SEWAGE FARM​
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MYSORE, KARNATAKA
showing part of the site with the water treatment facilities programmed with a public functions including a gallery, museum display, library and cafe to allow interaction with the processes of the facility
showing part of the site with the water treatment facilities programmed with a public functions including a gallery, museum display, library and cafe to allow interaction with the processes of the facility
What is the idea of waste for the people?
What is the idea of heritage (and loss) for the people?
What are the methods and techniques to achieve healthier, sustainable lifestyles?
Can there be rationale and scientific thought in the idea of waste and consumption?
Where is the space for radical thought?
And then what better place to dump the cultural and intellectual “filth” of a city? (rhetorical)
Urban sewage and waste treatment facility
20000 sqm
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The site in Vidyaranyapuram is the central waste processing and sewage treatment facility for the city of Mysore. It faces issues related to negligence, under-utilitisation and lack of sufficient infrastructure. It also helps point to questions of sustainable lifestyles and many forms of waste in society.
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Plastic, metal, paper and other man-made materials find their way into monumental heaps of garbage, which gradually replaces the land of this site. Over time, the very land we step on and live on, will be filled with waste from our consumerist culture. The buildings, each processing waste in a particular manner, are representative of a seemingly perpetual cycle of waste generation and recycling.
This non-decaying, ever-increasing barrage of rubbish will be expressed in the skin of the Tipping Floor of the building, which is one continuous floor, scale-less and completely empty, apart from tonnes of rubbish.
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The massive, central building, which houses sorting devices, sending waste into further categories for processing, is one which puts the sorted material to use. The facade is clothed in bays of different materials, which will be salvaged from waste that the city throws at the site. The facade, by virtue of the multi-colored, multi-textured surface, will evoke a sense of temporality and perpetual conglomeration. When a person is confronted by objects/events/processes of everyday life, he can instantly recognize value in what he sees.
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The things that are considered “useless” or “artsy” will be housed in the central museum structure, built in bamboo- a seemingly “kachha” material because the building industry can’t find commercial use for it. In general, India is faced with a rising tide of chauvinism and bigotry that has generated an atmosphere of il-liberalness - they are also allowed to be “dumped” here. A response to the ubiquitous “circles” of Mysore, the library floats over the central space as a symbol of dissent, dialogue and rationale; as a truly public space.
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The exploration started with the question:
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Why do we create "other" spaces for waste? Why the extreme aversion?
Making a masterplan
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As our lives become increasingly energy intensive, the importance of agriculture and the local foodshed will probably become more obvious. There are always alternatives and they are, in fact, mostly created as desperate measures in dire times.
This clearly points to a larger question of sustainable lifestyles in cities. People in city have failed to realize the importance of simple ideas of waste segregation, reuse and reuse of materials and impact of their consumer-driven lifestyles on the environment. A general idea of terms like global warming and ‘green energy’ has been inculcated in the social lexicon, largely by means of mass media. But does one really understand what a sustainable lifestyle entails? Do they accept this form of life?
‘..The profound moral perversity of a world that rests essentially on the non-existence of return, for in this world everything is pardoned in advance and therefore everything is cynically permitted.’
Also referred to as "Sewage Farm" in Vidyaranyapuram, on the outskirts of the city of Mysore
The site is the central waste and sewage treatment plant for the city
It is the city’s backyard, isolated from public and under-developed
Also referred to as "Sewage Farm" in Vidyaranyapuram, on the outskirts of the city of Mysore
It is the city’s backyard, isolated from public and under-developed
Urban grid and topographical paths superimpose at pivotal points
The Sewage Farm at Vidayaranyapuram has been, until now, literally shoved into a corner of the city, where the city heaves its muck and forgets about it. A live building (probably much more valuable than the Mysore Palace or any other heritage structures that are the city’s claim to pride) that explains these processes to the public, makes them aware and discuss issues relevant to future lifestyles situates itself in a large open field. The people cannot isolate themselves from the process of cleaning their own waste.
A foodshed is a region, area from which a population draws its food. A 100 mile foodshed is ideal for farmers and their goods to travel. Out of this radius, we are increasingly dependant on fossil fuels and decrease in quality of produce (nearly 50% goes waste or is spoilt in storage)
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Like roots of a plant, that are linked to a central node and then are allowed to brancjh out to favourable places, the pathways are built naturally in the contours. The simple, curvilinear form of walking, creates an experience of walking naturally, and also allows for more roads in the future.
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The circle is a spatial element that most Mysoreans are familiar with. While in the city there are roads that lead somewhere, on the site the roads are pulled in and terminate at the circles. Each circle comprised of an event-it will seem like a chance encounter en route a trail of sorts.
