WASH plus infrascaping

Abstract

For many decades, various non-governmental agencies, and political entities have been working to resolve issues relating to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene within developing countries around the world. One area within the world that has sought to resolve this issue for many years is the country of Haiti. Many NGO's have sought to resolve issues of WASH within Haiti through the creation and dispersion of latrines and wells. However due to improper maintenance, these interventions soon become inoperable, putting the health of surrounding citizens in far greater risk. My thesis argues that in order for WASH designs to become sustainable, there must be a joint approach between architecture, landscaping and infrastructure, or an approach termed "infrascaping". Through Infrascaping, my thesis proposes to create a community oriented system through landscaping that focuses on collecting water, cleaning it, and then using it to operate the showers, sinks and toilets through a grey water re-use system. With this approach my thesis aims to represent a model for a sustainable WASH design that can be replicated and reconfigured in various locations around the world. Main Points: 1. Integrating WASH designs into community programs; 2. Manipulating the landscape to produce site conditions that support longterm WASH programs; 3. Using rainfall as a catalyst for site organization and programmatic distribution.