HEMPOWER BIO-CONSCIOUS ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURAL FINAL PROJECT | RAFAEL SMITH
Undergraduate Thesis | Collaboration with Dr. Arch. Dikla Yizhar, Arch. David Robins and Arch. Ziv Leibo | The Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning | Spring Semester 2019
HEMPOWER BIO-CONSCIOUS ARCHITECTURE Reinstating Cannabis as a Sustainable, Dynamic Tool for Economical, Social and Environmental Revitalization
ARCHITECTURAL FINAL PROJECT | RAFAEL SMITH
6
9
15
25
50
101
120
4
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
CANNABIS + PURIFICATION
SOIL REMEDIATION | HEALING BY NATURE
METHODOLOGY
SUMMARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
5
Cannabis is reemerging in the global market as a valuable raw material with its unique biological properties and diverse applications. Many recent studies show the superiority of cannabis-based products in essentially every market compared to alternatives and regard it as being sustainable, zero waste and environmentally friendly. This new knowledge helps us recognize the inflicted damage imparted by legislative powers and reveals the otherwise hidden apparatus, demonstrated by the shift in opinion in favor of cannabis and the growing awareness of wide-spread crises such as global warming, pollution and depletion of non-renewable energy sources. The goal of this project is to examine the social, environmental and economic possibilities that would be created by redistributing Bio-power from the government to the citizens through the legalization of hemp and cannabis. Leveraging hemp’s phytoremediation ability to decontaminate soil, Hempower offers a viable, sustainable alternative to remediating and developing land in a five-stage process. By applying it to the former IMI weapon production factory in Tel Aviv, Israel, I hope to prove that from this toxic hazard can come opportunity—one that connects us back to nature and heals our community, economy and environment.
6
Image | Environmental Rejuvenation Through Phytoremediation with Hemp. IMI Systems Industrial Building, Tel Aviv, Israel. 7
“Make the most of the Indian hemp seed and sow it everywhere “ (George Washington)
8
INTRODUCTION
9
The last decade has witnessed cannabis emerging in the global market as a valuable raw material as more and more research is finding unique biological properties and diverse applications. Although cannabis’ extensive textile and medicinal use dates back five thousand years1 , a political shift in the 20th-century defined all cannabis plants as “schedule-1 drugs” in the United States, sharing the same classification with Heroin and 2 Meth . Furthermore, this classification set the precedent in dictating the world’s attitude regarding cannabis-related policy. It made no distinction between the different strains, such as cannabis with a psychoactive compound (THC) versus hemp, which has virtually none. At the time of writing in July 2019, this attitude is shifting as the cultivation of hemp, and even in some states, medical and recreational cannabis, are becoming legal allowing them to reemerge into the global market. The narrative surrounding cannabis can be better understood as an example of the relationship between authority and submissive subjects3 , and how a tool or apparatus can 4 be utilized to achieve political Biopower . This is the practice of nation states and their regulation of their subjects through numerous and diverse techniques for achieving the subjugations of bodies and the control of populations 5. That being said, the advancement of technology has democratized accessibility to information and has empowered communities in the pursuit of knowledge and truthful information6. This new knowledge helps us recognize the damage that was inflicted by the authorities. This recognition has been demonstrated by the shift in opinion towards the legalization of cannabis in the 21th century, and the growing awareness to combat environmental crises such as global warming, pollution and non-renewable energy sources throughout the world. These issues are becoming more and more pressing as the magnitude of man-made influences increase with population growth, technological advancement and urbanization, which have highlighted the dwindling quantity of lands suitable for development. This reduced amount of healthy land is mainly a result of air, water, and soil contamination7, which have disrupted micro and macro-ecosystems in a way that severely impedes urban development.
10
11
Diagram | Remediation process, generated and developed through legalization of hemp and cannabis, would introduce a natural and sustainable technology to the environment and society. This procedure demonstrates utilization of contaminated land with a phased operation, transforming it from a place of hazard to remediation. 12
I believe that misusing cannabis as a political tool has had the effect of distorting attitudes surrounding hemp and has ultimately denied its much-needed benefits for more than a century in the global market. Its potential as a medicine extends beyond the human8 body and reaches far into the Earth in its ability to remediate environmental contamination. While current methods used to cleanse the land from toxins are expensive and inefficient , using cannabis9 for phytoremediation, a technique using hyper accumulator plants to absorb the toxins has proven to be a sustainable, effective way of naturally decontaminating soil and water . Moreover, cultivating hemp in this manner would restore the natural ecosystem and opens opportunities for significant social and economic incentives on a local and global scale. From job creation to product innovation, hemp can serve as a valuable renewable raw material that has the power to revive a broken system and reshape urban ecological development. It is my intention to examine the social, environmental and economic possibilities that would be created by redistributing Bio-power from the government to the citizens through the legalization of hemp and cannabis. By applying hemp’s decontaminating ability, to the former IMI weapon production factory lot in Tel Aviv, Israel. This endeavor Empowers the local community and restores balance back to society, putting them and the environment in the center of attention. “Hempower“ offers a multi-functional, viable and sustainable alternative to remediating and developing land in a five-stage process over a period of 25 years. In the first chapter I will focus on cannabis’s controversial past and define its many unique uses and abilities, particularly as a phytoremediator. The second chapter will further explore soil contamination and identify the consequences of institutional and governmental corruption as it affects social and environmental climates. I will then elaborate on how this can be exemplified on a local scale in the site chosen in Tel Aviv. Finally, the third and final chapter will describe the methodology and scope of the proposed project, Hempower.
