upcycling

We generally assume that the initial use for which something is designed is its primary use, and any opportunity to give the thing a second life by using it for another purpose is just a fortunate way to avoid sending it to the dump. Here's an idea that turns that concept on its head: a water bottle that is shaped deliberately so that it can be used like a brick in a building, by filling it with soil. One product, two uses. The designers call it the united bottle.

The Earth Architecture site has loads of other ideas and information on building with natural materials. Which brings me to the thought that while it is certainly a worthy achievement for the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center to be the first-ever LEED-platinum carbon neutral building on the planet, and for this office building to use LED lighting as the only source of artificial light, let's not forget that over the millennia, billions of people have lived in carbon neutral, zero-impact dwellings.