10/1/2015

BBCFutureTurningwasteintobuildingblocksofthefuturecity

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DesigningInnovation

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Beyond Limits

Modern cities create vast quantities of waste. But rather than causing a crisis, could these overflowing
landfills help create urban landscapes of the future? In the third of Building Tomorrows expert viewpoints,
urban designer Mitchell Joachim looks at ways our trash can be turned into treasure.
ByMitchellJoachim
28May2013

Citieswereinventedforamultitudeofpurposes.Firstwastheneedfortheconcentrationofvital
resourcesinagivenregionthencametheirroleasplacesforworship,trade,governmentalcontrol
andmilitarydefence.Butinourmodernage,urbanspaceswereconceivedandshapedprimarily
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aroundmassmarketindustrialisation.
Todaytheconsequencesofthepostindustrialcityhavehadanincredibleimpactontheenvironment.
Itiswidelyacceptedcitiesimpingeonareaswellbeyondtheirborders.Wastestreamsincitiesare
theleadingfactorinpollutionoftheareasoutsidetheirgeopoliticalboundaries.
Urbanwastemustbereconfiguredourtimehasrunout.ReportsofgarbageproblemsfromNaples
inItalytoBeijinginChinaunderscorethesizeoftheproblem.Landfillsarefilledandincinerators
havethepotentialtoreleasepoisonssuchasdioxin.Wemusthaveanewstrategytowardsrefusein
urbanplaces,onethatincludesthedesignofconsumablesinthefirstplace.Manyconceptsexist
already,butwhataresomeofthemostradicalsolutionstoourwastefulways?
Recently,theplanetreached400partspermillionofcarbonintheatmosphereforthefirsttime
sincemodernhumansevolved.Reversingsuchwastefulhabitswillrequiretremendouseffort,as
minusculechangeswillnotalterthiscourse.Humanityhasreacheditspeakofoneway
consumption.
Nowisthetimetodesignwastetoregenerateourcities.Whatarethepossibilitiesforurban
environmentsafterouragedinfrastructureisrecalibrated?Howmightbiggercitiesandwastemix?
Onekeyideaisthatwasteisnotrecycledthroughinfrastructuralmechanismsbutinsteadupcycled
inperpetuity.
Allovertheglobemunicipalwasteisontherise.InChina,theamountofmunicipalsolidwaste
producedisrisingby6%peryear.IthaskeptpacewiththerapidurbanizationinChina.Manypartsof
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SouthAmericaarealsorapidlyurbanisingandtheirwastehasgrownwithit.Braziliancitieshavehad
asteady10%increaseinwasteheadedforlandfills.Indiawillseea500%increaseinewaste
materialsfromcellphones,TVs,refrigeratorsdestinedforurbanlandfills.Alotofitisimportedfrom
developedcountries.SouthAfricaandChinawillalsohavetodealwith400%moregarbagefrom
foreignewaste.
Mankindwillhavetosolveourwasteproblemincities.Ifwedont,itllbetheendofus.Therearea
numberofpossiblesolutions,andsomeofthemarealreadybeingadopted.
Supersizedwaste
Thefirstcrediblestepistoreducetrashbyconsideringthelifecycleofobjectswemake.Thingsthat
aredesignedforobsolescenceshouldbeoutlawed.Additionally,productsmustbemanufacturedwith
theintenttoreuse,disassemble,takebackorupcycle.Forinstance,insteadoftossingoutbottleswe
couldadaptthemforuseasplanters,lightingfixtures,buildingwallelements.
Othercitieshavehighlyorganisedsystemstosolvetheseproblems.InZurich,thecityrequires
individualspayhandsomelyforwastethatissimplydiscarded,whilethoroughrecyclingis
encouragedbyfreecitywidecollectionservices.Thereforewellover90%ofmunicipalwasteinside
Zurichisrecycledandsenttoincineratorstoproduceenergy.Burningwasteisnottheanswer
butitdoeshaveopportunitiesinthemidterm.Itrequiressubstantialneedforenforceableregulations,
comprehensiveindustrycontrols,economicfeasibilityplans,andthelatestultraexpensivetechnology
suchasplasmagasificationplants.
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InsimilarlydevelopedcitiesMalmo,Tokyo,orCopenhagenitmakessensetouseawasteto
energyprocesses.Theseprevailingurbanpopulationsarestableandeasilytaxedtosupportsucha
systemnotsoeasyindevelopingcitiessuchasLagosorJakarta.
Outreachprogramsthatinvitethepublictoobservecivicwastesystemsasaspectacleare
instrumentalinspreadingawareness.TheHangzhouEnvironmentalGroupinChinahasover10,000
touristsayearvisitingitslandfillfacility.FreshkillslandfillinNewYorkwillbetransformedintothe
largestpublicparkinover100yearsthatwillshowcaseengineerednaturefromwaste.Cuba,an
islandnationthathasbeencutofffromtradeimports,hasconservedalmosteverythingthrough
carfulrecyclingofpartsfrom1950scarstoeyeglasses,nothingiswasted.