Masterplan
where programs manifest into "circles" in paths that open the farm into a field
The site is so huge, that a single architectural gesture isn't enough. It needs to be fragmented with each point on the site claiming its own identity. A system of trails, bridges and pathways connect the entities. Also, I don't wish to make allusions to one building using an idea of a monotone, in terms of colour, material or the like. The site, like nature, grows. It is not a sweeping gesture of an architect.
More paths and buildings can be added to this layout as the farm becomes a field in the future.
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The Laboratory will function as a living, breathing prototype of sustainable means of living and sustainable architecture. It will make people connect with the Earth, with the farmers, fruits and flowers. It should be able to generate dialogue and ignite curiosity.
The buildings are apparatuses to gauge the landscape and the environment we live in. Follies and pavilions set up on the perimeter will draw people in, like gopurams in a temple. Here, their orientation wouldn’t be cardinal, rather they will follow nature’s geometry.
Programs that enable debate, discussion, learning and dissipation of the knowledge into our lifestyles.
Generating Program
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Tschumi writes:
Relationships of conflict, reciprocity and indifference are relationships that you as architects have to address…good architecture is not architecture that exactly fits the functional needs. It does not necessarily lead to interesting architecture.
Cross-programming
Using a given spatial configuration for a program, not intended for it
Ref: cross-dressing
Trans-programming
Combining two programs regardless of their incompatibilities
Ref: planetarium and roller coaster
Dis-programming
A contaminates program B and B’s possible configuration
What is the idea of waste for the people?
What is the relevance of royal heritage in the cultural, social, political and ecological context? The city prides itself in the palace museum that serves as an iconographic monument of Mysore. But does this museum provide the visitor with anything that can help him/her grow and bring about change in their lives and the lives of others? When a person is confronted by objects/events/processes of everyday life, he can instantly recognize value in what he sees. Thus, this site, which is seemingly unimportant, yet extremely vital, but nevertheless taken for granted (imagine discovering one fine morning a missing anus), will generate vigor in the lives of the residents, when it confronts them and when they confront it.
The site is largely related to the idea of death, decay and rebirth.
The buildings, each processing waste in a particular manner, are representative of this seemingly perpetual cycle of waste generation and recycling. The processes that take place within them is manifested in the way of form, structure, and movement.
And it makes me wonder, what is the precedent of such projects? Apart from the few I found that spoke about the will of a municipality or a NGO working with enthusiastic architectural studios or a eco-conscious community, there are almost no exemplary projects to look to in India that impress upon the need for a technology and dialogue for waste treatment.
Consumerist Ruins
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All the waste from the city gets shoved into this corner of Mysore. Plastic, metal, paper and other man-made materials find their way into monumental heaps of garbage, which gradually replaces the land of this site. Over time, the very land we step on and live on, will be filled with waste from our consumerist culture.
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This non-decaying, ever-increasing barrage of rubbish will be expressed in the skin of the Tipping Floor of the building. This also serves as the main entry for tipping trucks into the building. The building inside is one continuous floor, with a linear roof, scale-less and completely empty, apart from the tonnes of rubbish. It seems like a ruin: non-descript and inhabitable. In fact, this building is made from rummaged steel from defunct structures on the site.
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Grand Agglomeration Station
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The massive, central building, which houses sorting devices, that attract certain kinds of waste, in order to sort it into further categories for processing, is one which puts the sorted material to use. The facade is clothed in bays of different materials, which will be salvaged from waste that the city throws at the site. The facade, by virtue of the multi-colored, multi-textured surface, will evoke a sense of temporality and perpetual conglomeration. In a way, the building’s goal to get dismantled – it should die a slow death as it loses its use and significance. The exhibitions and events housed inside will describe the destruction levied on the natural surroundings and ways of alternative living and consumption.
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The collected rubbish is brought into this facility. The route of movement of waste is almost like a theatrical setup, a play of machines, if you will. Every play needs an audience, thus the human is also allowed to enter the space from this point. He is confronted by the giant spectacle of rubbish as he steps into the shed. He would realize only later, when he climbs up a ramp to reach the upper gallery that he was the spectacle. As an actor, he has engendered the production of the large set with the ginormous props. He must realize that the whole play is the result of his own doing.
