Waste to Energy Ecopark Central Hub, Ciénaga Mallorquín

Abstract

This project emerges from a deep reflection on the post-pandemic reality, where the need to address problems creatively becomes evident. It seeks to identify opportunities for improvement in undervalued sectors and add value through the lens of architecture. Considering current social, economic, and environmental conditions, the project's design approach has been rethought to adapt to emerging challenges. The main insight was based on thorough research including global data, macroeconomic trends, the Sustainable Development Goals, World Bank reports, and studies such as "Re-thinking Architecture of Waste" from Harvard University. This research defined the scope of the project, reimagining the role of the architect to address future needs and exploring how architecture can positively impact critical and underexplored areas. The aim as an academic institution is to demonstrate how design skills and creativity in architecture can generate innovation and propose tangible solutions to complex problems. Solid waste represents one of the main urban and environmental issues worldwide, and I firmly believe that architecture can play a crucial role in its mitigation. The fusion of research, architectural design, technology, and creativity allows for the creation of comprehensive solutions that add value and effectively address global problems. This project focuses on the fundamental question: How can architecture be involved in waste treatment by efficiently integrating new technologies while adapting to urban needs and promoting sustainability? This question guided the roadmap of the creative process of this thesis, where data-driven responses were created for different areas of the waste circular economy. As a result of this process, a prototype was developed consisting of a set of formally tested pieces from built projects. These pieces give rise to experimentation aimed at the creation of an Ecological Energy Park: a modern energy plant that prioritizes environmental development and integrates urban solid waste treatment, data analysis, and urban planning as a mediator of the urban context for the recovery of the Mallorquin marsh. This project represents the vision of how architecture can play a crucial role as an agent of change in building a sustainable future.