Architectural Design V-IX: Waste Ecologies (GD C.Baumann)

Abstract

In healthy ecosystems there is not such a thing as waste, as every discarded component get digested, transformed, or reused. Is this also an option for places resulting of the accumulation of our anthropogenic wastes? Which ecologies might emerge from a site as the Pila landfill in Fribourg?

Objective

We will use the décharge de la Pila, located in Hauterive in the canton of Fribourg as a case study to explore the ecological potential of this type of anthropogenic landscapes. This will allow us, in an iterative process between site and studio, to understand the site, identify its potential and propose appropriated landscape strategies. The semester will be divided in three phases. During the first stage, every group will be assigned a specific topic related to either waste, soil, water or ecosystem services, and will have to get acquainted with the topic and its implication within the site boundaries. The production of a series of maps, sections, drawings and diagrams will allow to review and cartography the characteristics of the given landscape. The first review will require to show an objective analysis of the given ecosystem and will also need to comprise a sensitive reading, supported by the collection of various landscape artefacts (leaves, stone, or water samples, amongst others). During the second part of the semester, landscape scenarios will be developed in order to understand the potential of the chosen landscape intervention. They will aim to develop a vision anticipating the development of the proposal over time on the territory. The use of GIS cartography will furthermore permit to grasp the various layer of complexities of that given territory. This work will be supplemented by the realisation of an ecological section at the scale 1:20, showing an informed view of the interaction between soil, fauna and flora. One or two scenarios may be presented during the mid-term review. Within the last stage of the semester, each group will be asked to detail the chosen scenario and will furthermore have to demonstrate how the resulting project brings ecological and social values to the site. This will be supported by the creation of a non-human narrative. Throughout the semester, external inputs on experts in the field of landscape, territory, soil and ecology will allow to enrich the discussion of the studio.

Content

Nested in the meanders of the Sarine river, the Pila in Fribourg is one of the biggest landfill site in Switzerland and was used up to the 1970s to deposit household and industrial waste. The hill of twenty meters in height accumulated over its twenty years of existence a volume of 270,000 m3 of discarded scrap. It was later discontinued, covered up with soil and densely planted, with the aim to give to the dump the appearance of nature and with the hope it would soon be forgotten. Alas, the Pila landfill came back to the news in the 2000s, when it appeared that leak of toxic materials including heavy metals, solvents, and other chemical compounds had been poisoning the river ecosystem, leading to a ban on fishing in the area. As of today, some works on the banks to prevent erosion have been undertaken and a proposal to sanitize the landfill by excavating two-thirds of its mass elsewhere still needs to be implemented. Population concentration and boundless consumption have led our societies to generate a colossal amount of waste and associated pollutions. While a few of those leftovers are being recycled or reused, the overwhelming majority are still dumped in landsite scattered around our landscapes. Household waste comprises somehow surprisingly only a small part of all refuses, the overwhelming majority of all waste coming from the construction industry. The biggest part is composed of excavation material generated by digging for buildings and roads (rocks, earth, gravels), as well as rubble coming from demolition sites (scrap of materials, concrete or bricks parts, and associated construction waste). It is estimated that forty million cubic meters of excavated rock and earth are produced annually, equivalent to fifteen times the Great Pyramid of Giza and representing, hence, the largest waste stream in Switzerland. The Pila landfill is exemplary of what Jane Hutton calls a reciprocal landscape, related to transformation elsewhere. We can only imagine how many demolition sites and construction projects have contributed to the formation of the landfill. We would like to glimpse this semester at the not so shiny side of the construction industry: the place where rubble of demolished buildings are scattered, where redundant material ends up, and where superfluous excavated materials are unloaded. Which kind of landscape arises from those? In healthy ecosystems there is not such a thing as waste, as every discarded component get digested, transformed, or reused, becoming a resource of nutrients or energy for another organism. Is this also an option for places resulting of the accumulation of our anthropogenic wastes? Which ecologies might emerge from such places as the Pila landfill? As Paola Viganò questions in her book “The Biopolitical Garden”, what role can space play in maintaining and promoting life? We will investigate how landscape practices may support the emergence of novel types of ecologies and provide a hopeful approach to those anthropogenic landscapes, both ecologically conscious and devoid of nostalgia.

Resources