Recycling may seem to have rocketed into the public eye in the late 20th century, but no doubt it was an obsession for a number of inspired visionaries’ way back when, as this idea of turning waste into useful products came to life in 1963 proves. It’s the Heineken WOBO (world bottle), also known as the “brick that holds beer”, envisioned by brewer Alfred Heineken and designed by Dutch architect John Habraken.
Apparently Mr. Heineken’s idea came after a visit to the Caribbean where he saw two problems: beaches littered with bottles and a lack of affordable building materials – prompting him to create the WOBO, which came in 350 and 500mm versions that horizontally locked in a bricks and mortar style.
OK, so the WOBO never really took off, only a couple of sculptures still remain, but it does open an interesting Friday afternoon question – of just how far we could go with recycling… Bottles shaped like shoes? Regional beer bottles stamped with the location of the nearest bottle bank? If you have any interesting ideas – leave them in the comments below.
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