LookathowsuchasystemmightaffecttheUS.Americaistheleadcreatorofwasteontheearth,
makingapproximately30%oftheworld'strashandtossingoutaroundthreequartersofatonper
UScitizenperyear.Itseemsvaluehasdevolvedintorampantwasteproduction:megaproducts
scaledforsupersizedfranchisebrands,bigboxretail,XXLjumboparaphernaliaandsoon.TheUS
mindsetistypifyingathrowawayconsumerculture.Wheredoesitallendup?HeatherRogerssaid
inherinvestigativebookGoneTomorrowthatthrowingthingsawayisunsustainable.Thefirststep
wemusttakeisreductionmeaningamassivediscontinuationofobjectsdesignedfor
obsolescence.Thenweneedaradicalreuseplan.Ourwastecrisisisimmense.Whatisourcallto
action?
NewYorkCityiscurrentlydisposingofnearly33,000tonsofwasteperday.Previously,mostofthis
discardedmaterialendedupinFreshKillsonStatenIsland,beforeoperationswere
blocked.ManhattansinhabitantsdiscardenoughpaperproductstofilltheEmpireStateBuilding
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everytwoweeks.TerreformONEsRapidRe(f)useandHomewayprojectsstrivetocapture,reduce
andredesignNewYorksrefuseinfrastructure.Theinitiativeimaginesanextendedcityreconstituted
fromitsownjunkedmaterials.Theconceptremakesthecitybyusingallthetrashentombedinthe
FreshKillslandfill.Theoretically,themethodshouldproduce,atminimum,sevennewManhattan
Islands.NewYorkCityspremierlandfillwasstartedbythedivisiveurbanplannerRobertMosesand
drivenbyapatheticworkersandmachines.Now,guidedbyaprudentcommunitywithsmart
equipment,wemustreshapeit.
Smarttrash
Howcouldthiswork?Outsizedautomated3Dprinterscouldbemodifiedtorapidlyprocesstrashand
tocompletethetaskwithindecades.Thesepotentialautomatonswouldbeentirelybasedonexisting
techniquescommonlyusedinindustrialwastecompactiondevices.Toaccomplishthisjob,nothing
drasticallynewneedstobeinvented.Mosttechnologiesareintendedtobeofftheshelf.Insteadof
machinesthatcrushobjectsintocubes,compactiondevicescouldbenefitfromadjustablejawsthat
wouldcraftsimpleshapesintosmartpuzzleblocksforassembly.Theblocksofwastematerialcould
bepredetermined,usingcomputationalgeometries,inordertofitdomes,archways,lattices,windows,
orwhateverpatternswouldbeneeded.Differentmaterialscouldservespecifiedpurposes:
transparentplasticforfenestration,organiccompoundsfortemporarydecomposablescaffolds,
metalsforprimarystructuresandsoon.Eventually,thefuturecitywouldmakenodistinctionbetween
wasteandsupply.
Ifyouthinkthissoundsfamiliar,itis.Thinkbacktothe2008PixaranimationWALLE.At
approximatelythesametimethatRapidR(e)fusewasinitiated,themoviewasannounced.WALLEs
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nameisanacronym:WasteAllocationLoadLifterEarthClass.Leftbehindbymankind,hetoilswith
trillionsoftonsofnonrecycledinnercitytrash.Hetirelesslyconfiguresmountainsofdiscarded
material.Whypyramidsoftrash?WALLEsdailyperpetualfeatsseemalmostfutile.Thefilmomits
exactlywhyheisprogrammedtopilerefuseandthereistheshortcoming.
Theresadeepermotivationforstackingrefuse.Whatiftherubbishwasrefabricatedtobecomereal
urbanspacesorbuildings?Ifitisplausibletoadaptcurrentmachinery,howmuchmaterialis
available?Atfirstsight,anysanitarylandfillmaybeviewedasanamplesupplyofbuilding
materials.Heavyindustrialtechnologiescrushcarsortoautomaticallysortoutgarbagearereadily
available.3Dprintinghasexhaustingcapabilitiesifadjustedtolargerscales.ThisiswhereTerreform
ONEscitybegan.
Theenvisionedcitywouldbederivedfromtrashnotordinarytrash,butsmartrefuse.Asignificant
factorofthecitycomposedfromsmartrefuseisposttuningandwewouldhavetoadaptthisraw
materialforuse.Integrationintothecitytexturewouldbealearningprocess.Intime,theresponses
wouldeventuallybecomemoreattunedtotheneedsoftheurbandweller.Thisnewcitymaybebuilt
fromtrash,butitwillalsobeconnectedviacomputers.Thebuildingsblockswilllearn.
Cities,unlikemachines,aresimilartoacomplexecology.Ecologyiscapableofachievinga
continuousharmoniousstate,orevenfurther,apositiveintensification.Ifecologicalmodelsare
productivelyeverlasting,urbanmodelscanlogicallyfollow.
FormoreinourBuildingTomorrowseries,clickhere.Ifyouwouldliketocommentonthisstoryor
anythingelseyouhaveseenonFuture,headovertoourFacebookpageormessageusonTwitter.
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Fit to burst
Theeffectsofadisposableconsumerculturehavecreatedalandfilltimebombacrosstheworld.Threebillionextrapeoplewill
addfurtherstrain.(Copyright:AFP/GettyImages)

