rethinking waste

These images are from a project looking at the potential for adaptively reusing a landfill site in Leonia, New Jersey. The rendering illustrates the overall concept of challenging the typical notion of waste as ugly and discarded. We designed multiple voids in the landscape that revealed the infrastructure of waste which supported the program of the park. These voids were termed scars, acting as a reminder that the waste we produce does not disappear. We wanted to construct compositions of physical, non-toxic decay that would change the way people interact with and understand waste. The plan called for a series of scars, each addressing a different component of the landfill system and the decomposition of waste products.

The design created a vision for a 21st century park; one that interacted with multiple urban systems and provided people with valuable open space and an educational tool for all age groups and demographics.