Transcript – Revitalizing Neglected Public Space with Recycled Plastics

This project’s objective is to develop and design strategies for using recycled plastics to three different architectural components and urban furniture specific to the current stage of the project. The team has been focused on outdoor playground equipment that revitalizes public spaces negatively impacted by waste, plastics and neglect. The interdisciplinary team, composed of one material scientist and two designers who investigated the material characteristics of recycled plastics and plastic recycling technology using downtown Bryan as a case study.

The team has made a design proposal to implement the project. The project’s new phase is to engage the city and the downtown Bryan community to fabricate and install the designs. Our long-term goal is to publish our research on an online open source Web journal to benefit people around the world.

While connected with mechanical engineering, undergraduate capstone classes for two years, we created schematic designs defining a recycling system that can be created with mostly off the shelf materials. Also, the team designed playground modules that can be 3D printed from recycled plastics. These modules can be combined in various ways to both accommodate space constraints and provide varied activities for children.