Amman, Jordan
Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation I New York City
Instructor: Kate Orff (studio coordinator), Nora Akawi, Ziad Jamaleddine, Petra Kempf, Laura Kurgan
Team: Jianwei Li, Shuting Han, Yinzhu Shen, Yicheng Xu
Amman houses 42% of Jordan's population out of which 30 % are refugees.The DC aquifer is one of the primary sources of water for the city of Amman.The DC water conveyance pipeline pumps water from the fossil water aquifer from the southern border with Saudi Arabia 340 km away from Amman. The water distribution system in Amman are indicators of high levels of inequality in the city. Climate change and moderate rains have transformed into intensified flash floods that annually flood the city, during which the most vulnerable parts of the population are affected. Area C is located in the southwest of Amman which was naturally understood as a water catchment area. In the current master plan by the city of Amman, this part of the city is now intended for high-density mixed-use development, which is expected to continue and disrupt existing water flows.
Amman Introduction
What if the fragmented water system in Amman were being transformed into a collective water network through a top-down and bottom-up intervention to re-calibrate the water inequity in the city?
Watershared
Over the past 50 years, Jordan’s population has increased 15 times. In addition, the number of rainy days has decreased by 3-10%. Jordan has built a series of expansive, and high energy-consumption nation-scale water infrastructures, such as Disi Aquifer and King Abdullah Canal to cope with population growth. However, the majority of people still do not have access to sufficient amount of clean water through the municipal water distribution network in Amman.
People’s unbalanced income, as well as the rationing of water supply and commodification of water has resulted in water inequity throughout the city. To recalibrate water inequity in the city, WATERSHARED, converts the water system in downtown Amman from an individual to a collective water network through top-down and bottom-up interventions.
In Amman, the Jordan Water Authority(WAJ) rations the water supply. Each household receives only 24-72 hours of municipal water supply per week according to the location of neighborhoods. Everyone in the city needs to purchase additional water as WAJ is not supplying enough water.
Water Inequity_Neighborhood
During the 24-72 hours supply time, people need to fill in their water storage facility (bought by themselves), such as a tank located in the basement. Once they run out of the water, they need to call expensive private water trucks to get refills. If the truck is not available, they have to buy bottled water, which is ten times more expensive. Water is regarded as a commodity instead of necessity. In this case, the more affluent citizens have more access to water resources, which leads to water inequity in the city, especially for people living in downtown Amman, who are suffering from both water shortage and periodic flash flooding.
Water Inequity-Building Scale
In Amman, most of the upper and middle class live in the west, consuming much more municipal water than the lower class as well as the refugees living in the east. This spatial differentiation is closely related to access of water, purchasing power, storage capacities, water usage and attitude towards water. This kind of rationing of water supply causes very different living conditions and lifestyles between the rich and the poor.
For example, the upper class living in Abdoun can afford to have swimming pools while people living in downtown Amman may just have 2 cubic meter water storage for an eight-member family.
Water Inequity-Household scale
Downtown Amman, which is one of the oldest districts in the city, located on one of the seven hills is where most of the commercial activities are concentrated. It is also an area where the less affluent people of Amman live. Local buildings are constructed along the hills from top to bottom and are vertically divided into three segments, connected by a network of staircases.
The upper part of the district, the residential segment, is where the low-income class and the refugees live. These people have very limited access to water and storage facilities. The middle part consists of offices, a clinic and a hotel. The lower area houses local retail stores, traditional souks and restaurants with a high water consumption for washing and cleaning.
We identified four kinds of untapped urban infrastructures: water tanks, exposed pipes, staircases, as well as abandoned houses.
In our proposal, the roof is used for collective municipal water tanks and portable water filter. The facade is used for greywater filtration. The staircase is excavated for both channeling and holding rainwater. The abandoned house is transformed into a greywater station.
Greywater will be gathered from each household. Based on the geographic location and its treatment via the facade and staircase, the filtered water will flows into the nearest greywater station.
During dry season, municipal water supply comes to the roof to fill the new collective water tank. Other water supply flows down to the household for the domestic water usage. The greywater would be collected from the kitchen and bathrooms and then flow to the filtration network on the facade, passing the new staircase water channel, towards the greywater station, which will then cycle back to the neighborhoods or sold to the commercial buildings. Residents in the upper districts may use these funds to construct new infrastructures for the upper area. During the rainy season, The holding space on the staircase can hold and slow the water flow. The water channel can direct rainwater to another water station for storage.
Water Flow Unit
Water Flow Diagram
To test our intervention, we zoom into the densest area of downtown Amman. As a first step, the proposed collective water unit will form, based on their kitchen bathroom, proximity to the staircase, and connections to other neighbors. Due to the topography and proximity to the staircase, we propose each family shares their tanks with adjacent neighbors in order to increase their water capacity.
In the rainy season, we imagine the rainwater holding space and green space to be integrated into the stair as a water detention network.
Section
Exterior space and interior water-related space, such as bathroom and kitchen are regarded as a holistic water infrastructure. According to phasing, the basic water infrastructure gradually creates space that caters to the residents daily life and water needs.
In phase one, the local residents can collect the existing water tanks and organize them into a lift-up platform. Also, water pipes from the platform will direct water supply to rooftops and interior spaces. The municipality will fund local residents to build up a new water network on their rooftop. NGO’s, such as Wise Water Woman will support the locals in this effort.
At the same time, the rainwater holding space and green space will be added on the staircase, the abandoned house will become an active storage facility to hold the greywater from neighboring households. These groundworks are executed by the municipality.
In phase two, the local citizens will implement larger collective water tanks to replace the old tanks with funds provided by the municipality. More households nearby can also participate in these shared water units by connecting their pipes to the network.
These water pipe networks will grow gradually and contribute to the transformation of the roofscape. By adding additional structures and shading by the locals onto the main structure, new spaces are being created, adding new layers to the overall network.
In phase three, the intervention revolving around the staircases is completed by the municipality. Greywater that comes from the kitchen and bathrooms can be connected to the bio-filter which also can provide the cooling environment and green area along the stair. In addition, local residents can add water filters to the new water tanks. The newly created space along the staircases provides additional gathering spaces for the residents as they keep constructing and using their roof space. The roofs are connected by ramps to create a new circulation pattern for water-related community activities such as cooking, praying, gardening and community workshops.
Phasing of Axonometric Drawing
New water tanks and structures provide water supply for the local residents, and gradually reactivate the roof space as a social condenser with different programs, such as cooking, praying and family activities.
Roof Scale Scenario
The collective water systems also reframe the network of the roofs, staircases, alleys and roads to change the fragment urban condition as a dynamic space for locals to explore more water-related activities to empower the community.
Stair Scale Scenario
Zooming out to the whole site, we envision this infrastructure network to become a holistic water based infrastructure that alleviates water inequality for everyone.
Street Scale Scenario
Since the intervention includes creating new collective water tanks on the rooftops with a rainwater collection system, greywater filtration, and rainwater holding and runoff areas, this project empowers the local inhabitants of downtown Amman to build micro-water infrastructures, as well as communal gathering spaces and thus enhances the livelihood of a community at large.
Vision
Within the MENA regional context of rationing water supply and untapped
potential of solar energy, our proposal, redesign household greywater recycling
strategies, provide decentralized greywater treatment solutions and incorporate
flexible solar energy solution to transform the fragmented, unaffordable system
a holistic water and energy infrastructure in the low-income communities.
