"Trash for Use" - Debbie Chen Wins Holcim Next Generation1st Prize

We are proud to congratulate Debbie Chen *14, 1st Prize winner of the 2014 Holcim "Next Generation" Prize for her project: "Trash for Use: Municipal Center for Harvesting Utility from Waste, New York, NY." 

The Holcim Foundation announcement explains: "The Holcim Awards competition seeks visions and bold ideas in the “Next Generation” category... The jury greatly appreciated the idea to conceive a new type of urban infrastructure that offers an answer to the problematic interplay of material flows in urban environments."

Chen's project is based on her 2014 M.Arch. thesis "The Municipal CHUW (Center for Harvesting Utility from Waste): A New Resource Infrastructure for New York City" advised by Paul Lewis, Associate Professor, Architecture Design.  Chen describes the project: "As waste removal becomes increasingly difficult to handle and landfill space more scarce, cities must become more resourceful in how they address their refuse. The project proposes a building in the midst of the metropolis for waste collection and processing, a 'machine for turning trash into treasure.'  The municipal Center for Harvesting Utility from Waste (CHUW) recognizes an opportunity to locally treat collected waste, separating the components to exploit its content."