Noah’s Ark for “war criminals”

Keywords:

Aquatic urban planning,Megastructures,Refuge es，Water pollution

Individual work

December 2021 - March 2022

Instructor: Feiran XU

Location: Tonle Sap Lake Siem Reap Cambodia

The project is located in the Tonle Sap Lake area in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. However, it is full of problems. First of all; the lake is inhabited mainly by the Vietnamese, who have had a "miserable life" in Tonle Sap, as they have been persecuted by the war in the early years and have no legal status in Cambodia, no access to the country's medical and educational resources, and even no electricity or drinking water. They have spent their lives on the water, unable to legally set foot on the land, barely surviving by fishing and driving boats. Here, they lack water and electricity but also have to work early and late to earn a living and face constant threats and evictions from the immigration authorities. Life is also made more difficult by the occasional attacks and extortion by the local Khmer people due to their different religious beliefs and habits. Secondly, During the 6-month dry season, as the lake's level drops, the lack of sanitation infrastructure causes the village water to become contaminated, odorous, and dangerous (pathogen concentrations reach 30-40,000 CFU/100 mL). Nearby, 200,000 stilted homes sit on seasonal floodplains, contributing to and intensifying the consequences of open defecation. The resulting faecal pollution – pathogens and biological oxygen demand (BOD) – threatens biodiversity, human health, livelihoods, and the economy of these areas. Intestinal illnesses and childhood stunting are commonly experienced in the Tonle Sap community, exhibiting the urgent need for a sustainable sanitation solution.