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The project proposes an inverted McMansion in an arid climate which, in its final act of over-consumption, ingests its own rear yard. However this act leads to its own survival. The ingested yard now becomes an activatedorganic machine for the harvesting and filtration of a single body of water that is perpetually recycled in a semiclosed system.
The original pitched roofs made for shedding water are now opportunistically reconfigured to collect water, and harvest energy. The newly ingested yard/lawn becomes a lush living filtration system cleaning grey and black water for reuse, while offering an Eden-like garden for its inhabitants. Eden is sustained by the toilet; a site for human waste disposal becomes a site for production, providing the necessary nutrients for the maintenance of plant and animal life, which in turn clean the water.
What was once the exterior of the house is now the most private area. The most private moments are experienced in what used to be outside.
In 2004, after five years of severe drought, Las Vegas banned all lawns in any new housing development, allowing ‘desert landscaping’ only. Residents are paid $1 for every square foot of lawn they dig up.
“Long term, we have to keep growing, but it is going to be a different growth. To put it bluntly, in this town we are going to drink what we flush.” — Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas
Carol Moukheiber and Chritos Marcopoulos with Don Shillingburg