WASTE AS RESOURCE
This project originates from a focus on the often-overlooked yet ever-present non-human beings—waste—that have long been marginalized in urban systems. It challenges the logic of resource waste and spatial segregation in contemporary cities, particularly the “out of sight, out of mind” approach to discarded materials. The design proposes an architectural response that acknowledges the ecological value and right to presence of these non-human actors. Seeking to disrupt the linear cycle of “use–discard–bury,” the project envisions a visible, participatory, and circular waste–life system. A multi-story residential building is transformed into a “Waste Loop Apartment,” vertically integrating processes of waste sorting, pre-treatment, transformation, and reuse. The system includes a disposal shaft, treatment and conversion zones, research and education spaces, and a public waste market featuring a flower shop, repair station, and reuse store—bringing recycled materials back into everyday life. Here, waste becomes not only a new source of energy and materials, but also a catalyst for community engagement and belonging. The architecture no longer conceals waste but instead becomes a stage for ecological cycles and interspecies coexistence. Ultimately, the project aims to dissolve the boundary between humans and “waste,” humans and “non-humans,” and to cultivate a more transparent, inclusive, and symbiotic urban living model.