13
14
CANNABIS + PURIFICATION
15
INDUSTRIAL HEMP (Cannabis-Sativa)
Contains 20% CBD Contains less than > 0.3 % THC Psychoactive drug Tall, Long, Woody Biggest cash crop in the world Over 50,000 uses
16
MEDICAL CANNABIS (Cannabis-Indica)
Contains +10% CBD Contains ~20% THC Psychoactive drug Short, Bushy, Wide, Shrub Grown for medical and recreational uses
17
Cannabis, also known as pot or marijuana, has a long history of human use. Most ancient cultures did not grow the plant as a narcotic, but rather used it for its medicinal properties since 5000 10 BC . The cannabis and industrial hemp plants originally evolved in Central Asia from the same strain, Cannabis Sativa, but have different applications. The history of cannabis’ agricultural cultivation dates back to the early colonists in the New World, who also grew the strong, fast-growing plant for clothing, paper, rope, food, and 10 more . However, cannabis’ worldwide use dramatically halted as political and racial factors in the 20th-century led to the criminalization of cannabis in the United 10 States . In the United States, marijuana was not widely used for recreational purposes until the early 1900s. Mexicans who immigrated to the United States during the tumultuous years of the Mexican Revolution introduced smoking marijuana 11 recreationally to American culture . Massive unemployment and social unrest during the Great Depression stoked resentment of Mexican immigrants and ignited public fear of the “evil weed.” As a result, and consistent with the Prohibition era’s view of all intoxicants, 29 states had outlawed cannabis by 1931. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was the first federal U.S. law to criminalize marijuana nationwide. The Act imposed a tariff on the sale, transfer or possession of all hemp products, effectively criminalizing all but industrial uses of the plant. Industrial hemp continued to be grown domestically in the United States throughout World War II after the Philippines, a major source of imported hemp fiber, fell to Japanese forces. As part of the “War on Drugs,” the President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 into law 12, repealing the Marijuana Tax Act. This Act also effectively listed marijuana as a 18
Schedule One drug along with LSD, heroin and Ecstasy with no medical uses and a 12 high potential for abuse . Ultimately, it was this classification that set the precedent in dictating the world’s 20th century attitude regarding cannabis-related policy. Although cannabis is still illegal in most countries in the world, its evolving legal status is the subject of ongoing controversy in the United States and around the world. As of February 2019, several countries around the world have legalized industrial hemp, most notably in Canada, China and recently in all of the United States of America. In many states like Colorado, California and Washington and countries such as Canada and Uruguay, cannabis has been legalized for both medicinal and recreational use. These stand today as perfect case studies for other countries considering similar steps. Since these recent changes, the cannabis market is growing and actualizing its potential. We are now in the “Green Rush” era—a worldwide race in reclaiming cannabis. Locally speaking, in Israel, the illegality of cannabis is a left-over from the British Mandate Law prior to the establishment of the State of Israel. However, Israel is considered to have some of the most advanced cannabis research especially regarding its medical uses, thanks to an Israeli professor of organic medical chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who isolated and identified THC 13 and CBD in 1972 . Since then, and even more so in recent years, Israel has been easing restrictions by legalizing cannabis for medical use, allowing local farmers to export cannabis products, and investing in extensive research.
“By getting the public to associate the hippies with
marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities...Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course, we did“ (John Ehrlichman)
Mapping | Cannabis Global Legalization Map from Dark (Legal) to Light (Illegal). World 19
CANNABIS LEGALIZATION GRAPH - NORTH AMERICA 1937 The Marihuana Tax Act HR 6385 was enacted; this required a $1 tax stamp on the cultivation of marihuana and hemp. If somebody wanted to plant hemp, they would have to buy a tax stamp from the government. The issue for those in opposition of this tax related to the underhanded manner in which this tax was enacted. Which means the government is
1929 Henry Ford begins extensive research into the production of methanol (as a fuel) and the manufacture of plastics from renewable vegetable crops, including hemp.
1619
8000 B.C.
America's first hemp law is enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia, ordering all farmers to grow hemp.
Hemp fabric provides 80% of sustainable textiles.
not giving out any tax stamps. So
begins the prohibition of hemp and marijuana. 1938 The February issue of Popular Mechanics runs a story, (prepared before the 1937 legislation was enacted)titled: "New Billion Dollar Crop."
1776
4800 B.C.
First and second drafts of the Declaration of Independence are written on hemp paper.
Cultural artifact: vase decorated with hemp cords prints
1935 1790's George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grow hemp on their plantations
116 million pounds of hemp seed are used commercially in America to manufacture paint and varnish.
1936 1000 B.C
-5000
0
1800
Government Propoganda connecting calling Marijuana Reefer madness/Devil's weed, associating it with suicide and murder.
1916
Hemp is the world's largest agricultural crop, providing materials including fiber for fabric and rope, lamp oil for lighting, paper, medicine and food for both humans and domesticated animals.
U.S.D.A. publishes Bulletin No. 404, "Hemp Hurds As Paper- Making Material," extolling and demonstrating the outstanding qualities of paper manufactured from hemp-pulp, a new process. The document was printed on hemp-pulp paper and explained the new technology. Previously most all paper was made with the hemp fiber content of 'rag' (worn out clothing).
