The program of Dubai Design Week 22 was focused on designing a sustainable future, through the theme ‘Design with Impact’.

This year quartz architects presents “How much does your debris weigh?”, an immersive and thought-provoking installation, to draw attention to the environmental degradation caused by construction waste being buried in landfills, both globally and in the Middle East.

The team was eager to address this alarming issue with an experiential space that highlights the “what next” in the construction industry. Yes, it is the age of the Metaverse and technology has never been this bigger and better. However, our intention for the audience is to take a step back, watch, think and introspect on their next steps.

What if the world becomes a big pile of waste? And what, if the only solution left is to start living under it? How will our lives look then?

the design concept was derived from the idea of an ‘inverted wave’ of waste that creates an enclosure for an experiential space. The design is a denotation of our future if we continue to keep the waste practices we have now.It also symbolizes the state of human life and their living conditions which will be no less than living under a pile of waste; it’s a denotation of how waste will overpower human life, settle in and become our reality. It is also equally important for layman and construction workers to know what can be recycled, how and where.

Approximately 2,5 tonnes of construction waste, suspended just 4 metres above the ground, are supported by a steel frame and stainless steel mesh. The design, which is sturdy and raw, is intended to evoke a sense of unease when walking beneath it, and ultimately to pose the question: "What happens if waste overtakes the world?"

Each structural box is 5000x5000mm, made of eight steel 20cm side steel beams, connected mutually on the bottom and on the top to guarantee the self-sustainability of each box and to allow the passage of visitors beneath it. The top beams are housing the loopholes supporting a steel wire-and-mesh over which the debris lays.

This solution was selected in order to express a feeling of “falling” debris and to further expand the concept of being buried beneath waste.

Background

In the region, C&D waste is considered a major component of solid waste. A case study of sustainable construction waste management in KSA, conducted by Springer Science+Business Media, shows that 86% of stakeholders dispose construction waste in a landfill while 31% store their waste until site completion. The study further shows that only half of site managers have an awareness of waste reuse or recycling programs. The alarming case led the team to wonder what would happen if the world becomes piled high with waste, and what if the only solution was to turn them into something else.

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Collaborators:

All construction waste for the installation was donated by Dulsco, which provides recycling solutions in UAE for C&D waste. They also shared their vast experience and knowledge about the process and possibilities of recycling construction waste. In total, the debris weighs 2.4 tonnes, while the structure can support 150 kg per square meter. The waste comes from local construction sites and includes inert and mineral waste (mortar, concrete, bricks, etc.), plywood, wood, PPR pipes, steel, and plastics.

A collaboration between Huda Lighting and Barcelona-based Vibia provided architectural lighting for the installation, while Steel Mart designed reflective flooring to convey the right message. The flooring is a dry-assembly stainless steel tile-based carpet coupled with soundabsorbing padding capable of blurring the reflection of the upper debris and surrounding environments.