Sunnefa Gunnarsdóttir

MudCity

The port authority of Hamburg spends €100 million per year on excavating more than 2 million m³ mud from the river bed, which is consequently deposited on the land. The proposed project aims to replace this linear process with the circular cycles of re-use and creative production. Despite the contamination levels, even the mud in the port of Hamburg meets the requirements for uses in German industrial standards. By introducing a research and innovation centre and bringing these in touch with public programs the project aims to enhance the cultural dimension of the process and the products.

The building concept and its design follows the 5 steps of the recycling process. Both the positioning on the site and the massing follows the recycling and upcycling processes. Each step of the process, both in terms of its spatial and material qualities follow that line: Acquisition and dehydration; decontamination and purification; bioremediation; experimentation and research; creative applications and the most public programs bringing these with leisure activities. The ground floor is formulated as the most public plinth for bringing the whole process in contact with the urban flows of the site.