SAN FRANCISCO -- One you can take in the rain. One you can't.

Free Design Clinic, a group of architects trying to promote creative recycling, have one of the more interesting exhibits at West Coast Green, the big environmental building and decorating show taking place in San Francisco this week. The group takes household garbage and makes it useful. There are a few herb gardens constructed out of plastic water bottles.

The thing in the center of the picture is a yurt constructed from hyperextented umbrellas. On hot days, people gather under it, said Jason Harm, a member of Free Design. (In his spare time, he works for a national architecture firm – recently he worked on a new stadium in Dallas.) Don't stand up too quickly, however. You can get poked.

In the background is a pile of old cardboard tubes screwed together to form a chair. It supported both Jason and I at the same time (it's big enough for two). It was actually quite comfortable.