In the eyes of the 18th-century romantics, naturally decayed architectures symbolise a poetic balance of nature and spirit. The aesthetics of ruins, however, seems faded in the Anthropocene. When architecture becomes a means of economic development, demolition — the modern form of decay — prevails in cities. New ideas are needed to unravel cities from the social and environmental burdens of construction and demolition (C&D) waste.

The project selects a site at the foot of a mountain in Beijing, in an area witnessing swift urbanisation and a rising economy. Expanding urban areas force the existing C&D treatment plants to move to the city margin, by the mountains. C&D treatment plants to date mainly adopt durable grey liners to contain and suppress hazardous substances underground, while leakage may accumulate for years and cause irreversible consequences.

Inspired by the wisdom of crop rotation in cultivation, the project proposes a migrating C&D treatment plant as a new waste recycling mechanism in Beijing. By designing a module prototype that responds to potential environmental impacts and stakeholder needs, the project humanises waste treatment in close urban contexts. The co-evolution of the site and ecology reintroduces the long-lost harmony of man and nature.