1900
1920
1948
CANNABIS LEGALIZATION GRAPH - ISRAEL
1964
Discovery of the sterochemical structrue of THC in Weizman Institute by Rafael Meshulam 1942
Pilot of Hemp Cultivation for industrial textile in Kibbutz Dafna--was stopped after a year of success
1940
20
1948
Cannabis is illegal due to the law left in israel from the British Mandate
1950
1963 Discovery of the sterochemical structrue of CBD in Weizmann Institute by Rafael Meshulam
1960
1970
1990
1942
U.S. government overrides its own ban on hemp and distributes 400,000 pounds of hemp seed to U.S
2019 United States legalizes hemp
farmers who produce 42,000 tons of hemp fiber annually to support the war effort until 1946. U.S. farmers, are inundated by "Uncle Sam" with incentives to grow hemp. The U.S.D.A. makes it mandatory for farmers to attend showings of the "Hemp For Victory" film. Farmers and their sons who agree to grow hemp are exempt from military service, even though America is at war.
2014 Colorado cannabis legalization.
1998 The Canadian government legalizes the commercial growth of industrial hemp.
1968 John Daniel Ehrlichman was counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. “The Nixon campaign,... had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people....by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news.
Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
1941
December issue of Popular Mechanics features a story on Henry Ford, showing a picture of the car he "grew from the soil." The automobile's "plastic panels with impact strength 10 times greater than steel were made from flax, wheat, hemp, and spruce pulp." The auto weighed 1/3 less than its 100% steel contemporaries.
2019 Canada legalizes all cannabis
1996 The Canadian federal government passed Bill C8 stating that mature hemp stalks are exempted from the list of controlled substances.
1979
1994
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT
Under the CNCA, one license was granted to a Canadian company, Hempline Inc., to grow hemp experimentally in Canada under the strict supervision of the harmful and dangerous drugs. Marijuana meets the criteria authorities. because of its THC content, which is a “psychoactive hallucinogenic substance with a high potential for abuse.”
classifies marijuana as "Schedule I" controlled substance, placing it among the most
1950
1970
1980
1990
2000
2019
2018
Pilot of Hemp Cultivation for industrial textile in Kibbutz Dafna once again 2019
Israel approves exportation of medical marijuana
2013
Medical Cannabis law approved
2017
2015
Prof. Dedi Meiri, Technion researcher, is the most advanced in the world. Writing a patent for the use of cannabis as a some cancer cure
2008 1999
"Ale Yarok" Party runs for Knesset for the first time
2000
Medical marijuana is available to sick patients
2010
2015
Failed attempt to decriminalize marijuana use
2020
21
Cannabis was once named the “Billion Dollar crop” for its diverse uses and 10 seemingly abundant potential . With the recent shift in perception towards the plant, this namesake has since proven to be fitting with cannabis-related stocks rising faster than any other global industry. The famous THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive component is found in medical cannabis and at the core of this “Green Rush”. It is sought after for its highly beneficial medicinal properties for a variety of prevalent diseases including: cancer, diabetes, hernia, glaucoma, epilepsy, and asthma14 and is in extensive demand for recreational use. Across the globe, the all-natural health benefits of CBD, a cannabidiol with no psychoactive effects, have resulted in a huge demand for its products. Aside from the plant’s medicinal uses, the hemp industry also thrives on the nutritional value that it offers. From the seeds to the leaves, hemp is considered a super-food for the human diet that can be transformed into a multitude of products. In addition to edible oils, the oil from hemp seeds and stalks can also be made into biofuels such as biodiesel — sometimes known as ‘Hempoline’ 10.
22
Head of research group estimates that Israel is losing 3 billion NIS per year by not legalizing Cannabis (only from recreational marijuana).
Hemp grown on 10% of could produce enough energy for the whole country of Israel
FLOWERS MEDICINE THC CBD
RECREATIONAL USE THC
SEEDS
PERSONAL HYGIENE Scalp Shampoo Bath gels Cosmetics Lotions Balms
FOOD
Animal feed Cooking and salad oil Margerine Food supplements
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS
LEAVES
Oil Paints Varnishes Printing Inks Fuel Solvents Lubricants Coating
SEED CAKE Granola Bird seed Animal feed Protein rich fiber
WHOLE PLANT Pyrolysis feedstock Cell fluid - Abrasive chemicals Bio-fuel Completable
23
The plant has many useful compounds that can be extracted, but the hemp stalk fiber has also been used in the textile industry for years. It can be used to make fabrics, rope and paper. The word ‘canvas’ actually derives from the word cannabis. A recent discovery has confirmed the use of hemp’s microfiber and dust, also made from the stalk of the plant, as a substitute for plastic. The stalk provides a high cellulose count, which is required for the plastic construction, providing both strength and flexibility and it can be molded into any shape. Hemp can be made into a variety of building materials. These include hemp-based insulation, wood substitutes and concrete-like blocks called ‘Hempcrete’ . These blocks are made from 15 hemp shives, lime and water to create a concrete-like material that is strong, durable, flexible, breathable, mold-proof and fire resistant. Hempcrete homes are also carbon-negative, meaning they take more CO_2 out of the atmosphere than put in during both construction and the lifetime of the building. As well as having excellent thermal conductivity, Hempcrete also provides great thermal mass. All these materials have been used in the manufacture of many things, including electronics, cars, and houses. In fact, the first Israeli home made of hemp-based 16 materials was completed in Ein-Hod , Israel designed by Arch. Maoz Alon of Tav-group, one of the faculty members in the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. Even more notable is that hemp’s many applications can be achieved with no negative byproducts. It is a truly environmentally-friendly plant as it grows easily everywhere, enriches the soil it grows on, and is completely biodegradable. Furthermore, hemp yields three to four harvests a year, creating a high biomass ratio while needing no pesticides and comparably less water than other crops. In addition to these 24
impressive properties, hemp has proven to be a great hyperaccumulator plant with superior phytoremediation abilities (the abilities of plants to remove contaminants from the soil and water). The proposed project is built upon hemp’s many uses, but most significantly focuses on its phytoremediation abilities and building applications.
