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Showing posts with label #2 - Vulnerability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #2 - Vulnerability. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
I would prefer not to
You have all received Iñaki Ábalos' article I would prefer not to as inspiration for the work with your assignment Vulnerability.
Looking forward to seeing you all on Tuesday (schedule for the session to be posted soon).
/M
Looking forward to seeing you all on Tuesday (schedule for the session to be posted soon).
/M
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Consultations on Tuesday
I will stop by the studio for consultations on Tuesday 4 October from 12 - 16. I would like to talk to as many as possible of you, so please make a list and we will make the most out of the four hours that we got. (Note that the day has changed according to the studio calendar.)
See you!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
#2 Vulnerability
Vulnerability
The notion of vulnerability is invariable related to the concept of life – either it is human life or life in nature as such. The consciousness of mortality is disturbing and exposes life as fragile. Life does not exist in closed systems, but do always relate to other life forms or systems of varying extent and size - in this relations dependency occur, and not at least a continuous struggle for a position of surviving. It is a slow drama that has been going on since the creation of earth, and encompasses all natural systems of all scales from the smallest biotope to global circuits.
To be relevant the planning process must consider a wide range of subjects and disciplines beyond what is normally regarded as the field for architecture. There is an increasing pressure on natural resources in our time, and with an even stronger growth in the global population the potential crisis and vulnerability due to this fact seems obvious. Global climate-crisis, financial crisis, uneven distribution of food and welfare, poverty and injustice – in combination with an rapidly increasing exploitation of landscapes for industrial use and urban expansion at the expense of ecosystems, natural habitats and biodiversity, draws a seemingly dystopian picture of the future.
The architect has the unique possibility of being a mediator between the different forces and currents at work – many of which we have observed during our recent journey trough the landscapes and cultures of the high north. The north has always been considered with a colonial view on exploitation of both land bound and sea bound resources – and a historical dependence on fluctuations in global economy is now facing a rapid change into an even deeper reliance on multinational companies with the consequence of an increased consumption of the landscape.
In our project mosaïc::region (70°N/D&U, 2008) we used the concept of vulnerability like this: Vulnerability mapping is a piece in our anti-generic mindset where plurality and diversity is crucial, and where the unique strength of the mosaic can be cultivated and magnified. This applies of course to preserve and strengthen a natural diversity, but it applies just as fully to the ‘sociotopes’ that for different reasons are exposed for economical and political pressure and transformation – in both cases we are talking about strengthening trough linking together, and opening up for new opportunities rather than to preserve.
Mapping of vulnerability means to gain a genuine understanding of a wide range of aspects of a context. It can be seen as a hyper mapping of the super normal - a survey that gives a flexible and evolving strategy where the vulnerable first and foremost is protected by intervention and not primarily trough making of new boundaries. Reading, mapping and understanding the layers of vulnerability has the potential of making changes. Knowledge calls for awareness about the consequences of human activity. Planning must be precautionary and attentive to even the smallest elements, and being susceptible and observant for currents of vulnerability that may have the power to change the plan.
In future planning we need to find and analyze both the obvious and the invisible – to make an operative and expedient plan that opens for hidden knowledge. Trough experimentation it is possible to make a flexible plan that works with the complexity there is, and that can use the contextual vulnerability as a potential for a new dynamism. It is all about making the future more sustainable and open for the unknown.
A credible map of sustainability has yet to be drawn, but there can be no doubt that other aspects already trailed and trialled have run out of whatever credibility they had. (Iñaki Abalos)
The notion of vulnerability is invariable related to the concept of life – either it is human life or life in nature as such. The consciousness of mortality is disturbing and exposes life as fragile. Life does not exist in closed systems, but do always relate to other life forms or systems of varying extent and size - in this relations dependency occur, and not at least a continuous struggle for a position of surviving. It is a slow drama that has been going on since the creation of earth, and encompasses all natural systems of all scales from the smallest biotope to global circuits.
To be relevant the planning process must consider a wide range of subjects and disciplines beyond what is normally regarded as the field for architecture. There is an increasing pressure on natural resources in our time, and with an even stronger growth in the global population the potential crisis and vulnerability due to this fact seems obvious. Global climate-crisis, financial crisis, uneven distribution of food and welfare, poverty and injustice – in combination with an rapidly increasing exploitation of landscapes for industrial use and urban expansion at the expense of ecosystems, natural habitats and biodiversity, draws a seemingly dystopian picture of the future.
