Project description by jury

The design aims to enhance the livability in Kroo Bay, an informal settlement of Freetown, Sierra Leone. As is the case across the country, this community suffers from several sanitary, social and environmental emergencies – including the contamination of the local ecosystem with plastic particles due to inadequate waste management systems. The project uses a simple but radical low-tech approach to provide a multi-purpose facility able to collect plastic trash and upcycle it into valuable products. The proposed architectural object, placed on a riverside, consists of three elements: a bridge that collects plastic trash carried by the river via a net; a recycling plastic workshop where plastics are separated from other rubbish and warmed up to 200°C through solar concentrators then transformed into new products; and spectator seating for football games designed to store objects underneath the stairs while serving recreational activities. The pavilion is intended to be built from recycled on-site plastic panels fixed to steel elements, ensuring the affordability of the construction. In a place characterized by an extreme lack of facilities, the project strives to help residents improve their lives with a public space that reduces pollution from plastics. The small recycling production chain provides opportunities for work, education and gathering while contributing to a safer and cleaner environment.

Resource and environmental performance – Planet

Plastic in the river enters the Kroo Bay slum and then travels further to the Atlantic Ocean, with harmful environmental impacts on our planet. The idea is to filter plastic from the river and to upcycle it into valuable objects. The system functions without electricity.

Locals collect plastic trash with a net at the bridge across the river; Plastic is separated from other rubbish and sorted out according to the type; Big plastic parts are shredded to the smaller particles; Needed plastic is filled in the tubes and brought to the roof; At the parabolic curved roof plastic is warmed up to 200°C (18 kg/h x 8 tubes); Workers lower the tubes by a mechanical elevator and form plastic into any shape such as chopping boards, chairs, walls, doors, etc; Products can be sold or used by residents.

In the competition region of Middle East Africa, the jury selected four entries to receive Next Generation prizes. The winning projects from Uganda, Jordan, Sierra Leone, and Iraq have one thing in common: an intrinsic optimism about the future.