Save 70% percent energy consumption Thermal and acoustic insulator Flame water and pest resistant Strong Lightweight Breathable Hypo-allergenic Carbon negative
Buildings and construction account for roughly 40% of the CO2 emissions
BUILDING MATERIAL HURD
Fiberboard Insulation Fiberglass subtitute Stucco & mortar Hempcrete
PAPER Printing paper Fine/Specialty paper Filter paper Newsprint Cardboard/Packaging
INDUSTRIAL TEXTILE BAST FIBER
Twine Rope Nets Canvas Tarps Carpets Geotectiles Agro-fiber Composits
CONSUMER TEXTILES
ROOTS
Apparel Diapers Fabrics Handbags Denim Shoes Fine Fabrics
ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS CO2 negative Does not require much water No need for pesticides Phytoremediator 4-2 Crops a year
AGRICULTURAL BENEFITS Weed suppression Soil improvement in crop rotation Natural soil aerator (deep roots) Compost-able 25
Maintains interior balance of temperature and moisture
Lime composite
Hemp Shives
Hemp shive contains a structure of porous with a diameters from one millimeter to one nanometer photo X 500
0.085 - [W/m*deg] 330 - [kg/m^3] 0.9 - [MPa] 1550 - [J/kg*K] 4.8 [MNs\gm]
26
Hempcrete cancels thermal bridges
THERMAL CONDUCTION DENSITY COMPRESSION STRENGTH HEAT CAPACITY MAGNETIC PERMEABILITY
“I cannot find a material that does what Hempcrete does” (Kevin McCloud)
27
The first hemp-house in Israel, Ein-Hod, designed by Arc. Maoz Alon of Tav-group for Yoki Gil.
28
Hemp house, Ein-Hod personal guided tour by Owner Yoki Gil
29
HEMP VS. COTTON Hemp fiber is 6 times stronger than cotton Hemp doesn’t need pesticides or herbicides Hemp uses 1/4 the amount of water than cotton Hemp has 4 times more thermal insulation Hemp also carries anti-bacterial properties
HEMP VS. TREES One acre of hemp can produce 4 times more paper than one acre of trees Hemp paper can be recycled 3 times more than paper from trees Hemp matures in as little as 100 days, whereas trees mature in 50-100 years
30
SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM APPROACH
ENVIRONMENT
ECONOMY
COMMUNITY
31
FLOWERS
SEEDS
STALKS
32
33
“Herb is the healing of a nation“ (Bob Marley)
34
SOIL REMEDIATION | HEALING BY NATURE
35
36
37
As cities develop, populations grow. Globalization and the development of technology head deeper into the 21st century with our environmental footprint only getting larger. In this era of extreme consumption and pollution, the damages manifest themselves in global warming, a depletion of fossil fuels and natural resources and the dwindling quantity of suitable land for development as the result of water, soil and air contamination. These issues are consequences of high CO2 emissions, vast environmental contamination and, more fundamentally, the resulting destabilization of natural ecosystems. This has become the most pressing crisis humanity is facing now as it directly determines the fate of our future 17 on Earth . Most cities today suffer from a magnitude 18 of brownfields from past industrial activity. These areas are byproducts of linear take-make-waste production patterns on which most manufacturing industries currently rely18. These industrial activities are responsible for most of the global environmental pollution19, characterized by minimal ecological consideration and maximum personal profit ultimately affecting the surrounding environments and local communities negatively. Therefore, addressing these areas with a linear solution will ultimately fail as current technological soil-cleaning solutions 8 have proven to be inefficient . In today’s postmodern era, the importance of 20 adjusting processes to a cyclical model , is critical as these procedures will have a high impact on their surroundings by not only reducing material and energy-related costs, but also healing unstable local ecosystems and providing a solution for hazardous areas.
38
Gas Stations
Sewage Treatment Plant
Land Fills
Industrial and Production Areas
Military Proving Ground
Mapping | Soil Contamination Sources, Israel 39
This environmental emergency provides an opportunity for change in both mindset and approach. Reflecting inwards to better understand our behaviors and beliefs in relation to the planet provides a foundation to more effectively affect our outer world. This project focuses more specifically on the effects of institutional and governmental corruption on social and environmental climates. Exposing the cannabis narrative demonstrates that the exploitation of knowledge as power in authority could be correlated, if not directly linked, to a global lifestyle that magnifies consumption and pollution of the environment.
