Project by Tony Chi-Tung Wu @wuchitung_
Plastic Assembly proposes a modular, decentralized system that transforms PET waste into civic infrastructure. Instead of hiding or discarding plastic, the project reframes it as a material for public labor, spatial value, and collective imagination. Built on a 330x330 cm grid, reused PET bottles form translucent bricks assembled into shelters, kiosks, workshops, and aquaponic gardens. Units combine into clusters that support three functions: plastic processing, food cultivation, and community gathering. At Manhattan’s Pier 45 and 46, modules host recycling stations, aquaponic systems, and public kitchens, while floating islands and mobile carts extend the network into neighborhoods. The system operates as an open scaffold—lightweight, adaptable, and replicable—foregrounding participation over permanence. Rather than resolving plastic as waste, Plastic Assembly builds civic rituals of reuse and collaboration, reclaiming plastic as a shared resource. The project envisions a post-plastic imagination where communities collectively shape new forms of public space.
