One of the main health and hygiene problems in remote villages in India and Africa is the lack of basic sanitation, where people are forced to live with human and animal waste.
With this aggravating factor in mind, the architecture firm Spark, in partnership with the UN, developed the
Big Ass Toilet : a 3D printed toilet that collects animal, human and plant waste and transforms it into electrical energy, solving two problems at once. time.
The sanitary module is anchored to a 3D-printed reinterpretation of a traditional biogas dome, which is buried underground. The dome, designed to operate for 10 years, generates and stores gas. The
biogas produced feeds a combined heat and power unit. power (CHP) to generate electricity. "Biogas is a product of the breakdown of organic matter, in the case of the
Big Ass Toilet , biogas is a product of human waste, food waste and agricultural waste. Biogas can be used directly for activities such as cooking or to drive a micro turbine -CHP, which converts gas into electricity", explain the professionals.
The toilet block shell is 3D printed as a single piece, which comes complete with toilet bowl and basin. The exterior can be processed or finished with a variety of materials appropriate to the local context and environment. The curved toilet shapes are designed to be structurally sound, relatively easy to print, and lightweight. "This is a more sustainable and lightweight strategy than using more commonly used 3D printing materials such as plastics and cement. The toilets were designed for India but could be used in other parts of the world," they conclude.
