer bottles, water, pigment and fly ash. The fly ash is a bi-product from coal plants. The ingredients are mixed together in a Hobart commercial kitchen mixer. Afterwards fiberglass is added to the mix to give the GreenStone strength.
In the case of the facade of the building, the Company made the material lightweight. The outer layer contains about a 1/8 to 3/8th inch of GreenStone with a R-10 polyurethane foam backer. Green, insulated and beautiful in one block.
Watch the video below about the project. Towards the end of the 9 minute segment, the Company demonstrates how they make an intricate mantel. It was completed in 15 minutes. The end product was absolutely stunning.
Other Products:
According to the Company, they use GreenStone for fireplaces, flooring, columns, back splashes, crown moldings and more. Their online store features many of their products. Their Naples traditional fireplace surround is $1332. Whereas, their more intricate french fireplace mantel costs $5910.
Join the Conversation:
- What are your thoughts about the product?
- How do you like the look?
Sources:
Realm of Design
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