ROBERT WOODWARD AWARD FOR SMALL PROJECT ARCHITECTURE
PLASTIC PALACE RAFFAELLO ROSSELLI ARCHITECTS
PHOTOGRAPHY BEN HOSKING
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Plastic Palace commenced as a temporary summer pavilion commission for the Murray Art Museum in Albury’s central square. Constrained by a modest budget and footprint, the architect employed a high level of invention and resourcefulness to repurpose discarded everyday plastic objects from the local plastic recycling industry. Compressed and bound in bales like hay, the plastic loadbearing slabs were stacked and tied together within a translucent skin to form a colourful and inviting form that draws visitors within. Inside the large plastic bales provide a cooling relief from the hot summer temperatures, with a single and small open aperture to the sky. It is once inside that the true nature of the pavilion is revealed, with pre-loved objects
of varying scale and colour providing a timely reminder of our unsustainable disposable habits. This is a project with a powerful community message, yet importantly the message is not all negative. Not content with completing the temporary pavilion, the architect set about looking for alternative uses for the chipped plastic by-product of the recycling process. Through many hours of research and collaboration, a process for recycling plastic waste into new sheet products emerged. New products that can be utilised for wall linings and furniture have since been used in other projects. With an extraordinary level of experimentation and innovation, this project has demonstrated the role that architecture can play in addressing wider social issues.
