OUT OF THE ASH: Exploring New Material Agendas in Architecture and Landscape
P. Yalçin (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
R. Cavallo – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
A.S. Alkan – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
C.L. Martin – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
Modern urban life produces continuous flows of discarded materials that are collected, sorted, incinerated or buried out of public view. Waste therefore disappears socially before it disappears materially. This research examines how waste-derived landscapes, particularly bottom ash mounds produced by waste-to-energy plants, can be reconsidered as constructed grounds rather than closed technical infrastructures. In the Netherlands, landfills and bottom ash mounds form artificial elevations within a flat landscape, yet they remain largely absent from spatial and architectural imagination. Focusing on Het Groene Schip in Amsterdam Westpoort, the research addresses a hidden bottom ash stock shaped by incineration, regulation, containment and possible reuse. While bottom ash contains mineral fractions that can enter construction chains, its application depends on processing, quality requirements and public trust. The project asks how architecture and landscape can make this hidden material condition visible, accessible and productive without ignoring its environmental and operational constraints.