Student Presenter(s): Santiago Hernandez
Faculty Mentor: Farzana Gandhi
School/College: Architecture and Design, Manhattan

My thesis work Involves research about Moravia, a town in Medellin Colombia. Originally a landfill, the informal settlement of Moravia in Colombia was first occupied by its residents who arrived as trash pickers. Interestingly, trash collection and management and infrastructure are absent in the informal community today. The settlement also suffers from issues of flooding, polluted creeks, steep topography, unpaved and narrow roads or steep stairs, soil movement, and lack of sewage and freshwater supply. With my project I am proposing a new system of recycling, upcycling, and water filtration that will also bring new forms of the economy to Moravia's residents. This will comprise (1) a decentralized trash dock collection system, (2) trash compaction, recycling, and composting as separate facilities, and finally, (3) a water treatment plant. educating and encouraging new relationships with trash, offering new formal opportunities for the economy, and developing a clean, environmentally resilient, and socially vibrant community, each element will be programmed with public activities and participation. sensitive to the self-built context, these insertions will be a form of urban acupuncture and will encourage participatory design and construction, where appropriate.