An idea from the Collaborative’s Infill Philadelphia: Industrial Sites Temporary Reuse Design Charrette has got legs and is on the move! The charrette brought together a diverse group, including designers, artists, community groups, and developer and Philadelphia native David Belt, the keynote speaker, to consider ways to enliven vacant sites through temporary installations.

Belt was inspired by the idea to create a place for people to break glass at a site in Fishtown. Working with his design team, his firm, Macro Sea built a transparent tower/box out of plexiglass, creating a space to hurl and shatter glass bottles from local bars. The glass is then recycled on-site. Check out the video below:

The Collaborative went on the road to Brooklyn, NY to see the Glassphemy! installation in action. Charrette participant Bethany Edwards – whose idea it was to create an area for breaking glass – threw out the inaugural bottle.

Read the NY Times story “A Smashing Idea: Eco-Friendly Aggression“.