A construction worker walks past the EcoArk building in Taipei. - Reuters TAIPEI – A Taiwan company has built a three-storey exhibition hall using 1.5 million plastic bottles instead of bricks to raise interest in recycling, creating what the builder described as a world-first. Far Eastern Group, a Taiwan-based conglomerate known for construction and financial services, commissioned the 130 meter (426 ft) long, 26 meter (85 ft) high structure almost three years ago and will donate it next month to the city government. Builders took bottles from Taiwan's waste stream for reprocessing into plastic containers that interlock strongly enough to block the elements and withstand storms or earthquakes. The pavilion, dubbed the EcoARK, includes an amphitheatre, museum space and a screen of falling water collected during rainy periods for air conditioning. The clear plastic containers in the wall allow natural light to flood the cavernous interior.
