The Olusosun Landfill Stadium: Emerging from the Trash

American University of Sharjah, College of Architecture, art and Design, Sharjah

Project idea

Waste is a global issue common to all urban areas. Until recently in Lagos, the Nigerian megalopolis handled its waste by relocation. It seemed simple enough to drive waste outside of town to the 100-acre Olusosun dump site beginning in 1992. Since then, Lagos is estimated to be the fastest growing metropolis in the world, expanding from a population of 7 million to over 21 million. The landfill that was once far from any urban activity is now surrounded by it. Earlier this year, the Olusosun Landfill was shut down by local government and slated for redevelopment. The program calls for a mixed-use stadium project that allows for trash recycling as well as other sustainable activities.
With the integration of the site’s unique history, materials and tradition, the way in which the project emerges from the trash can be encapsulated into distinct¬¬ phases where solar electricity, recycled materials, soil transformation, water/wind harvesting, and phytoremediation coalesce together to create alluring spaces with a myriad of purposes.
Upon unfolding the landfill through intricate manipulation of the trash’s topography, whilst giving careful consideration towards circulation networks and light quality the site evolves into an idiosyncratic amusement park, therefore activating it on a quotidian basis. These spaces create a cohesive entity that believes in learning from the past, transforming in the present and striving for greatness in the future.

Project description

The Olusosun landfill is a site in dire need of remediation AND regeneration. The process of transforming this site is done by integrating its history, materials and the multipurpose qualities that a stadium can embody. Architecture should not petrify forms, nor should it deny their existence. The existing context and its character should be encouraged to evolve and transform. Thus, we plan on establishing a connected sense of being and a management of environmental change by unfolding the landscape, carefully considering the circulation networks, and manipulating the topography. The current and existing void of the Olusosun landfill will most definitely serve as a beacon of hope for the people of Lagos.
The remediation for the site into a place of hope and light for the people is a six step process where solar electricity, recycled materials, soil transformation, water harvesting, wind harvesting and phytoremediation comes together to create spaces with multiple purposes. These methods take the materials of the site and transform them, hence they become beneficial for the users of the site. The integration of the following processes improves the qualities of the site rather than deny its existence. Solar panels are integrated into the recycling center roof and windmills for wind harvesting are applied to the structure of the rollercoaster. Waterbodies on the landscape are connected to underground cisterns that can store water for efficient use. The process of phytoremediation is activated on the site through the berms that form the landscape and the stadium mound. These berms are structured with inorganic trash that are sorted out in the recycling center. This recycling center also provides material for various elements of the project like the drum wall and the loop. The loop that meanders through the site is made of recycled rubber and concrete fabricated from plastic. The drum wall that surrounds the site is made from deisel drums that are widely used (and not repurposed) in the country.
Along with the remediation of the site, we propose the concept of an amusement park being integrated into the site. These amusement facilities will provide an inclusive area to engage people from many different walks of life. The main expression of amusement that weaves itself into the stadium is the rollercoaster. This ride creates multiple experiences along its path. The amusement features of the site allow the site to be activated throughout the year instead and allows the stadium to be used in multiple ways. Other amusement rides are dispersed across the landscape whose topography has been formed by the trash of the landfill. these trash mounds weave their way into the stadium mound itself to create indoor amusement spaces and the underground bazaar. The underground bazaar repurposes the parking on lighter days to create a social space for the community. social spaces are created on the stadium mound as well through the addition of ramps and walkways. Thus, in this way, social spaces are dispersed through the site to give life to what was once a wasteland. These spaces create a cohesive entity that believes in learning from the past, transforming in the present and striving for greatness in the future.

Technical information

The Olusosun Landfill is a 400,000 sqm dumpsite located in Ikeja area, Lagos, Nigeria, at the intersection of two major highways, Ikorodu Road and Lagos-Ibadan Express Road.
After the thorough research and analysis on the site and Lagos at large, Emerging from the Trash, Olusosun Landfill Stadium, proposes a construction timeline plan executed in 8 phases across 5 years. Firstly, the recycling center is introduced to the site to remediate the trash and recycle the materials to use in the building of the project. In order for the recycling center to sustain itself, solar panels are installed on the roof top to generate electricity for the facility and the overall project later on. Next, the remediated trash is used to create the landforms and shape the site to establish the loop system that incorporates a running track, a pedestrian walkway, a bicycle lane, and a two-way vehicular pathway. Following this, the stadium seating is integrated into the primary landform to mark the placement of the stadium on site. Moreover, inhabitable spaces and light wells are created for the stadium by the modification of the primary landform before adding the final element of the stadium, which is the roof, with solar panel fabric as its material. Last in the phase is the introduction of the amusement park through the articulation of the remaining landforms and the insertion of the rollercoaster across the whole site.
In the exploded axonometric, the different layers making up the project are shown, alongside the structure holding up each of the programs. Some of the different structural elements used include the truss system with structural walls and compressed trash in the recycling center and training center, radial post and lintel system in the stadium tiers, and core vertical structure in the stadium roof.

Co-authors

Saagarika Dias, Mary Krajekian, Gbadebo Giwa