Joana Rafael is an architect, researcher and lecturer. Her work focuses on (issues of) ecology, human geography and natural sciences, encompassing contemporary culture, media studies, art and technology. She combines architecture as a discipline of thought and design practice, reflecting on the boundaries of buildings, infrastructures and (radiological-)contaminated territories. Engages in speculative thinking and writing to develop a critical distance from anthropocentric understandings and attend to reciprocal relationships between humans and nature. Joana teaches Contextual Studies and Contemporary Culture-related courses. She is a member of CEGOT (Center for Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning) and CEAA (Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo). Joana is a cofounder of REFINERY BOARD.
Burying Solid Waste Problems
+ ATLAS - Mapping the Nuclear Grave and Remediation-Related Campaigns
Presented in / Published by Wastes 2019, Lisbon, Portugal
The paper highlights solid waste as a major cause of pollution and contamination of soil, air, and water, as well as a health risk, which calls for more ethical and innovative solutions to eliminate waste. It argues that waste management programs should expand to deal with the problems associated with waste and meet the demands of efficient production and sustainability.