Rainbow Hued Recycling Skyscraper Collects and Sorts Trash

If you're like us and find yourself unsatisfied with your building's shoddy <a href="http://inhabitat.com/recycling-initiatives/">recycling policies</a>, you may want to think about moving to this <a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010/09/16/lego-style-shipping-container-skyscraper-inspired-by-mondrian/">colorful complex</a> called the <a href="http://www.ctbuh.org/Research/DesignResearch/Nottingham/20092010VerticalCommunities/DesignResponses/RecyclingTower/tabid/1681/language/en-US/Default.aspx">Recycling Tower</a>. Designed by Minh Ngoc Phan &amp; Sim Lee Yee, the residential tower doesn't just house a small recycling center on the ground floor like most buildings do - the entire thing actually <em>is</em> a recycling center. Each modular apartment has its own built-in compartments for residents to use to sort glass, metals, paper, plastics and organic matter, which are then transported to a large scale recycling center via color-coded vacuum pipes that also lend to the brightly hued facade of the tower.

The project takes advantage of its location at the center of a network of skybridges, which allows it to act as a hub to also gather <a href="http://inhabitat.com/recycling-initiatives/">recyclables</a> from neighboring towers.

Every apartment has its own mini station where inhabitants can sort their own recyclables - which we think is smarter and more efficient than collecting everything all together and then having an outside company sort through it like some big buildings currently do.

Once the waste has made its way to the tower from other buildings, it then descends to the ground floor via color-coded pipes.

And since it would only be appropriate, the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010/09/16/lego-style-shipping-container-skyscraper-inspired-by-mondrian/">colorful tower</a> is clad in recycled corrugated steel sheets.

The designers also incorporated a system of aluminum blinds and louvres on each apartment to allow for <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/daylighting">daylighting </a>and natural ventilation.

A plan showing the basic layout of the towers.