Dirty little secret : illuminating issues of wastefulness through architecture

Abstract

RESEARCH QUESTION: How can an architectural reinterpretation of Auckland’s waste infrastructure illuminate the wasteful nature of current waste management systems and disestablish common perceptions about waste?

AIMS / OBJECTIVES: The aim of this project is to illuminate Auckland’s current wasteful behaviours and consider a socially driven solution to the problem. The project seeks to encourage widespread positive ‘waste’ practices and disestablish current societal perceptions about waste.

To achieve these aims this research will: o Propose an architectural response that brings a dialogue about waste practices into the public realm

o Develop an alternative system that encourages non-wasteful behaviours

o Propose a satirical architectural response that reframes common perceptions of waste

The outcome of this project will be a Material Redistribution Leisure Centre located in Auckland, providing citizens an alternative system to mainstream waste management.

ABSTRACT: Waste is a social taboo, especially for New Zealanders who take pride in their nation’s environmentally friendly, clean green image. The reality is, waste management infrastructure, such as landfills, have successfully concealed waste from the public eye, rendering matters of waste out of sight and out of mind. This tendency to sweep issues of waste under the rug has resulted in spaces and systems of waste management that are designed under the misleading premise that ‘waste goes away’.

As our City’s hungry metabolism continues to deplete natural resources, burying waste in landfills will no longer be a viable option. Not only do landfills cause irreversible damage to the environment, polluting surrounding land, waterways and native wildlife, valuable resources are lost and underutilised. With Auckland’s waste expected to double in the next 10 years it is imperative an alternative solution is found.

This research project investigates the complexities of society’s relationship with waste. Examining existing waste infrastructure, the research reflects upon how social perceptions of waste have influenced the built environment, then imagines how manipulation of the built environment could, in turn, affect public attitudes and behaviours towards waste.

A satirical reinterpretation of Auckland’s waste management system is proposed that attempts to open up a dialogue about the inadequacy of current systems and reframes commonly held perceptions of waste.