Architecture Venice Biennale 2016
Fondamenta Arsenale, Venice, Italy
Waste Farming
AGi Architects
Principals
Nasser B. Abulhasan, Joaquín Pérez - Goicoechea
Project Team
Justo Ruiz Granados, Aisha Al Sager, Daniel Munoz, Medranda, Ali Al Yousifi, Shahad Al Khatrash, Lucia Azurmendi, Marta Lozano, Samer Mohammad, Cristina Ruiz Nolasco, Pablo Sanchez de Vega Gutierez
Brief
This research project addresses the environmental impact on the Arabian (Persian) Gulf ecosystems by the rapid urbanization, industrialization and globalization of the last decades. It is an exploration into a new type of urbanism, one that is generated through interconnection of different self-sufficient mega ‘FARMS’. The engendered network will be then capable of transforming waste into new sources of energy and recycled materials, one that balance seasonal availability and local demand by transferring resources from unit to unit. Grounded on the ideas that underpin what is known as the “ecosystem approach” (EsA) and the protocols of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), it targets the recovery of natural spaces through principles of sustainable development through a cross-border strategic plan. It acknowledge that social, economics and the environmental issues are mutually supportive, required a balanced relationship, and should be considered essential elements of the ecosystem at present and in the future (Khan, 1997).
These experimental mega platforms will be located along the Gulf coast, close to human activities center. Considered as experimental buildings/infrastructures, they will be constantly transforming depending on waste sources and demands resulting from the new Gulf developments, and will act as the framework for the specialized spaces within them. Boubyan farm is intended to be the first eco-regenerator prototype to be implemented in the region, becoming the catalyst for the restoration of the damaged ecosystems of Kuwait Bay and the delta of Khawr az-Zubayr River.
The proposal is based on a holistic analysis of the existing ecosystems of the Gulf, the impact and effects of pollution on them, the processes of waste management, and an overview of advanced technologies with regards to waste treatment, energy generation and the rehabilitation of ecosystems. The goal is to identify opportunities for reusing, recycling or composting residues produced locally, as well as highlight environmentally friendly ways of energy generation associated with the particular Gulf climate, that could later be applied in our prototype FARM. The target is to create a self-sufficient energy scheme, based on tested technologies and/ or similar facilities running currently around the world, that demonstrate new ways of city management and environmentally friendly urban solutions in areas with extreme climate conditions. The project also addresses the need for generating multi-national recovery strategies for local ecologies, of which water bodies constitute one of the most stressed ecosystems in the world. This research also explores the formal expression of this new urbanism through a sequence of experimental models. Each physical model will relate to a certain type of process or strategy, generating a self-regulated, composite structure.
Experience & Involvement
A second participation for the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016, was involved in the data collection and precedent studies for this phase of the submission. Part of the kick off team, to gather and document any viable source material in regards for the Gulf region, regarding the theme of waste, not limited to production, transportation, yet to re-use possibilities. Documenting precedent examples, on recycling systems, built or theorized, waste management, bio-fuel generation. After collecting and organizing the content from all team members, it was handed over to the design team.