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The upper level is a narrow set of walkways, reminiscent of gangways in a theatre. These are like straight like conveyor belts, transporting the human from one program space to the other, while he, on the way, understands the entire process of waste processing and waste segregation. From the backstage to the stage, through the catwalks, the human is brought into the audience, where a reversal of role takes place. He becomes part of the audience, stepping down towards the factory floor, looming over all the processes encountered by him and with a knowledgeable understanding of waste processing and segregation. The program spaces are parasite-like, they latch on to the building, like useless, plastic remnants on the sea shore after the tide recedes.
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Museum of Inane Things and Useless Artifacts
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The things that are considered “useless” or “artsy” will be housed here. In general, India is faced with a rising tide of chauvinism and bigotry that has generated an atmosphere of illiberalness in the field of art, literature, cinema, besides, social media and everyday conversation, too. Can we assume that the powers that be are either indifferent towards the importance of art in the public sphere or they are afraid that it will become widespread. But in their arguments in public and on television, one thing is clear, that art has become an easy prey for the law-wielding predators. The murders of Kalburgi (who hails from the nearby…) and two other intellectuals and many other sensible, peace-loving, loyal, if not patriotic citizens of India, is another display of the slow death of rationale and intellect in the country.
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Where can you find a better place than a junkyard to dump the cultural and intellectual filth of a city? The museum spaces will display information about books, lost art forms including paintings, local and tribal handicraft, films and photographs. These spaces and the walkways connecting them are seemingly hung from the roof of the shed, creating a sense of vulnerability and immateriality to the spaces inside. Even the disk-like library space will hover above, like a lifeless body, but the burly, tapering columns will rise from the ground and hold it up, as a symbol of dissent and strong-will. The library will stand defiantly, as the rest of the city drowns itself in its garbage.
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The scaffolding used for the curved portion of the library is left as it is, and will be used to experiment with vertical gardening systems. It is also a sign of persistence and vulnerability, as if the structure might collapse and anew one would have to be made or the fact that the fight for secularism, liberty and tolerance will never really reach its logical end.
Bamboo as a construction material is light and has a very low primary energy. It has low ecological footprint and has a yield that is 3.3 times that of wood*.
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Making stuff
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An entry to the baling building is created from the segregation facility to allow for a streamline passage of waste and humans to enter the baling facility. This connection will be another event of the play, highlighted by the transparent tube that will carry the afore-mentioned goods to the next act. Thus, man is another cog in the wheel.
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The segregated waste is brought to the baling facility, which is also a research facility. The processing of all the waste brought to this site happens here, which paper, ferrous metal, glass, aluminium, wood, etc. The space is linear and non-chaotic, divided into bays that can make use of resourceful material to develop roofing and walling strategies. Every part of the roof would be made up of different roofing systems, while walls can test the strength and performance of bales of different materials. The conservation centre for the museum and other workshop spaces along with administrative functions would also be housed here. The open terrace is to be used to screen films, made ambient with portable partition walls. These would be made out of bamboo, and can be used to teach about horticulture. This space will also be useful for temporary or travelling exhibitions.
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A huge wall reveals itself from the baling facility, as an indicator of the waste processed each day in the city. For every 100 tonnes of garbage processed, a baled unit is added to the wall. This wall also acts as a visual barrier to the composting facility. It is opposite to that of the ephemerality of the waste processing building, it is a stolid entity – a symbol of the permanent, non-biodegradable products we use everyday.
Coming back to life
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Waste is brought to this part of the site, where it will be converted into fertilizer and high-quality soil conditioner. This natural process occurs in a nest-like space, made out of abundant local materials. It would use minimal energy (the program that is housed in it, is itself natural and organic), but maintain heat and comfort. Mud and bamboo are used as natural building materials.
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Public workshops will be held here, so as to raise awareness about the importance of segregating waste. Backyard composting pits could become the norm, once people realize the value of natural processes. It will also be a reminder to avoid filing up gardens and farms with non-descript “medicines” and chemical fertilizers.
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The use of these buildings, as well as the structures themselves, is not permanent. In fact, they are being made, only to create a projection of the future and bring about a change through which they can bring about their own death. If every body were emboldened with their responsibility towards the planet, facilities of this magnitude would become redundant. So, what could happen if, after twenty-odd years, this place is of no use? The large spaces inside could be appropriated to other cultural and social institutions that are the need of the hour, then. We can dismantle the steel structures and use them for other similar sheds. The clear, linear spaces in the baling facility could house more workshops and the offices of NGOs working towards the idea of sustainability and biotechnology.
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*References:
Gernot Minke, Building with Bamboo, Birkhauser Basel
Bernard Tschumi, Red is not a color, Taschen
Rem Koolhaas, SMLXL, Phaidon
That was the short or long of the project Sewage Farm