Making the Most of the Things People Discard

The green revolution in architecture has many aspects, one of the most important of which is dealing effectively with waste.

Waste is a pressing issue for Thailand. According to the Thai Government Land Development Department agriculture in Thailand produces 58,190,000 tons of refuse annually. 

Throughput in the industrial system from source to end consumer ends up in landfills or going to an incinerator. It is estimated that for every one truckload of product with a lasting value there are 32 truckloads of waste.

Revolutionary Thai architect Singh Intrachooto decided to do something about it. He started out by paying construction workers to sort out unused materials. From these materials he started to make furniture for the project under construction. His innovative and attractive creations soon caught the attention of the public. This allowed Singh to set up his own design studio called Osisu with a partner. They set out to expand their vision and to explore how they could best use the waste streams of different industries.

His efforts have achieved international and domestic acclaim: Singh Intrachooto has won Thailand's Emergent Designer of the Year Award, Elle's Decor's Designer of the Year and Top Environmentalist 2008 Award from Thailand's Department of the Environment.

Singh Intrachooto now lectures in Kasetsart University in Thailand where he has set up his "scrap lab". He is continually getting new donations of every conceivable material - wood, metal, fabric, leather, plastic, glass just to name the obvious materials. With his students he tries to recycle these materials into items of utility and worth. At the same time he is collecting a huge resource library about previous creations made from re-cycled materials to consolidate his revolutionary attitude to waste streams. 

This is a great example of creativity leading the way in architecture and the green movement. 

Based on an article by Chris Tobias