Bryn Mulligan
SMOKY HOLLOW
The rise of global consumerism has led to a drastic increase in the number of products individuals buy and use, as well as a decrease in the lifespan of these products through perceived and planned obsolescence, especially in regards to technology.
The disposal of electronics puts a great strain on the environment, as well as the developing nations that are left with this growing pile of waste. The problem, however, stems from bad practices in nations in Europe and North America of illegally exporting waste elsewhere. To tackle the problem upstream, this project proposes an Electronic Waste (e-waste) Material Recovery Center for the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, a rapidly growing and increasingly technological hub. By incorporating artist live/work units, a closed loop system is created to disassemble, and either recycle responsibly or reuse pieces of products that would be otherwise disposed of.
RESEARCH
Electronic Waste and the Problem It Poses
Agbogbloshie is the world's largest e-waste dump site located in Ghana's capital city Accra. It is a roughly 20-acre scrap yard along the Korle Lagoon where young men and boys openly burn electronics to retrieve precious metals and materials.
WHAT IS E-WASTE?
Electronic waste is a loose term that is applied to electric and electronic equipment that is at or nearing the end of its useful life, by ceasing to be of value to its users, or no longer satisfy their original purpose.
E-WASTE CATEGORIES
LAMPS
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Fluorescent lights, LEDs, etc.
SMALL EQUIPMENT​
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Small kitchen appliances, cameras, scales, calculators, radios, etc.
SMALL IT
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Cell phones, printers, other GPS equipment, etc.
TEMPERATURE-EXCHANGE EQUIPMENT
Cooling and freezing equipment, including refrigerators, air conditioners, and heat pumps.
LARGE EQUIPMENT
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Washer/dryer, stoves, copiers, photovoltaics, etc.
SCREENS / MONITORS
TVs, laptops, tablets, etc.
As technology progresses and consumers are pushed to buy more and replace more of their gadgets, the issue of waste and resources becomes more pressing. Currently, only about 20% is documented to be collected and properly recycled, while 4% ends up in landfills as residual waste. The estimated other 76% of electronic waste is exported to developing countries where they are illegally dumped and become part of a greater problem.
These lucrative electronic waste industries contain dangerous conditions both physically and for the health of workers and residents nearby. Toxic materials such as lead and mercury are openly burned leaking gases into the air, and the smoke itself can be dangerous. Regulations in developing countries are much less strict compared to Western countries.
The problem is not, however, with the regulations of these countries, but the mindset of the residents living in our own consumerist economy purchasing and disposing of electronics like they are easily disposable, with their awareness ending when it leaves their possession.
URBAN MINING
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With the rise of global consumerism, electronic waste continues to grow, leading to the increase of mining. As precious resources dwindle, urban mining will become a focus to extract them from defunct or aged electronics. Urban mining is the act of mining precious minerals and metals from objects rather than raw from the earth. It can be very hard and dangerous work, but is a form of recycling that is extremely profitable.
By extracting these metals and minerals from existing gadgets, the earth is relieved of the added pressure of new products, and the unusable electronic scraps can either be recycled properly, or found a second life, for example in the work of artists.
Urban mining can currently be found in harsh conditions quickly in the developing world where regulations are less strict and resources very valuable. There residents are using open flames to burn off plastic coatings or to separate materials to retrive the resources. Thick toxic smoke covers the area, and heavy levels of dioxins and heavy metals can be found in both the groundwater and in the children living nearby.
BREAKDOWN OF E-WASTE MATERIALS
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
Demographics
In order to create a complete closed-loop system, a paradigm shift is required in order to expand more than just the recycling of electronic waste. We must shift the way we perceive electronics, and the disposability we currently , while also expanding our ability to repair and reuse products to expand their lifespans.
PARADIGM SHIFT
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
GLENWOOD SOUTH
With such high operating costs in Silicon Valley, many businesses are looking elsewhere in the country to start out, and the Raleigh-Durham area is high on the list. Following Silicon Valley, the tri-cities have the largest percentage of tech workers in the nation.
Raleigh also had a 2% growth in tech jobs from 2017-2018, with the fourth largest percentage growth in the country. Durham and Chapel Hill were also acknowledged in the smaller tech hub category, adding to Raleigh’s industry.
With Raleigh being such a leading technology hub, there is a great opportunity to help stem the flow of waste from the industry as well as set the precedent for other cities to look at their own waste stream.
Glenwood South was previously an industrial and residential area home to the working class neighborhood Smoky Hollow known for the cotton mill, two railroad stations, and Devereaux Meadows ballpark. In the early 1950s, however, the neighborhood was leveled to make way for Capital Boulevard.
With history repeating itself, the neighborhood was leveled again between 2007-2017 to revitalize the area bringing closer to what it currently is. The neighborhood, now called Glenwood South is rapidly growing with hip restaurants and over +1600 new units recently constructed or in the process, and more on the way, it has a strong residential base with a variety of restaurants, nightclubs, and galleries with a large young population.
SITE PLAN
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E-WASTE RECYCLING PROCESS
An industrial e-waste recycling process begins with the receiving of products, either through a commercial service, or public drop-off location. The items are then taken to a quality checkpoint to determine if they can be repaired, or parts salvaged before being sent to Stage 1. The gravity-fed system begins with shredding components in a first phase, and then a second finer shredding phase in order to separate materials from one another. The first raw material collected is steel through a magnetic separation stage, and then metallic components through a mechanical process. The final stage is a water separation to pull out the glass, finally just leaving plastic.
GLENWOOD SOUTH
Site Information
The site is located on the corner of W Johnson Street and Gaston Street, where an unoccupied one-story industrial building currently sits. The newly completed St. Mary's Apartments is across the street towering over the area at six stories high, and the new Welcome Holdings Hotel on the same block. It is otherwise surrounded mainly by small businesses.
SMOKY HOLLOW
Program
The main programmatic component is the e-waste recycling process, which is a gravity-fed system that is prominent along the Gaston Street face. It includes a loading area, and a quality testing area before the products enter the recycling process.
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In an attempt to help relieve the waste stream and provide more housing for the growing young population in the area, artisan housing in incorporated with 12 live/work units, giving them first access to incoming components.
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A coffee bar and gallery anchors the corner, as a place for the live-in artists to display their work while bringing awareness to the global e-waste problem. On the second floor of the cafe, there is a community fix-it lab, where the community is encouraged to bring their broken gadgets and get assistance in repairing them themselves.
FIRST FLOOR
FOURTH FLOOR MEZZ.
FOURTH FLOOR
THIRD FLOOR
SECOND FLOOR
FIFTH FLOOR
FIFTH FLOOR MEZZ.
SIXTH FLOOR
SIXTH FLOOR MEZZ.
UNIT RENDERING
SECTION A
DETAIL THROUGH E-WASTE GLAZING
GASTON STREET ELEVATION