Mapping | Environmental soil contamination with sources, Tel Aviv metropolis, Israel. 40
This era invites a bottom-up approach that involves sustainable solutions and methods of production that prove to be more effective and open-ended, which serves as the guiding philosophy in developing the former IMI weapon industry lot in Tel Aviv, the Ta’as Magen—the chosen site for this project. The proposed plans employ a more holistic approach, utilizing a natural, sustainable renewable resource that would have an overall positive impact on the environment. Moreover, it incorporates recent research to use natural processes to reverse previous damage.
Israel is an extreme urban country with 92% urban population
MAP LEGEND DENSITY PER SQ/M:
CONTAMINATION:
+3000 3000-1000 1000-500 500-250 250-100 100-0
Employment and Industrial areas
AQUIFER LAYER:
Waste landfills
Military lands Wastewater Treatment plants
Very Sensitive Aquifer Sensitive Aquifer Insensitive Aquifer
Petrol Stations
Contamination Super Position
Land Fills
Sewage Treatment Plant Military Proving Ground
Gas Stations
Production Areas
Industrial Areas Mapping | Environmental soil contamination sources, Israel. 41
In rethinking how humankind impacts the world, it is necessary to further study alternative renewable energy and resources. I hope for this project to establish an integrated application of the current research among different disciplines and to serve as a steppingstone for future investigation as part of our efforts to reduce pollution and CO2 emissions. Hempower addresses polluted land specifically. It is a growing issue in the post-industrial urban environment as land prices rise and the number of suitable lands for development dwindles. The contamination in the soil affects the water and air alike by reaching the aquifer layers and releasing soil-gas into the air, thus influencing the whole environment and requiring a deeply holistic approach. The site selected for this purpose is the former IMI-Systems weapon production factory located in Tel Aviv, on the intersection of Aliyat-Hanoar Street and Hashalom Street—the Ta’as Magen. It has now been vacant for 20 years as a result of the highly contaminated 21 soil due to the disposal of all the factory’s sewage into septic pits without any treatment . This 50,000 m^2 lot could hold one of the most sought-after, largest real estate properties in the city due to its central location. Leveraging the site’s urban positioning and significant scale, this project seeks to set a precedent for community revitalization by means of conscientious contaminated land development in post-industrial zones.
42
LAND PROGRAM USE SURROUNDING TA’AS LOT
Mapping | Former IMI Lot, Tel Aviv, Israel. 43
Image | Abandoned factory bordering TOHA Building, IMI former lot, Tel Aviv, Israel.
44
45
EXISTING TREES + MOVEMENT INTERSECTION WITH LOT
Mapping | Former IMI Lot, Tel Aviv, Israel.
46
PAST INDUSTRIAL BUILDING FOOTPRINT
Mapping | Former IMI Lot, Tel Aviv, Israel. 47
SITE ANALYSIS
TOPOGRAPHY 48
CONTAMINATION SOURCES 49
Due to the site’s severely contaminated soil and groundwater, a soil excavation was executed under the instructions and supervision of the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Approximately 12,000 tons of contaminated soil was disposed of at this time. This then revealed that there would need to be an additional major investment to treat the contaminated ground to allow the residential and commercial development of the Ta’as Magen to commence . Most of the contaminants found have been declared by the USEPA as toxic, mutagenic, teratogenic and/or as suspected carcinogenic which means that a project of this kind must include an in-situ treatment and the construction of a pumping system. Currently the Yashar-Architects firm has the approved plans and TABA, which includes cleaning the soil and building a development with more than 1100 apartments, commercial and public uses on the street level over an estimated period of 20 years. The intended method for decontaminating the Magen Compound proves to be costly21, and would require a great amount of time before the land can be utilized by the public. Hempower instead uses phytoremediating plants to absorb contaminants, or even degrade them to simple nontoxic substances as a cost-efficient, sustainable way to naturally decontaminate the soil and water9. This is especially the case with hemp, as it is a plant which grows like a “weed”; it does not need much water, grows rapidly with high biomass, and has a multiple crop rotation of 3-4 harvests a year. To understand better how a multi-purposed “billion dollar” crop such as hemp, which was used extensively around the world for centuries, reached its current negative legal status all over the world, it is important to understand the relationship between authority and submissive subjects, and how a tool or apparatus can be utilized to achieve political biopower which has been brought to attention through Michel Foucault’s writings , and historical facts that have been investigated extensively and have been the basis for many conspiracy theories.
50
Image | Measuring soil gas pits, IMI former lot, Tel Aviv, Israel.
51
INCINERATION 1500 $/ton
SOLVENT EXTRACTION 450 $/ton
SOLIDIFICATION 380 $/ton
INDIRECT THERMAL 300 $/ton
SOIL VENTING 280 $/ton
SOIL WASHING 200 $/ton
PHYTOREMEDIATION 100 $/ton
BIOREMEDIATION 180 $/ton
MYCOREMEDIATION 50 $/ton
COMPARISON OF REMEDIATION TECHNIQUES
52
CONTAMINATION TYPES
TCE - Trichloroethylene
PCE - Perchloroethylene
DCE - cis 1,2 Dichloroethane
DCE - trans 1,2 Dichloroethane
Bzn - Benzene
53
54
55
Hemp phytoremediation is used help clean radiation soil contamination from nuclear disasters like in Chernobyl.
