Mask Pandemic – After COVID 19
Team
Name: Dawoon Won
Nationality: South Korea
Institution / Company: Seoul National University of Science and Technology
Name: Ari Kim
Nationality: South Korea
Institution / Company: Seoul National University of Science and Technology
-HONOURABLE MENTION of Waste Pavilion Competition
Now the COVID19 era is over. However, the disassembly of the mask remains an unresolved problem. In 2020, global mask waste reached 129 billion per month. It’s a garbage pendemic, not a COVID pendemic.
The face mask is made of microplastics, so it can be disposed of by incineration, but the amount is too large to be solved by incineration. Also, it takes 450 years for a mask buried in the ground to completely rot. So, can’t the mask be recycled? We are trying to recreate the mask as a pavilion.
DESIGN
We derived the concept of the pavilion using the most discharged masks in the city. Formally, there are three layers like a mask, and different spaces are created between each layer. As for the space, both the basement and the first floor are divided into a space for people to pass by, a space for communication, and a rest area. Also, according to the change in the height of the layers and the change in the pattern, the individual shelter and the space where communication with people is emphasized are different. The pattern of the layers goes from the angled fractal shapes shown to the curved fractal shapes of the mask fibers.
The uppermost layer has the largest scale of the pattern and uses the air filtering characteristics of the mask to block the pattern with filter material so that the first floor communication space and shelter space can maintain clean air. The layer pattern above the passing path was pierced so that people could look at the sky and receive sunlight.
The middle layer is a pattern that is large enough for one person to fit into one pattern piece, and is a pattern generated by the splitting of the uppermost layer. The middle layer blocks the holes in the pattern with melted plastic as if a structure was made to provide a space for people to pass by, communicate with, and shelter.
The lowermost layer is composed of a smaller scale pattern again by splitting the middle layer. Located on the half-floor basement, it is a space where you can rest and get away from sunlight. However, as light enters through the open parts of the middle and upper layers, you can enjoy a different pattern of shadows. As with the middle layer, the mask is made of melted plastic to block the perforated parts of the pattern so that people can pass by, communicate with each other, and provide a space for shelter.
STRUCTURE AND CONSTRUCTION
Masks are made of various materials, such as wire, non-woven fabric, mask filters, and ear strings. Most of them are plastics. The mask is a PP material called polypropylene, which does not generate endocrine disruptors among plastics. When heated, it melts into a liquefied resin state. It is a liquefied resin, and after a certain period of time, it hardens to fit the mold. By increasing the density, a strong structure was formed, and the blocked part of the top layer used the filter itself, and the blocked part of the middle and bottom layers was made in the same way as the structure so that it could withstand the load of people.
#Recycling # #Community engagement # Public health #Pandemic #Microplatics from face masks
