Empowerment through recycling

Abstract

THEORY STATEMENT Through blending and integration of Architecture as a device for transformation of non-formal settlement, this thesis looks at the possibility of transforming waste material into building materials and, in the process, mitigating two major crises; poor housing conditions and unemployment among the youth of Alexandra. CONTEXT STATEMENT The Project is located in Alexandra, Johannesburg in Gauteng Province. Established in 1912, Alexandra is one of Johannesburg’s oldest townships, located adjacent to Sandton, Johannesburg’s economic hub. Alexandra typifies a majorly disenfranchised community in the context of South Africa, suffering the consequences of socio-economic marginalisation of black urban neighbourhoods during the apartheid era. Nearly 500 000 people live in approximately 100 000 households in formal and informal housing; unemployment is estimated to be at 60%, and most household incomes fall below the extreme poverty line of less than 1 USD per person per day. My intervention aims at mitigating the conditions of poor and inadequate housing and unemployment through an innovative approach of transforming plastic waste into building materials. FACILITY STATEMENT The project is a blend of three typologies: Infrastructure; Recycling/reusing waste materials. Industrial; Manufacturing Building materials from Plastic. Institutional; Training of labourers and reintegration into industry. The facility will house a process of collection and transformation of waste materials into building materials- through various participatory mechanical and artisanal systems, that would be tested and implemented on site and off site within the immediate context of Alexandra, improving the existing conditions of housing. There will be a curation and incorporation of youth between ages 20 and 29 into the construction and operation of the project, creating a community that provides an opportunity for socio-economic interaction and exchange that would empower the youth of Alexandra.