An architect has invented plastic building blocks which his non-profit is using to construct housing for the city’s unhoused. Gordon Tokumatsu reports for the NBC4 News on June 29, 2023.
A building in El Monte was made in just four hours using plastic pieces that look like giant building blocks.
Eighteen people live in LifeArk El Monte, a permanent supportive housing complex for people transitioning out of homelessness.
“Doesn't feel plastic at all. Feels like a real home,” Sharon Downing, a resident and manager at LifeArk El Monte, said.
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Downing was experiencing homelessness for 17 years before she started living and working at the complex.
The giant building blocks are fire tested, insulated and can be assembled in hours. They can also be used to build walls, ceilings and floors.
Architect Charles Wee, the founder of LifeArk, created the blocks to help the housing crisis by quickly making homes that are safe, sustainable and affordable.
“We're going to have to start stamping houses out instead of building them from scratch” to help the problem, he said. “When you come in here, you will never know that you're living in a plastic box,” he said, referring to LifeArk El Monte.
Wee spent 40 years designing and building skyscrapers in Asia, but now, his goal is to find a quicker and cheaper way to house the unhoused.
LifeArk’s factory in Central California makes the pieces in hours through a process called rotary molding which is used to make kayaks and coolers.
The blocks interlock through extensions and grooves. They are made out of 30 percent recycled plastic, including water bottles, broken toys and shopping bags.
LifeArk is building low-income housing in West LA and San Luis Obispo using the blocks.
