In the early 1960s, Dutch businessman Alfred “Freddy” Heineken visited the Dutch Antilles in the Caribbean. Amidst the islands’ beauty, he discovered discarded garbage, including empty beer bottles. This sparked a unique idea in his mind – to transform glass beer bottles into building bricks.
h/t: vintag.es
Heineken approached John Habraken, director of the Foundation for Architects’ Research (SAR), with an innovative concept. The goal was to create a reusable bottle that could be used as a building block after its initial use. Habraken accepted the challenge and designed a bottle specifically for construction, although it differed from Heineken’s original vision.
The WOBO (World Bottle) design, featuring flat sides, relief, and a concave bottom, was the ultimate outcome. Heineken manufactured 100,000 bottles in two sizes (35 cl. and 50 cl.) at the Vereenigde Glasfabrieken in Leerdam in 1964 and subsequently obtained a worldwide patent for this design.
Despite its innovative design and potential for recycling, the WOBO bottle faced resistance within Heineken’s marketing division due to concerns about damaging the company’s image and liability. However, Heineken showcased the bottle’s potential by constructing a garden-house entirely made of WOBO bottles.
A decade later, British critic and professor of architecture and design Martin Pawley published ‘Garbage Housing’, showcasing Heineken’s WOBO garden-house on its cover. This sparked renewed interest in the project, prompting Habraken to once again approach Heineken. Heineken reaffirmed his support for the initiative.
The SAR team expanded their vision by involving other industries like Dura, Philips, Van Leer Packaging, and Pon’s Automobielhandel. The plan was to construct a WOBO building at the Technical University Eindhoven to serve as SAR’s office. Unfortunately, due to disagreements between TU Eindhoven’s governing body and Alfred Heineken, this ambitious project was never realized.
Despite its challenges, the story of the WOBO bottle is a testament to innovative thinking and sustainable design.
