03/31/2005 07:06:00 PM 
While Colbert's photographs are remarkable, the architecture is ingenious. The 45,000 sq ft museum is crafted out of shipping containers and recycled materials. Again, it's a Japanese architect leading the way, in this case, Tokyo based, Shigeru Ban.
Ban has built something of a reputation for using recycled materials; he even built a paper church in Japan. With the museum, Ban uses paper tubes and one million pressed paper tea bags.
Reclamation is a huge largely un-tapped area for brand design and architecture. There seems to be a constant quest to create and manufacture things out of fresh, new materials. One brand that's built a business around this idea is Switzerland's Frietag,two brothers, who make messenger bags out of various recycled plastics, including the vinyl coverings from trucks.
Here's a piece of the brand story, that's pretty interesting in terms of their philosophy and values. It's a very rough translation!
The Freitag Bros. are no longer making their bags in their apartment. They've got themselves a nice 'n neat little business with a couple of employees, a worthwhile home page (www.freitag.ch) and all that. The bags aren't sewn on-site anymore, they are outsourced to a manufacturing facility employing disabled people. So you've got that social aspect too - apart from the ecologist aspect of wearing all recycled materials. This is serious. Words like 'innovation', 'creativity' and 'niches' and other linguistic straws people use to make sense in the area of consumer products feel right at home here. Freitag bags are like a little spark in the dark, telling you: Look - it IS possible to just make a good product - even in times where everybody else has restricted their productivity to the buying and selling of stocks and bonds.
A bag for the politically correct Kindergarten teacher and the light-green/pale-red eco-socialist? Sure. But there is also this hipster appeal of individuality. To hell with that! Mass markets have managed to flatten out every trend - and the worst thing about that is they deprive me of the feeling of being different myself. It always catches up. I could just about see it happening in this case too. And that's mean, I mean mean.
With growing concerns about the environment, a more demanding consumer and increased pricing for raw materials, reclaimed will be an important part of product design in the years to come.
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