Featuring recycled materials to the tune of 2,000 tires, 5,000 glass bottles, 2,000 cubic meters of cardboard and 8,000 aluminum cans, what is being billed as Latin America’s first environmentally sustainable public elementary school has opened its doors in Uruguay this month. The school, built over six weeks with the help of 100 volunteers coordinated by U.S. architect Michael Reynolds, can accommodate up to 100 students. Through last year, classes in the community of Jaureguiberry 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Montevideo had been held in a rented house with space for only 34 students. The new school, which opened on March 28, features walls made with bottles, cans, dirt-filled tires and cement-coated cardboard, and includes a large glass façade designed to draw... [Log in to read more]