The house that was made of plastic

All photos: Eugene-eu (via English Russia)

The experimental property was created by Soviet architects in the 1960s, with an aim to test the use of plastic as a construction material. The designers took plastic's qualities, from its light weight and cheap cost to its malleable form, and molded them to fit a home.

Located in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), the studio unit contained everything from a terrace to a kitchen-bathroom combo, all featuring the kind of fixtures and fittings of which Barbie would approve.

The property sat on a glass-based pedastal, which contained heating and ventilation equipment, but the rest was Pure plastic: The windows were made of plexiglass. The plumbing? Viniplast. The wallpaper? PVC film. It might not sound cosy but the 14-centimetre walls were reportedly as effective at containing heat as insulated walls that were two-feet thick.

What happened to the building? It was unfortunately dismantled after the Soviet's team finished their experiments, standing tall and shiny for three years.

The plastic property then formed the basis for many modern home-building techniques, even inspiring a five-storey plastic building in Moscow.

It sounds strange now to think that a plastic house once existed, but as technology moves forward and the world finds its population in desperate need of accommodation, the notion of plastic properties may not be so far-fetched. 3-D printers, for example, are racing to be able to fabricate their first full home, which would be made out of similar materials.

Would you live in a house made of plastic? Soviet Russia may have raised the question five decades ago - but it may not be long until you ask yourself the same thing.