56
Following Chernobyl a pilot of Hemp phytoremediation in Fukoshima has been initiated
57
PLANTS + FUNGI WITH REMEDIATION ABILITIES
FUNGI
GRASS
Mycobacterium Pseudomonas\ Sphingomonas\ Mycobacterium
Ligninolytic fungi P. chrysosporium
Lotus corniculatus
BUSHES
Vetiveria zizanloldes
Height- 30 cm Roots - 30 cm Height- 2.5 cm Roots - 3 m
Height- 3 cm Roots - 4 m
Height- 70 cm Roots - 80 cm
Height- 80 cm Roots - 90 cm
Achillea millefolium
Height- 1 m Roots - 80 cm
Height- 5 cm Roots - 5 m
PETROLS
58
Lupinus albus
METALS
TREES
Cyprus
Height- 1.5 m Roots - 70 cm
Helianthus Annuus
Hemp
Hybrid Poplar
Nerium Oleander
Salix Alba
Height- 8 m Roots - 2 m
Height- 3 m Roots - 2 m
Height- 17 m Roots - 4,5 m
Height- 7 m Roots - 4 m Height- 30 m Roots - 6 m
OILS
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
INDUSTRIAL CONTAMINANTS 59
HEMP PLANT
PHYTOEXTRACTION Plant absorbs contaminants, stores it and is harvested
PHYTOVOLITILIZATION Plant turns contaminant into gas
PHYTODEGRATION Plant feeds and breaks up contaminants
RHIZOFILTRATION Contaminant is filtered from water by roots and soil
MYCELLIUM FUNGAL ROOTS
60
BIOREMEDIATION the use of either naturally occurring or deliberately introduced microorganisms or other forms of life to consume and break down environmental pollutants, in order to clean up a polluted site.
MYCORRHIZA A symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a plant
PHYTOREMEDIATION Use of plants in site or in place, removal, degradation, or containment of contaminants in soils, sludges, sediments, surface water and groundwater.
MYCOREMEDIATION Use of mushrooms and their enzymes due to having ability to degrade a wide variety of environmentally persistent pollutants.
61
62
63
As part of the American “war on drugs” John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s domestic-policy adviser, said in an interview “By getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities...Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course, we did“ . This and many new analyses of past drug-3 legislations help us recognize the damage inflicted by the authorities and reveals the otherwise hidden apparatus, demonstrated by the shift in opinion towards cannabis. These sorts of actions made by the government are power-driven, controlmaintaining, and goal-oriented and damage our environment and society. These are the same driven decisions that have brought us pollution.
That is why it is most fitting to heal the abused environment with this abused resource, while finding the perfect, most pressing spot to demonstrate cannabis’ abilities. Firstly, it is important to map the contaminated sources in Israel, and calculate the areas afflicted by the different sources. It is clear from these Israel’s mappings of contamination that the main contributors to the polluted areas are governmental and industry-inflicted with distinction to cities where the land is most valuable and has the highest potential.
Image | Measuring Soil Gas Pits, Former IMI Lot, Tel Aviv, Israel.
64
Photograph | Entrance Former IMI Building, Tel Aviv, Israel.
I believe that by shifting the narrative and leveraging hemp as a multifunctional tool, we can begin the important process of redistributing Bio-power from the government to the citizens. Tapping into cannabis’ social, environmental and economic potential, Hempower offers a viable, sustainable alternative to remediating and developing contaminated land — while at the same time empowering a whole ecosystem surrounding hemp cultivation and manufacturing. Movie poster for Cannabis propaganda 1936
65
66
67
By applying hemp’s phytoremediation ability, I propose a holistic solution to decontaminate soil and develop Tel Aviv’s former IMI weapon production factory lot in a five-stage process over a period of 25 years. The method guiding this process is based on the different production and manufacturing lines needed to benefit from the wide variety of hemp products that the raw material offers. Furthermore, it is structured in relation to the amount and kind of crops together with the levels of contamination in the soil.
68
Image | Construction Waste, Former IMI Lot, Tel Aviv, Israel.
69
70
METHODOLOGY
71
72
73
I intend to preserve the existing obsolete industrial plant as an approach to educating the community. By reusing it as a visiting center and hemp museum, the project incorporates a variety of cultural and educational programs with the purpose of creating public awareness regarding urban nature, environmental preservation, and contamination remediation. Each stage of this five-stage process is represented by the industry housing each product family, starting with biofuel, followed by Hempcrete construction material, Hemp-fiber, and Hemp-plastics and finally
74
medicinal cannabis. These stages are critical to the project, as the intention is to showcase the possibility of designing an industrial ecosystem without producing any waste or harmful byproducts. Hemp serves as the perfect tool to do so, as it is possible to use all parts of the plant.
STRATEGY
In order to utilize hemp as a dynamic tool for healing, it is necessary to divide the process into five main stages of roughly five years each to properly harness its power according to natural time-lines. Developing the lot will coincide with the remediation process, making it possible to gradually open the area to the surrounding community throughout the different stages.
75
Instead of fencing the contaminated land and transporting thousands of tons of contaminated soil, the remediation process will occur in the site itself. Thus serving as usable public space through out the whole period.
EX - SITU
76
IN - SITU
By introducing natural and biological process for remediation it establishes a healthy new Eco-system which reconstructs the way the public community can take advantage and access the land along side the development process. 77
CONTAMINATED TO REMEDIATED SOIL | TOPOGRAPHY
Initialy the highly most contaminated land is treated by excavating, cleaning and storing it in industrial space in-site for a 5 year remediation process.
