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PROJECT

Architecture as a response to the empowerment of waste pickers: Towards an Upcycling/Recycling Centre for Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

PROJECT SUMMARY

Waste pickers play an indispensable role in advancing the objectives of a circular economy within urban contexts, yet their labour is frequently unrecognised, and their contributions undervalued. The relationship between waste pickers and formal waste management systems remains disjointed, often non existent, despite the substantial impact waste pickers have on the recycling industry. This project intends to explore how architecture can facilitate the reintegration of waste pickers into society by promoting the recycling and upcycling of waste, ultimately transforming public perceptions, and contributing towards the broader goals of sustainability while empowering waste pickers through shifting public perceptions and educating communities on the significant contributions waste pickers make to waste management systems.

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Shahil Singh

representing 

University of KwaZulu-Natal

why did you choose to study architecture?

Architecture has always been a profound passion of mine; it is the embodiment of human experience. To understand, feel, and truly inhabit a space is to unlock its transformative potential, to elevate a simple structure into a place that resonates with the soul. Architecture, to me, is an art of problem solving—an art that transcends mere form and material, manifesting itself as a lived experience, a journey through space that challenges and shapes the way we perceive the world. It is the profound possibility of crafting spaces that stir memory, provoke thought, and alter the very essence of how we live that draws me to this field. As Bjarke Ingels once wisely remarked, “Architecture is about trying to make the world a little more like our dreams.” Through this lens, architecture becomes not only the creation of physical spaces but the weaving of dreams into the fabric of reality.

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