A company in Colombia is tackling plastic waste issues and affordable housing with a single ingenious solution: interlocking LEGO-like bricks that can be used to build houses for a few thousand dollars per structure. Walls are formed using a slim slotted brick then framed using a thicker module used for beams and columns, locking the smaller units into place and providing rigid vertical and lateral support.

Conceptos Plásticos is addressing their technology to rising populations of urban poor, families with the time but not financial means or materials to construct their own dwellings. The company works with locals to source plastic and create all kinds of spaces, including emergency shelters, community and educational buildings.

The upcycled plastic blocks are easy to use and require no construction experience. They are durable, fire- and earthquake-resistant and much cheaper than other available materials. The company estimates the lifespan of the blocks at 500 years.

“We hope to create a movement where more and more people get involved,” say the company founders. “We want to develop new products that make better use of the thousands and thousands of tons of plastic that is discarded.”

“There will soon be more plastic in the sea than fish, so we really need to do something big.” Recent projects using this novel material include a hostel for displaced victims of violence in the Colombian countryside.

With over $200 million from more than 3,500 supporters, the world’s largest crowdfunding campaign has generated the means to create the highest skyscraper in Colombia (and the first new one in 40 years).

The communal nature of the stake puts both the property and power in the hands of the contributors, who in turn receive stake in the finished structure being built in downtown Bogotá. This approach, facilitated by the Prodigy Network, also distributes the risk of this bold venture between those with the motivation to see it made a reality – primarily locals and others with a vested interest in the city’s future.

The structure will address a lack of dense vertical growth in a city that has suffered from sprawl, on the one hand, and too-busy streets on the other. It aims to create a residential, commercial and institutional focal point in a location “where tourism, culture, education and shopping are all together, but also where traffic and congestion demand different means of development.”

Green strategies include advanced water collection systems with graywater reuse, green roof elements, advanced natural lighting optimization and supplemental passive heating and cooling systems.

More statistics on the finished project: “When complete the BD Bacatá will be 66-stories high and 1.2 million square feet. Development will include office and retail space, apartments and a hotel. The 364-room hotel, located in the tallest tower of the complex will be operated by Eurostars, and feature such amenities as a business center, restaurant, cafeteria, and full-service gym providing hotel guests with above-and-beyond service to ensure their experience will be worth remembering.”