The University of British
Columbia
Projects | 2018
MYCOmmunity Toilet
Valerine Chandrakesuma, Joe Ho, Kateryna Levdokymenko, Jay Martiniuk, Patrick Lewis Wilkie
Over 2.5 billion people in developing countries lack access to proper and safe sanitation. MYCOmmunity Toilet proposes a distributed, sustainable human waste disposal system for use in under-resourced communities. This system is low-cost, waterless, and operates off the-grid to safely decompose and convert solid human waste into usable fertilizer. When full, each MYCOmmunity unit can be composted and used to grow trees, grasses and crops, stabilizing soils and enriching the local ecosystem.
instructors
Dr. Steven Hallam
Dr. Steven Hallam is a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. Dr. Hallam is a University of California, Santa Cruz and MIT trained molecular biologist, microbial ecologist, entrepreneur, and innovator with over 20 years experience in field and laboratory research at disciplinary interfaces. Dr. Hallam’s current research intersects microbial ecology, biological engineering, and bioinformatics with specific emphasis on the creation of functional screens and computational tools that reveal hidden metabolic powers of uncultivated microbial communities.
Dr. Joseph Dahmen
Dr. Joseph Dahmen is an Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Joe teaches design studios and courses in the architecture and landscape architecture programs and runs the Studio for Form and Energy. With his partner Amber Frid-Jimenez, Canada Research Chair in design, he runs AFJD Studio, a transdisciplinary design firm based in Vancouver. He is co-founder and Director of Sustainability at Watershed Materials LLC, an architectural materials company supported by the US National Science Foundation and private equity investment.