The architect has the unique possibility of being a mediator between the different forces and currents at work – many of which we have observed during our recent journey trough the landscapes and cultures of the high north. The north has always been considered with a colonial view on exploitation of both land bound and sea bound resources – and a historical dependence on fluctuations in global economy is now facing a rapid change into an even deeper reliance on multinational companies with the consequence of an increased consumption of the landscape.
In our project mosaïc::region (70°N/D&U, 2008) we used the concept of vulnerability like this: Vulnerability mapping is a piece in our anti-generic mindset where plurality and diversity is crucial, and where the unique strength of the mosaic can be cultivated and magnified. This applies of course to preserve and strengthen a natural diversity, but it applies just as fully to the ‘sociotopes’ that for different reasons are exposed for economical and political pressure and transformation – in both cases we are talking about strengthening trough linking together, and opening up for new opportunities rather than to preserve.
Mapping of vulnerability means to gain a genuine understanding of a wide range of aspects of a context. It can be seen as a hyper mapping of the super normal - a survey that gives a flexible and evolving strategy where the vulnerable first and foremost is protected by intervention and not primarily trough making of new boundaries. Reading, mapping and understanding the layers of vulnerability has the potential of making changes. Knowledge calls for awareness about the consequences of human activity. Planning must be precautionary and attentive to even the smallest elements, and being susceptible and observant for currents of vulnerability that may have the power to change the plan.
In future planning we need to find and analyze both the obvious and the invisible – to make an operative and expedient plan that opens for hidden knowledge. Trough experimentation it is possible to make a flexible plan that works with the complexity there is, and that can use the contextual vulnerability as a potential for a new dynamism. It is all about making the future more sustainable and open for the unknown.
A credible map of sustainability has yet to be drawn, but there can be no doubt that other aspects already trailed and trialled have run out of whatever credibility they had. (Iñaki Abalos)
intervention #1 - Uncover the Arctic
Thanks to our Uncover the Arctic lecturers:Olafia Zoega – Recovery: Reykjavik - overcoming the financial crisis - criceland
Anette M. Basso – Prospects: Vardø - from peripheral to central mentality - the arctic house
Ina Bakke Sem-Olsen – Post effects: Nikel - retrieving position - a nikel project
Tone M. Berge – Expectations: Maniitsoq - industrializing the pristine - det er nogen hjemme
Iwan Thomson - Murmansk studies - lalaland
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
review #1 - Landscapes in Change / intro #2 - Vulnerability
Tuesday September 20 starting at 9.00, we'll review all your Landscapes in Change assignments:
expectations: define an expectation to the landscapes and/or cultures we will travel
observations: Spatial practices 1
-observations of spatiality and spatial practices at the locations we are visiting – for all to be observed at every lieu, but assignments are divided as follow:
-Hammerfest: Erlend / Jóna
-Alta: Dan / Yulia
-Kautokeino: Simeon / Terese
-Karasjok: Pétur / Niklas
-Vardø: Marianne / Mikkel
-Kirkenes: Robert / Silje
-Murmansk: all…
reflections: Spatial practices 2
-reflections on change..
Wednesday September 21 starting 9.00 we'll introduce next theme: Vulnerability.
expectations: define an expectation to the landscapes and/or cultures we will travel
observations: Spatial practices 1
-observations of spatiality and spatial practices at the locations we are visiting – for all to be observed at every lieu, but assignments are divided as follow:
-Hammerfest: Erlend / Jóna
-Alta: Dan / Yulia
-Kautokeino: Simeon / Terese
-Karasjok: Pétur / Niklas
-Vardø: Marianne / Mikkel
-Kirkenes: Robert / Silje
-Murmansk: all…
reflections: Spatial practices 2
-reflections on change..
Wednesday September 21 starting 9.00 we'll introduce next theme: Vulnerability.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
studio intro
Master studio BAS autumn 2011
Emerging arctic landscapes
The objective of the studio is to create a platform for critical discussions on the changes currently taking place in the Arctic region. These are changes in climate, ecologies, landscapes, societies and cultures - changes that by all accounts can be expected to accelerate in the close future.
We see an increasing tendency within the field of landscape architecture to focus on the ‘design’ of landscapes: as the development of new uses for post-industrial land or as transformations of existing land into new park landscapes in connection with strong forces of urbanization. A common feature that may be observed is how nature becomes artificial, generic and is reduced to a design object simply through processes of medialization and conceptualization, and how physical transformations often are linked to consumption – visual or otherwise.
