In-Bloom: Investigating an Architecture of (waste) Water Utility Design.

Abstract

AbstractThere was a time when almost every member of mankind knew where their water came from and where their waste went. Water defined place, it was a spatial and temporal dimension that fostered the development of distinctive civilizations around the world. Modern man does not seem to know where their water comes from, they do not know where their waste drains. Cities' relationships with natural water systems have eroded past points of recognition. This growing disconnect is ideological, as the physical connection between engineered and natural systems is growing rampantly. In the age of the Anthropocene, where human influence is the dominant force behind environmental changes, how do we protect the natural systems we have so heavily built upon? This design research project explores on-site wastewater treatment system design as a functional project that enhances the relationship between the infrastructure and architecture of a site. This research is conducted because a large portion of the municipal wastewater produced on Oahu is handled by on-site disposal systems that do not adequately remediate pollution issues that are harmful to the ecology of the surrounding aquatic ecosystems. The wastewater is treated via bioremediation utilizing micro-algae in tubular photobioreactors to reduce the nitrogen load in effluent before treated water is reintroduced into the surrounding environment. Nitrogen remediation is necessary because current on-site disposal systems are depositing excess nitrogen loads, which are causing the degradation of coastal ecosystems. The system design produced in this research should be considered as an articulation of one stage of effluent treatment that would need additional treatment methods if the water were to be made potable. Given that architecture and the resulting urban scape play a large role in the current issues plaguing aquatic ecosystems, architects, beachgoers, surfers, and swimmers, should concern themselves with finding ways in which buildings do more than simply plug into outdated, overwhelmed, and incapable. infrastructural networks.