WTOWER01 Balata, a town in which 27,000 displaced people are crammed into an area of about 27 hectares, or 66 acres. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the refugee camp produces 1,600 cubic meters of solid waste each month. These statistics are daunting, however there is an opportunity to be found in this crisis: Recycling plants in the su rounding Nablus region have achieved great success by incentivizing people to collect and deliver plastic and metal waste. By designing an efficient infr structure which builds on the current efforts of factory owners and everyday trash collectors, our team aspires to build a resilient circular economy that benefits all refugees by improving health, moral, and economical independance.
Nablus, West Bank, Palestine. Homes three refugee camps built in the 1960’s, including Balata Camp.
PALESTINE-ISRAEL AFTER 1947 US PARTITION PLAN
- United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. “Balata Camp” Publication. www. unrwa.org, December 31, 2016.w
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The WEST BANK (pink) and the GAZA STRIP
Balata Camp, our site. The most populated refugee camp in Palestine (1km^2 area).
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WHAT Our team hopes that through a cooperative platform of urban and architectural design combined with independent organizations dedicated to human development work, a series of waste collection towers can begin a paradigm shift in the way Palestinians think about trash. Hoping that in a near future the towers can become a source of civic pride, and a symbol of passive resistance; rather than simply being waste distribution centers. These towers will be seen as important economic centers and functional monuments in a new circular economy.
HOW
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STEP 1
STEP 3 PROCESSING: Paper, metal, and plastic are crushed and redistributed to other factories inside Palestine. Organic waste (biomass) is burned in an enclosed system; the heat causes water to evaporate into steam which runs a turbine. According to the Solid Waste Association of North America, 1 ton of unrecyclable waste produces as much electricity as .25 tons of coal.
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REDISTRIBUTION: Factories sell or distribute finished paper, metal, and plastic goods to local stores which, in turn, sell the products back to Palestinians. Theoretically, residents will have more purchasing power in a market which avoids the economic blockades. After being transformed into biomass, the leftover digestate is made available as fertilizer for the farms which surround Balata. This will increase farm yield, while simultaneously lowering the cost and raising the quality of food grown in the vicinity.
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TRASH AS A RAW MATERIAL: Tall silos are erected and used as temporary collection and distribution centers for waste. Residents use these silos to sort and dispose of paper, metal, plastic, and organic waste. Paper, metal, and plastic are siphoned to the bottom of the silo where they are collected and transported to local recycling plants by free-lance recyclers (“Cartoneros” in Buenos Aires). Organic waste is collected and delivered to waste-to energy converters on the Eastern edge of Balata, near the farmland.
STEP 2
BALATA YEAR 2047 : RECYCLE-FUELED ECONOMY
ADE 421: Fall 2017 Architectural Studio III
Students: B. McConnville, L. Medina, A. Rivera Instructors: P. Horton, S. Murff