Rachel Levin, a popular art lecturer who often lectures at the Bernard Betel Centre for our weekly Tuesday Lifelong Learning Lectures. In her series of ‘Unconventional Materials’ she introduces artists from all over the world using unconventional materials to create their art. Enjoy!
Parisian Pavilion was created with 180 recycled wooden doors.
Hôtel de Ville, Paris 2015
This pavilion was constructed in front of the Hôtel de Ville (city hall of Paris), at the heart of Paris on the occasion of the COP 21.
In 2015 COP 21 was the Paris Climate Conference that led to a new international climate agreement, applicable to all countries, aiming to keep global warming at 1.5°C – 2°C, in accordance with the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The pavilion was created and managed by Encore Heureux Architects. It was an architectural experiment on the reuse of construction materials and demonstrated the possibilities of material reuse.
The frontage was covered with 180 doors which were meant to be thrown after a restoration of a building in Paris 19th arrondissement. For three months during the 2015 Paris Climate Conference this Pavilion which stood in front of the Hôtel de Ville housed exhibitions, lectures and meetings.
Inside the Pavilion, fifty wooden chairs were collected from various Parisian recycling centers, restored and painted, the ceiling lights come from the public lighting stocks.
Architects recycled found doors and windows to form a façade of a Collage House
Mumbai-based S+PS Architects firm have created a residence that pieces together eclectic, recycled materials to form a cohesive whole. The building makes an unusual statement where it stands, patched together from an array of found and re-used elements.
Inspired by a collage and influenced by the building style of the local citizens, who use found materials to erect their homes, the alternative architecture makes for a unique and resourceful style of building.
The distinctive façade is composed of old windows and doors collected from demolished homes in the city, sets the tone for what lies inside. The interior is a ‘mish-mash’ of found objects.
Colonial-era furniture, fabric woven chair seat from waste-scraps, other odds and ends of mismatched furniture complete the entire house. It strikes a balance between old and new, traditional and contemporary, as well as the rough and refined.
Century-old recycled columns support an exposed concrete ceiling.
Other usages of recycled doors
Recycling old doors can be used for smaller DIY projects and give a second life to old wooden doors. An old door can be used as a shelf, a frame for photos, mirror frame or even as a table top.
CD organizer
Mirror frame
Book shelf
Table top
Picture frame
Porch swing
