KOTA KINABALU: Once a dilapidated telecommunications office and staff quarters, a double-storey structure near here has now become an artwork of reused glass bottles.

       The change is not only about the aesthetics; the renovation is also aimed at creating environmental and recycling awareness among the community.

       The glass wall of the building in Tanjung Aru measures about 16m in length and 6m in height, and is covered in over 40,000 glass bottles that have been cut, washed and cleaned to give the main wall a stained glass-like effect.

       It serves as a feature wall; its nature-themed design animated by changing light as patterns wander across the floor when light penetrates through the glass.

       Once the main office for the first Telekom Malaysia wireless centre in the state, this building was then turned into workers’ quarters before it was left vacant following various changes and restructuring in the company.

       In 2019, after a tender was offered for rental of the building, local NGO the Sabah Recycling Association (Ripple) and upcycling companies JF Production and Ecocastle, which won the bid, turned the property into an awareness and education centre.

       Japson Wong of JF Production said the project began sometime in April this year after other parts of the building were renovated.

       They were tasked to design, put up and construct the glass wall.

       Partner Ecocastle was in charge of funding the project, while Ripple collected donations in the form of materials, especially used glass bottles.

       “Our rough estimate at first was to collect around 40,000 bottles. But we had to source for over 50,000 bottles as many were unsuitable, broken and damaged during construction,” he said.

       Wong said the cost of the wall itself amounted to about RM30,000 with the funds used to buy other materials and to pay construction workers.

       He hoped that Sabahans would be able to learn more about the recycling of waste items through such projects.