[wordup] Spiral Island - Man made island from plastic bottles

[Adam Shand]

Completely awesome.  WANT!

Source: http://ecoble.com/2007/11/18/250000-bottles-amazing-recycled-mexican-island-paradise/

Man (Re)Builds Mexican Island Paradise on 250,000 Recycled Floating  
Bottles

November 18, 2007

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2045197689_df8c00317f_o.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 150064 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.spack.org/pipermail/wordup/attachments/20090916/96ac80f7/attachment.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------


If you can?t afford to buy your own tropical island paradise, why not  
build your own? That is exactly what Richie Sowa did back in 1998,  
from over a quarter-million plastic bottles. His Spiral Island,  
destroyed years later by a hurricane, sported a two-story house, solar  
oven, self-composting toilet and multiple beaches. Better yet, he has  
started building another one! His ultimate goal? To build the island  
bigger and bigger and finally float out to sea, traveling the world  
from the comfort of his own private paradise.

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2045197861_dd1ba45739_o.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 109579 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.spack.org/pipermail/wordup/attachments/20090916/96ac80f7/attachment-0001.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------


The original Spiral Island was (as its successor will be) built upon a  
floating collection used plastic bottles, all netted together to  
support a bamboo and plywood structure above. Located in Mexico, the  
original was 66 by 54 feet and was able to support full-sized  
mangroves to provide shade and privacy, yet also able to be moved from  
place to place by its creator as need with a simple motorized system.

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2045198181_1d785bddcd_o.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 144736 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.spack.org/pipermail/wordup/attachments/20090916/96ac80f7/attachment-0002.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------


An environmentalist to the core, Sowa is also an artist and a  
musician. More than just the universal dream of an island retreat,  
Spiral Island is also his vision for low-impact sustainable living.  
The next version of the island will be built to withstand more  
treacherous weather than the first and will also be located in a more  
sheltered part of Mexico?s waters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvn9l1pJ3-A

The Above Ripley?s Believe-it-or-Not video is a great introduction to  
the island, which conjures images of Gilligan-done-right. Spiral  
island is able to exist and move about in Mexico in part because it is  
classified as a ship, not an island, like an atoll out of WaterWorld  
(only much much cooler). On September 7, 2007 the new Spiral Islander  
social network utility was opened to the public to allow visitors,  
Spiral Islanders and friends of Richie Sowa to connect and communicate  
about the history of Spiral Island and to learn more and discuss  
Richie Sowa?s new Spiral Island. Want more islands? See these 7 Island  
Wonders of the World from WebUrbanist.