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Flexible metals
Currently,wastemetalsarecrushedintocubes,butinthefuturetheycouldbecutintoshapeswhichcouldthenbeusedto
buildstructures.(Copyright:SciencePhotoLibrary)

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Protecting the city

OneofTerreformONEsplansistousepartsofderelictshipstocreateakindofbufferreeftohelpprotectcitiesfromtheeffect
ofstorms.(Copyright:TerreformONE)

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Re-use revolution
InCuba,tradeembargoeshavecreatedamakedoandmendcultureanattitudetherestoftheworldwillhavetoadoptin
thefuture.(Copyright:EmmanuelHuybrechts/Flickr)

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Bubble of opportunity
Methanecreatedbyrottingrubbishcouldbeusedtopowersmallpowerstationscreatinganotherenduseoutofourcity
waste.(Copyright:SciencePhotoLibrary)

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Electronic pollution
TheWestexportssomeofitswasteintheformofjunkedelectronicequipment,whichaddstolandfillissuesindeveloping
countries.(Copyright:SciencePhotoLibrary)

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Ever-growing mountain
PaperwillhavetoberecycledmoretoeasestrainonlandfillsNewYorkthrowsoutenoughtofilltheEmpireStateBuilding
everytwoweeks.(Copyright:SciencePhotoLibrary)

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