78
By doing this the lands topography is converted into a terrace system which prevents the spread of contaminants and creates a storm and grey water cleaning system that will reinforce the bioremediation process.
On the formed terraces, the cultivation of phytoremediator plant and a mycoremediator mycellium with mycorrizial properties is implemented to the soil for the rehabilitation process biodegrading and bioextracting the Contaminants from the soil will result in a toxic free land.
79
80
81
82
83
PLAN OF PRODUCTION FLOOR
84
85
I 86
87
The first stage requires excavating the highly contaminated soil to expedite the cleaning process while creating a slope that prevents the spread of contaminants in the soil to the surroundings. This action will prepare the space for the foundations of all future development and will reshape the topography into a terrace system, which will enhance the soil remediation process and create a natural grey water cleaning system. After leveling, the remaining highly-contaminated lands will be planted with phytoremediation trees, such as the Hybrid Poplar, which will serve as the basis for a natural forest detailed in the final plans. The remaining areas, which will be further developed in the future, will be planted with hemp to initiate the phytoremediation process. Alongside the landscaping actions the existing industrial buildings on the west side will be reused for the cleaning process of the excavated soil cleaning and as a factory for a hempbased biofuel which will process all the first stage’s hemp yield.
88
89
II 90
91
In the second stage, once the least contaminated area is usable, it will be possible to extend the industry surrounding hemp into a network of spaces which will continue to grow throughout the stages, with the intention of processing and manufacturing all the yield of future crops. While the remaining not yet usable parts of the plant will be transformed into biofuel, this factory will focus on using hemp’s hurds to create the building material, HempCrete, in forms of blocks and precast panels for the use of the next development stages in the project. The contamination which has been absorbed by the plant and degraded or captured causes no harm to its quality as a construction material nor is it dangerous for the environment as with the lime-water composite it is captured permanently.
92
93
94
95
96
97
A-A SECTION OF PRODUCTION LINE 98
99
100
A-A SECTION OF PRODUCTION LINE
101
III 102
103
The middle point of the process is the third stage where the factory for hemp fiber and textiles is established. Once some of the spaces are almost contamination-free after 10 years of phytoremediation, the yields will have absorbed a lower concentration of contamination, therefore it will be possible to manufacture products that come in closer contact with the community. While further creating a variety of products and materials this enhancement of the production line will support the local community by creating jobs along the production and commercial areas.
104
105
106
107
108
109
IV 110
111
In the fourth stage the hemp processing line establishes its last factory by creating a hempplastics manufacturing industry, making a huge variety of products that can replace other non-sustainable polluting plastics. Once most of the contaminated soil has been remediated it will be safe for residential areas to rise by constructing them on top of the developed structures, and filling them top-down. This is because at this stage the contaminated soil gases that may remain will only affect an area up to 10-15 meters above ground level.
112
113
B-B SECTION OF PRODUCTION LINE 114
115
B-B SECTION OF PRODUCTION LINE 116
117
118
119
V 120
121
In the last and fifth stage, the medical cannabis production/processing and manufacturing facility will be built, alongside a number of greenhouses growing spaces. After an estimated 25 years the entire lot will be remediated, the built structures bordering the main streets will be filled with the existing approved plans of commercial, and residential program with 1100 apartment units. These apartments would have an average of 85 square meters and 20% affordable housing for short term users. The main open public natural space is planned to be on the north side of the lot where the previously highly contaminated area was for both safety reasons and because of the agricultural hemp crops. This stage is categorized as the adaptation to the surrounding environment and blurring the borders of the project’s urban grid.
122
123
A
PLAN OF PRODUCTION FLOOR
B
124
A
B
125
126
127
128
Image | From Top of Factory Abandoned Land Bordering Nahalat-Yitzak, Former IMI Lot, Tel Aviv, Israel.
129
130
PROJECT MAPPING Reaserch & Devlopment Fucility
Bio-Fuel Factory Offices
Storage & Distribution
Offices Hmepcrete Factory Refineary
Textile Fabric & Paper Factory
Offices Bio-Plastic Factury Medicine & Food Factory Medicine & Food Factory
Museam
Gas station
Cafe
Visiting Center Cannabis Dispensary
Paper & Fabric Store Molded Plastic Store Cannabis Dispensary Restaurant Cosmetic Spas
Squares areas for pedestrians
Reaserch & Devlopment Fucility
Bio-Fuel Factory Offices
Storage & Distribution
Offices Hmepcrete Factory Refineary
Textile Fabric & Paper Factory
Offices Bio-Plastic Factury Medicine & Food Factory Medicine & Food Factory
Museam
Gas station
Cafe
Visiting Center Cannabis Dispensary
Paper & Fabric Store Molded Plastic Store Cannabis Dispensary Restaurant Cosmetic Spas
Process line Commercial front
Reaserch & Devlopment Fucility
Bio-Fuel Factory Offices
Storage & Distribution
Offices Hmepcrete Factory Refineary
Textile Fabric & Paper Factory
Offices Bio-Plastic Factury Medicine & Food Factory Medicine & Food Factory
Museam
Gas station
Cafe
Visiting Center Cannabis Dispensary
Paper & Fabric Store Molded Plastic Store Cannabis Dispensary Restaurant Cosmetic Spas
Roads pedestrian street 131
132
133
HEMPOWER PROPOSAL
134
CURRENT APPROVED PROJECT
135
136
SUMMARY
