Cornell CALS
Summer 2026
Working with Kate Chesebrough, a landscape design lecturer at Cornell CALS, we created an immersive view into Dandora, a remarkable district of Nairobi. The neighborhood takes its name from the landfill at its center, and the waterfall featured here is heavily polluted with trash, sewage, and toxic runoff from nearby industry.
Kate traveled to Nairobi to visit the site and meet with local activist groups working to restore the waterfall to its natural condition: planting trees, collecting waste, and bringing residents into beautification initiatives. We transformed her aerial photos and video into this immersive 3D environment, with dynamic relighting, water simulation, accurate measurement, and text annotations that tell the story more effectively.
This interactive experience conveys the scale of the challenges facing Dandora without the expense of traveling there, bringing much-needed attention and funding to the organizations working to reshape the district for the next generation.
A Section of the Gaussian Splat Showing the Pollution Level of the Falls