Concrete bag tile made to look at size and imagine repetition. 

50 bags in chicken wire in center of concrete
22" x 22" x 4"

Concrete composites

Hempcrete (Tradical, Hemcrete wall systems) is a mixture of hemp hurds (shives) and lime (possibly including natural hydraulic lime, sand, pozzolans or cement) used as a material for construction and insulation.

>acts as insulator

>bricks absorb emissions

>stronger than concrete

Henry Miller, a graduate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, proposed the use of recycled granulated plastic embedded in concrete.

>integrity of concrete is the same

>plastic has a place other than landfills

>eliminates need to mine virgin aggregate 

The Habbakuk project took place during the late 1930s into WWII. In summary, the goal was to build an aircraft carrier out of Pykrete, a composite material made from approximately 14% saw dust (or some kind of wood pulp) and 86% ice.

>increased thermal resistance, did not melt nearly as fast as ice
>significantly stronger than ice
>easily and cheaply made and repaired

The Habbakuk project needed tests before building an aircraft carrier, so a test project was set up in Canada. (read more)

Concrete

This is an idea, looking at the integration of plastic bags in concrete.

The aim of the test is to:

>act as insulator (increase R value)

>propose as low cost flooring (indoor or outdoor)

>use bags accumulating in impoverished countries

top to bottom

20 torn bags homogeneous in concrete

20 bags stuffed together in center of concrete

20 bags in chicken wire frame in center of concrete 

messenger bag

Here is a clip from Make Magazine on how to take the lamination process further and make something functional.

LAMINATION

Laminating bags together using an iron.

>Bags become rigid when melted

>Varying thickness depending on # of bags

Properties

Properties of polyethylene

Plastic properties

SIZE

Demonstrating the size of plastic bags.

>10 pieces of packaging each made with 4 bags
>40 bags compress to about the size of a grapefruit