137
138
139
Sustainable eco-systematic alternatives are the future for post-industrial mistreated environmental urban spaces. These spaces can provide new opportunities for citizens to lead in the development of their community. Previous industrial activity-based economy has left the area a hazard to the surroundings, and an extensive large abandoned area in the center of the metropolis. Nahalat-Itzchak is a case of this social and economic transition as a post-industrial neighborhood. The growing inventory of brownfields and the demand for housing are influential factors in this period of urban development. Although Tel-Aviv’s transition to a de-industrialized economy has begun on a local scale, much of its land continues to be plagued with the economic and environmental side effects of heavy industry. Hempower seeks to reoccupy the site from military industry to public habitation through the adaptation, remediation and preservation of its industrial ruins for a new model of mixed-use programming. Remediating the contaminated land in-situ with a new type of agricultural-urban production and manufacturing which enriches the community with job opportunities, local material and affordable housing alleviating hemp’s multifunctional environmental and economical uses. A hemp cultivation, processing and manufacturing production line surrounded by parks and residential community would contribute to enhancing the quality of the urban environment, and provide a vibrant new cultural and recreational facility for the city. Preserving the existing building of the former industrial plant as a symbol of its heritage, the project incorporates a variety of cultural and educational programs with the intention of creating public awareness regarding urban nature and environmental preservation. Once completed, the project seeks to set precedence for brownfield development and community revitalization with a natural eco-systematic approach in post-industrial land and the necessary integration with the surrounding environment and communities. Hemp-phytoremediation is an indispensable, sustainable tool for such large-scale projects. It is the cheapest and most efficient solution for recovering contaminated land, using hemp products as literal and metaphorical building blocks for a sustainable future. 140
141
142
BIBLIOGRAPHY
143
REFERENCES
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Robert Deitch ,Hemp: American History Revisited, The plant with a Divided History (Algora Publishing, 2003), 37-40. Drug enforcement agency of the USA, https://www.dea.gov/drug-scheduling Dan Baum, “Legalize it All: How to Win the War on Drugs”, Harper’s magazine, April 2016, https:// harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all/ Michael Foucault, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews & Other Writings ,1972-1977. Michael Foucault,The History of Sexuality Vol .1, p.140, 1976. Steven Rosenbaum, “The New World of the ‘Empowered Consumer’,” Forbes Magazine, Jul 16, 2015. 2017 מרץ, טכנולוגיות סביבה, ניתוח חלופות להשבה ומחזור של קרקעות מזוהמות,לודן 2009 מרץ,המשרד להגנת הסביבה, מדינת ישראל,זיהום קרקעות בישראל Saeed A Asad, Mohammad Maroof Shah, Shahzad Muhammad, “Phytoremediation Potential of Hemp”, Clean- Soil air water, 2015.
10. Rowan Robinson, The Great Book of Hemp: The Complete Guide to the Environmental, Commercial, and Medicinal Uses of the World’s Most Extraordinary Plant, 1995, 100-115.
11. Michal S. Rosenwald, ”1968’s chaos: The assassinations, riots and protests that defined our world”, The Washington post, 2018, http://wapo.st/2lAUFRh?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.b41118dbf7aa
12. Lisa N. Sacco, Drug Enforcement in the United States: History, Policy and Trends, October 2, 2014, 5-6.
13. R. Mechoulam, Cannabinoids as Therapeutics, Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, 2005. 14. R. Mechoulam, E.A. Carlini, Towards drugs derived from cannabis, April 1978, 174-179. 15. Paulien De Bruijn, “Hemp Concretes, Mechanical Properties using both Shives and Fibres”(theses SUAS), 2008, 14-17.
16. Alon, M, (2018, November 4). Personal interview. 17. Helmut Meuser, Contaminated Urban Soils,(Germany, Springer, 2010), 159-164. 18. Boyd Cohe, Pablo Munoz, “Sharing cities and sustainable consumption and production: towards an integrated framework”, Journal of Cleaner Production, 2015, 87-97.
19. Adam Markham, A Brief History of Pollution, 1994. 20. Guus Berkhoutm, Dap Hartmann, Connecting technological capabilities with market needs using a cyclic innovation model, R&D Management, 2010, 480-482.
21. 13-7 מבחן עלות תועלת למשק מפינוי מפעל תע“ש מגן,דורון לביא
144
145
“Smoke the weed, every day don’t smoke the seeds, no way“ (Snoop Dogg)
146
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
147
I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Arch Dikla Yizhar and Arch. David Robins, my final project supervisors, for their patient guidance, encouragement and useful critiques. I would also like to thank Arch. Ziv Leibo for his advice and assistance on my theoretical research paper. My grateful thanks are also extended to both, Arch. Maoz Alon and Yoki Gil for inspiring me with the design and for giving me a fascinating guided tour of the first Israeli Hempcrete home located in Ein-hod. I wish to acknowledge the help provided by Belen from ecological building solutions company for giving me samples of hempcrete blocks and raw material. I would especially like to thank my girlfriend, Liana, whom I met on the student exchange program in Santiago, Chile. She has been extremely supportive of me throughout my final years of my degree and has made countless sacrifices to help me reach this point. Finally, I wish to express my love and me gratitude to my Family Josie and Stu and both my brothers, Gavriel and Naftali, for their constant support, encouragement and never ending patience throughout this long journey, which I could not have completed with out them. Thank you
148
149
