I have to admit; a lot of the use of recycled materials as either green design elements or green building products is just plain gimmicky, aesthetically unpleasing and even sometimes less environmentally friendly than just landfilling the stuff. So it’s nice to see a project where a recycled material was utilized for an actual functional purpose that also made good design sense as well.
The project in question is The Blatz Brewery renovation in Milwaukee done by Johnsen Schmaling Architects. Built between 1851 and 1910, the massive masonry monolith is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places and has undergone a series of additions and alterations throughout the years to accommodate the commercial and office spaces now housed within the structure.
The most recent renovation was aimed at updating the space aesthetically and functionally. This was achieved by coming up with a design that would better divide and organize the space while at the same time emphasize the building’s historical significance. No where is this nod to the building’s past more apparent than its pivoting bottle doors.
When cleaning up the basement of the brewery, cases upon cases of unopened empty beer bottles were discovered. Instead of tossing them in the garbage, the architects decided to make them one of the distinguishing design elements of the new renovation. Each pivoting bottle door is 9’-6” wide and 9’ tall and consists of a welded aluminum frame which holds 1,590 horizontally stacked empty beer bottles. Using computer numerical controlled (CNC) technology, the bottles are held in place by a thin web of precision-milled neoprene rings that are suspended between the members of the aluminum frame; making it appear as if the bottles are simply just stacked in place. Illuminated on all sides, the brown bottles emanate a warm amber glow. Pretty cool custom stuff that actually makes sense for the building given its heritage.
The Good: Bottles that would likely have been sent to a landfill, or at best down-cycled, now serve as a functional and interesting design element.
The Bad: Aside from a small bamboo grove accent and some LED retrofits, the bottle doors are about the only thing relatively ’sustainable’ about the The Blatz renovation.
The Bottom-Line: A clever, functional, and aesthetically pleasing use of recycled glass beer bottles that isn’t that gimmicky…for once.
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