Reuse, Reclaim, Recycle Warming Competition

Reuse, Reclaim, Recycle

Five Weeks Rhino, Illustrator, Photoshop Warming Competition Group Competition with Natalie Fox and Brandon Meinders

New construction is no longer practical in the face of climate change , it contributes to pollution, the exhaustion of natural resources, habitat destruction, and architects must acknowledge that to continue building is to contribute to this issue.. In this project, we have reclaimed properties that contributed to climate change and renewed them into spaces that revitalize their communities and introduce a new way of living that is sustainable and beautiful. Plant Bowen, a coal plant in Georgia, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, a closed oil refinery in Pennsylvania, and Belpla Textile Mill, a manufacturing mill in Spain are our chosen sites, each representative of the problems we have caused and must face as designers and consumers of things such as fast fashion and dependence on fossil fuels.

Concept Schematic: Three different elements we hope to combine to create one common goal.

Of three different sites, mine was proposed with the goal of re-purposing old textile mills, in this case one in Valencia, Spain for Belpla Textiles. It would be used to serve as a place that would offer a market, a restaurant, as well as a physical and visual connection to growing rice indoors as a way to lessen the impact of the crop in climate change.

a. Water Recycling: Using rainwater and recycling the water that is being used (grey water) would save money for the cultivation of a crop such as rice that has one of the highest water consumption rates. b. Aquaponics: In the future, deep water aquaponics will not only be the most efficient way to farm, but also the least expensive and least water wasting, especially compared to traditional rice cultivation methods which include using a constantly flooded field. c. Rice: This impacts climate change because of the use of lots of water as well as the release of methane and nitrous oxide during cultivation. However, rice agriculture is also heavily affected by climate change because rising sea levels affect this particular crop so much. d. Service: The combination of water harvesting, living aquaponics, and the growth of rice, this site is re-purposed to give back to the community in the form of a sustainable marketplace and restaurant. This way, even with the potential loss of jobs due to the mill being shut down, those jobs are replaced with opportunities across a much broader spectrum.