The major part of the Arctic may still be seen as ‘genuine’ nature and as cognitive landscapes, and demand a different approach and different means of investigation than those applied for already ‘domesticated’ landscapes. Global warming, environmental disturbances and political pressures combine to create a completely new physical ‘ground’ which puts great demands on the enfolding response of architects and landscape architects. The need to develop a critical awareness and alternative forms of knowledge in connection with this development transcends the traditional design focus. Serving as a backdrop, the intention is to use the master studio to emphasize the need to focus on the northern regions, a focus which to a large extent has been lacking until now.
The studio will arise along a road trip from Hammerfest to Murmansk - a slow journey in a cross section of remote arctic landscape and intrusive development:
From the oil-driven growth of Hammerfest (from fish to oil – and the resurrection of the city after WWII), via the new urbanization of Alta, the surviving sami culture in Kautokeino and Karasjok, the decaying and mythical city of Vardø, and the abandoned fishing village of Hamningberg. The trip takes us to the pending economy in Kirkenes, the destructed landscapes of Bjørnevatn – crossing the Russian border into the remote and desolated landscapes, cities and settlements on the Kola-peninsula - via the extremely heavy polluted nature in Nikkel, the trip will end in Murmansk – a city in transformation, from a soviet military stronghold – to a modern and emerging economy, waiting for the oil to arrive.
There are numbers of possible points of departure for the debate, and for the issues wished focused on. In this studio we want to investigate a broad span of examples of landscape occupations and arctic urbanizations - and study the forces of growth and decline that are working in the arctic. The studio will debate the position of an architect in vulnerable landscapes and the intersection between careful awareness and complete destruction.
Through textual studies, lectures and comparative examples we will gain new knowledge that enable us to approach a concrete situation for a profound understanding of the context and the forces at work. We want to use a blog to communicate the learning and collect the findings from the process, and also for the students to present their work as a continuous process. The studio will expect curiosity and an open-minded effort from the students to learn, and to experience knowledge that is not obvious - and that has to be carefully investigated to be operative for the planning process.
Emerging arctic landscapes
The objective of the studio is to create a platform for critical discussions on the changes currently taking place in the Arctic region. These are changes in climate, ecologies, landscapes, societies and cultures - changes that by all accounts can be expected to accelerate in the close future.
We see an increasing tendency within the field of landscape architecture to focus on the ‘design’ of landscapes: as the development of new uses for post-industrial land or as transformations of existing land into new park landscapes in connection with strong forces of urbanization. A common feature that may be observed is how nature becomes artificial, generic and is reduced to a design object simply through processes of medialization and conceptualization, and how physical transformations often are linked to consumption – visual or otherwise.
The major part of the Arctic may still be seen as ‘genuine’ nature and as cognitive landscapes, and demand a different approach and different means of investigation than those applied for already ‘domesticated’ landscapes. Global warming, environmental disturbances and political pressures combine to create a completely new physical ‘ground’ which puts great demands on the enfolding response of architects and landscape architects. The need to develop a critical awareness and alternative forms of knowledge in connection with this development transcends the traditional design focus. Serving as a backdrop, the intention is to use the master studio to emphasize the need to focus on the northern regions, a focus which to a large extent has been lacking until now.
The studio will arise along a road trip from Hammerfest to Murmansk - a slow journey in a cross section of remote arctic landscape and intrusive development:
From the oil-driven growth of Hammerfest (from fish to oil – and the resurrection of the city after WWII), via the new urbanization of Alta, the surviving sami culture in Kautokeino and Karasjok, the decaying and mythical city of Vardø, and the abandoned fishing village of Hamningberg. The trip takes us to the pending economy in Kirkenes, the destructed landscapes of Bjørnevatn – crossing the Russian border into the remote and desolated landscapes, cities and settlements on the Kola-peninsula - via the extremely heavy polluted nature in Nikkel, the trip will end in Murmansk – a city in transformation, from a soviet military stronghold – to a modern and emerging economy, waiting for the oil to arrive.
There are numbers of possible points of departure for the debate, and for the issues wished focused on. In this studio we want to investigate a broad span of examples of landscape occupations and arctic urbanizations - and study the forces of growth and decline that are working in the arctic. The studio will debate the position of an architect in vulnerable landscapes and the intersection between careful awareness and complete destruction.
Through textual studies, lectures and comparative examples we will gain new knowledge that enable us to approach a concrete situation for a profound understanding of the context and the forces at work. We want to use a blog to communicate the learning and collect the findings from the process, and also for the students to present their work as a continuous process. The studio will expect curiosity and an open-minded effort from the students to learn, and to experience knowledge that is not obvious - and that has to be carefully investigated to be operative for the planning process.
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