Adaptive Reuse: 20 Brilliant Recycled Buildings

By Urbanist in Architecture & Design, Environment & Nature

Recycling discarded materials into new buildings and adapting disused structures to new uses is not just about sustainability – it is also about savvy innovation and stylish adaptation. Some architects build modular wonders from existing units (such as shipping containers). Others draw from recycled, found and local materials (or entire old buildings) to create aesthetically amazing designs that brilliantly blend old and new.

Spiral island (shown above) is just one such example: an incredible mobile private island floating on 250,000 recycled plastic bottles off the coast of Mexico. From a pre-industrial pigsty converted to a postmodern home and a magnificent monastery built from a million glass bottles to adaptively reused cargo containers, airplane hangars and water towers, here are twenty awesome more examples of brilliantly creative and sustainably innovative recycled architecture. Click below to learn more:

Recycled Glass Bottle Building

Pig Sty Building into House Conversion

Recycled Trailer Theatrical Set Design

Stonefridge the Recycled Fringe Henge

Water Tower House Adaptive Reuse

Airplane Hangar to Indoor Water Park Conversion

High Line Railroad to City Park Conversion

Adaptive Reuse of Garage as House

Container City Modular Mixed Use Buildings

Transforming Cargo Container Home Module

Shipping Container Office and Shop Tower

Creative Shipping Container Playground Design

Cleverly Camouflaged Cargo Container Home

Giant Cargo Container Hotel Building

Modular Cargo Container Housing Designs

Super Sustainable Cargo Container Home

Amazing Recycled Metal Sculpture Park

Art Park Created from Recycled Materials

Recycled Plastic Bottle Igloo Building

Structural Sand Bag Walled House

Even More Amazing Recycled Architecture

Even More Cargo Container Buildings

Creative Recycled Material Furniture Designs

Creative Recycled Art Made from Trash