Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Project Conclusion

This project is not necessarily finished. I plan to revisit the styro-city in the future and continue to build upon it. I have far more images than those posted on this blog and they can probably only be truly appreciated at print scale. Each print is 17" in height and varying lengths from 20"-45". I hope to show this work publically in the future as well. If it is shown, I hope you can all view the work.

I am currently working on a project about green buildings in Massachusetts. Massachusetts has actually taken the lead in LEED Certified architecture in the country. I hope to have a blog for this project as well, and plan to have a url for you all soon.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Fourth Set




The panorama is too large to upload at the moment. I will reduce the file size in the near future and try to upload that image as well.

Third Set


Second Set



First Set of new city



Wednesday, April 2, 2008

New Work

I have rebuilt and the city is progressing well at this point. I will have new images up very shortly.

Monday, February 25, 2008

The Composition of Styrofoam

Some of you were curious about what Styrofoam was made from. It is essentially Polystyrene with a blower. Polystyrene is a hard brittle plastic. Most disposable plastic cups are made from Polystyrene.

Styrofoam is made from Benzene, Styrene and Ethylene. Benzene is extracted from coal. It can also be found in gasoline. Benzene is a clear, colorless liquid with a noted "pleasant" smell. Another common name for Benzene is coal tar. It is the most toxic component of Styrofoam. It can be absorbed through your skin or from breathing. On the Hazardous Substance List it is described as a mutagen, a carcinogen, and flammable.

Styrene (Styrene Monomer) is a clear oily liquid with a slight odor. It is "cracked" or extracted from petroleum oil. Styrene is toxic in high levels. It is reactive, flammable, and a mutagen.

Ethylene is a colorless gas that is cooled to become a liquid. It is injected into the Benzene and Styrene. It is called a blower. Ethylene is what makes the Styrofoam a light bubbly plastic. Ethylene encourages plant growth in almost all plants and is generally used as a refrigerant. It is non-toxic, but still flammable.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

!!!!! Problems !!!!!

With the current model city I was having many difficulties acheiving the look and feel that I wanted to portray in my photographs. I decided to start construction from scratch, reusing the same cups of course. The new images will be posted in two weeks or less, hopefully. The style of construction will be very different and hopefully that will allow me to produce images that better represent the concept behind this project. If you have any ideas or reactions on this topic or about the images, please leave comments. I would really like to hear from you.

Stage 1 Continued





Stage 1




These and the following images show the progression and expansion of the city and the death of the tree.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

500 years to dissolve

Styrofoam cups make up 40-60% of the volume in our nation's landfills. Styrofoam takes 500 years to dissolve, but when packed into landfills it can take nearly a millenium. Styrofoam is composed of three major chemicals, each of which is hazardous in its own way. When styrofoam dissolves, these chemicals seep into the ground water. Burning styrofoam is also extremely hazardous to the environment. When styrofoam is burned it releases over 900 different toxins into the air. This is why we should not use styrofoam products. The green alternatives like eco-foam work equally well and do not present such danger to the environment. People need to take care of the environment if they expect it to sustain civilization.