Model. The Plastic Museum by delaVegaCanolasso.
Description of project by delaVegaCanolasso
An ephemeral museum located in the Square contiguous to the Reina Sofia National Museum, totally prefabricated in plastic for two weeks, assembled on site in just 2 days and 100% recycled 10 days after its inauguration.
Conceived as the key element of the campaign to explain the importance of the correct use of plastic, it had to be entirely built out of recyclable plastic.
We took advantaged of this input by using those unique qualities the material has. The design tries to avoid the common aparience of the ephimeral instalations and choose a more “serious” aproach, the plastics used were chosen based on their capacity to be recyclable, their structural performance, transparency...
The plastic Museum is a simple volume, white and translucent, easily legible but broken by the methacrylate ribs that reflect and transmits the light interior, letting guess the world inside and inviting the pedestrian in.
Through the material the rules of the game change, having an “invisible” structural system. The museum is a big meccano consisted in 7 structural ribs made of 20mm transparent methacrylate “U” shape beams and pilars.
For the facade the chosen material was white polyethylene, mechanized to be tongue-and-groove so it works as a whole with the ribs. It is a dense material that allows the facade to be self-supporting, it changes its appearance through the day and works as a lantern at night. The roof is built with white cellular polycarbonate due to its lightness and thermal insulation.
Every piece was cut and numbered by numeric control so it could be assembled on site in just 2 days and then dismantled to be recycled in 1 day.
Exterior design and exhibition
The Museum has been designed by the Delavegacanolasso architecture studio, specialized in modular prefabricated architecture and the use of plastic elements for the design and construction of structures and furniture. With an area of 73.5 sqm., it is built with different plastic materials, such as polyethylene, methacrylate, polycarbonate and PVC. It presents a modern and avant-garde design, and combines natural and artificial light, while playing with different plastic materials.
The Plastic Museum exhibition has been designed by the curator Eloy Martínez de la Pera, an expert in the organization and production of exhibitions who has worked on the conceptualization of artistic projects for the most important museums in Spain, as well as being responsible for the ARCO Award for artistic creation.
Throughout its three rooms, the Museum is presented as a transformative space, which seeks a change in the wrong or imprecise perception of plastic, a recyclable and sustainable material. In addition, it shows how essential these materials are and how they have transformed sectors such as health, food, construction, and mobility, among others. Finally, the museum pursues the objective of transforming misuse through responsible practices, environmental awareness and a culture of reuse and recycling.
May 17th.- Museum recycling
To show the importance that plastic recycling has for the sector and for society in general, The Plastic Museum will be dismantled on May 17th, World Recycling Day. Walls, ceilings and floors will be recycled with the aim of turning them into different objects and giving them new lives.
For those who cannot visit the museum in person, The Plastic Museum puts at their disposal on its website a virtual tour of all the rooms and pieces of the museum, so that through images and videos they can also enjoy the experience and understand all the messages that the plastics sector wants to convey with this initiative.
