ScrapHouse: San Francisco

Directed by Anna Fitch and aired on the National Geographic Channel, ScrapHouse documents a challenge in 2005 to design and build a house on San Francisco's Civic Plaza in just six weeks—in time for United Nations World Environment Day—using only trash and salvage materials (plumbing was unnecessary because the house would be demolished afterward). The film focuses on those who made it happen: Laurence Kornfield, the city's chief building inspector; John Peterson, the architect; Pat Buscovich, a structural engineer; John Pollard, the general contractor; and Flash, a “garbage guru” and salvage master. With seven days left, 90% of the construction work remained to be done; with three days to go, tempers flared and Pollard threatened to pull his subcontractors off the job. Pollard was persuaded to stay, but with only 14 hours remaining, the interior still needed to be finished and furnished. Ultimately, the walls were shingled with scraps of sheet metal, city traffic signs, shower doors, and windows left over from a skyscraper construction project; the floor consisted of discarded solid-core doors. Junked computer keyboards sprayed with fireproof white paint and lengths of retired hoses from the San Francisco Fire Department added texture to the interior. After seeing what's possible with recycled materials, viewers may be tempted to build their own scrap house—just for, uh, fun. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Zoretich)