milan’s newest monument remodels stonehenge with 16,000 recycled plastic bottles

vatraa remakes stonehenge from recyled bottles

Highlighting the legacy of waste and its impact we are leaving for future generations, VATRAA poses a new contemporary monument of the times, remodeling Stonehenge from 16,000 recycled plastic bottles. Unveiled recently in Milan, the monolithic installation titled ‘Plastic Monument’ draws on one of the oldest and most pure structural forms — the Great Trilithon. Instead of using stones like our ancestors did 5,000 years ago, the architecture studio wraps three giant piles of old plastic bottles in wire meshes and stacks the forms in a lightweight yet grand display to evoke a sense of urgency on the pressing issue.

‘Plastic Monument’ by VATRAA | all images courtesy the author

a plastic monument for future generations

The monolithic form reinterprets the heritage of our ancestors for a world that is marked with plastic waste rather than brick or stone structures. While our ancestors left the ancient wonder of Stonehenge 5,000 years ago, VATRAA’s installation leaves a monument for future generations made of recycled plastic which cane take up to 450 years to decompose, serving as a reminder of the potential consequences of our wasteful actions.

Drawing on the dimensions and form of Stonehenge’s Trilithon structure, ‘Plastic Monument’ comprises two upright pillars standing 670 cm high, topped by a horizontal lintel. The London-based studio wraps the self-supporting volumes in a double skin wire mesh with a hollow core, sculpting the surfaces to emulate the texture of their counterpart stone pillars.

The installation poses a stark contrast between something we consider highly disposable — single-use plastic — and the eternity of the most ancient of structures that has lasted for thousands of years — the trilithon. Made of pressed PET bottle bales, the pensive artwork therefore becomes an ironic vision of the potential ‘monumental’ disaster provoked by the overuse of plastics. It stands to remind us of the consequences of our actions in the long run, of the fact that what we are doing today might stay on Earth forever.

the lightweight translucent form juxtaposes the solidity of Stonehenge’s trilithon

Sponsored by Gruppo Unipol, the installation will take up a residency in Milan for the next year. It is the result of a 2019 YAC and National Geographic Italia international competition, which featured 1,681 entries from 86 countries. The initiative was framed in the project ‘Planet or Plastic?’ – National Geographic’s campaign to inform and raise awareness on plastic pollution – and aimed at creating an art installation which would become the landmark to raise awareness of the fact that plastics last up to 1,000 years in landfills, some of which might never biodegrade. VATRAA’s proposal was selected by a grand jury, including architects Kengo Kuma and Carlo Ratti.

It is hoped that ‘Plastic Monument’ will be reinstalled in other iconic locations across the world in hopes to continue the spread of this powerful message. Bogdan Rusu, founding partner at VATRAA, notes: ‘The installation is not designed to be beautiful, but to make us think about the consequences of our actions in the long run. We hope that this will inspire people of influence or regular plastic users to consider the bigger impact of the decisions they make today.’

a double skin wire mesh wraps the plastic pillars with a hollow core

a lightweight new monument of the times

two upright pillars stand at a height of 670 cm, topped by a horizontal lintel

1/5

 

 

 

 

 

project info:

name: Plastic Monument
designer: VATRAA

location: Milan, Italy

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom