Enjoy the Rain: Recycled PVC for Sustainable Design

‘Enjoy the Rain’ is an innovative Italian sustainable design project, which combines the value of reuse and recycling of end-of-life PVC with water preservation and conservation.

Completed in 2015, ‘Enjoy the Rain’ is a project promoted by PVC Forum Italia (the Italian Association of the PVC industry value chain) and VinylPlus, the sustainable development programme of the European PVC industry, in collaboration with Milan-based Domus Academy, a world-ranked design and architecture school.

During a five-week workshop, post-graduate design students from all over the world met the design, technical and environmental challenges using recycled PVC in innovative and functional industrial applications. Students were also informed about PVC recycling options and industry policies within EU and global guidelines.

Their concept gave life to six projects on the theme ‘Enjoy the Rain’, building on the importance of water conservation and preservation and the added value of rainwater. Crucially, their ideas had to harmonise with one of VinylPlus’ global challenges on PVC sustainability and the material’s recovery, reuse and recyclability. The concept is linked to the fact that rain is ‘magic’; it feeds plants and animals, it purifies ground and air and enables life to exist. Rain evokes a sense of freedom, and a gift from the sky: rain should not be wasted as it is a valuable resource.

	Rain Kit is a range of outdoor PVC street furniture objects designed to act as ‘accessories’ to lamp posts in city streets. As decorative features, they also protect pedestrians enabling them to enjoy the rain while out on the street.
	The Superdry multifunctional outdoor street furniture is made from recycled PVC pipes and membranes. It provides shelter from rain or sun and can be fitted with a system for collecting rainwater.
	Pipette’s rainwater recovery concept turns into a multi-sensory experience involving touch, sight and hearing. This novel accessory for balconies re-uses end-of-life PVC pipes and fittings for catching rainwater to water plants and as a bird feeder.
	For those who want to enjoy the rain while keeping cosy and dry, the Raindow concept features a PVC frame with a projecting triangular ‘window’ floating on the external wall providing a 180 degree view to the outside.
	Indra is an outdoor PVC and glass relaxation cubicle with an opening roof that allows users to control the amount of the rain entering the space. It can also collect rainwater for cleaning cars or watering the garden.
	RainLAB, is an educational children’s game consisting of modules made from recycled PVC attached with a magnet to the outer glass of the window. Internal knobs allow the child to change their positions from inside the house. The falling rain ‘animates’ these shapes before it is collected in special containers.

 

 

 

 

Check the other 2015 projects here:
http://www.vinylplus.eu/community/communications-projects/2015-2