Living Precedents 2.0...Plasma

Plasma Studio (their site), is a not so recent, but still regarded as an up-and-coming design firm based in London, UK. Recently posted (July 29) on the online design blog, ArchDaily(their site), is a single construction photo of PS's International Horticulture Fair Complex. The project, naturally described as Flowing Gardens, is described as a "..large master plan that blends architecture, landscape, and circulation into one system using a network of organic paths."

Here is the project, previously posted about a year ago on ArchDaily, although I have selected to excerpt some images below.

http://www.archdaily.com/24306/flowing-gardens-plasma-studio/

The design is to be located in China's Xi'an City, and will be comprised of a "500 sq meter exhibition hall, 4,000 sq meter greenhouse, and a 3,500 sq meter 'gate building'". All situated on 37 hectares of landscape.

All Images are courtesy of Plasma Studio

The folding/faceted planar shapes of the architecture is reminiscent of extreme Libeskind-esque angular forms. But I would rather discuss the master plan and design intentions charged with task of blending architecture, landscape, and circulation. The concept behind the branching building locations is Plasma Studio's desire to program and place their buildings in a fashion emblematic of an estuary biome.

An estuary biome (Its ok, I had to look it up too), is a

"transition zone between river environments and ocean environments and are subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and river influences, such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The inflow of both seawater and freshwater provide high levels of nutrients in both the water column and sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world." - Wikipedia / Mclusky, D.S.

Not knowing the final design beyond the beautiful renderings, I would truly hope that the buildings do not superficially represent the dynamism of a estuary biome by merely replicating its tendency to bifurcate like a root-system. It is interesting that PS would use the principles of an estuary as a metaphor for the horticulture museum, as an estuary is a platform and a breeding ground for the enmeshing of disparate ecosystems. The ocean meets fresh-water, mixing sediment and nutrients to foster incredible amounts of growth. I hope this will not be lost within the museum walls as it is an incredible opportunity to not just mimic a system such as an estuary's shape, but extract its catalyzing principles of confluence, dispersion, enmeshing, and growth.

Lexicons 2.0-Kwinter

Wildness - Sanford Kwinter

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[Topic Based]

Self Organization- (n.)

1. The phenomenon that the structure of a complex system is not driven by a single authority or design, but comprised of several interacting components that work together seek out the evolutionary process of the system. An increasingly difficult process to predict and define.

2. A pattern with the ability to become "robust, adaptive, and flexible" through a randomized organization of intricate parts. See [Tree Branching Algorithm]

3. The process of a spontaneous evolution solely within the forces of a complex system and not of an external force. Can also be compared to the phenomenon of 'Emergence', which 'Self Organization' is a subset.

[Self Organization through bird "flocking"]

Quote:

"...intricate systems can most effectively be built up messily, in steps and layers, from approximate rather than in one fell swoop of assembly. Indirectness, is appears, is actually the secret to to achieving a robust, adaptive, flexible, and evolving design." - Kwinter, 187

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[Descriptive/Active]

Jungle-ize (v.) pg 187

1. To remove any form of consistency or formality from a system, allowing the raw and unbounded forces to interdependently become dominant.

2. A tactic that does not follow any form of rules or law.

Quote:

"...the intuitive capacity to move fluidly between tactical and strategic modes in relation to fluctuating conditions..." - Kwinter, 187

Living Precedents..

Cornbelt 2.0

http://infranetlab.org/blog/2010/05/corn-belt-2-0-syncing-the-starchscape/

Sifting through articles on food production, I have stumbled across Matthew Spremulli's thesis project - "reField". Interestingly enough, Matthew's focus for this project revolves around agricultural production, mainly corn, in the midwestern or "cornbelt", sector of the United States (A string of states comprised of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa). Matthew takes a closer look at corn production and determines that the majority of corn produced is a species called "Yellow Dent", which just so happens to contain very little to nil edible nutrients in its raw form, but most be processed via the corn processing plans (illustrated below) in order to change into an edible format. He delves into ethanol energy production as a remedy for the large amounts of by-product created through this process to form a closed loop system. Cradle to cradle.

all images were produced by Matthew

Hopes for the Future:

Hopes For The Future: Restoration Ecology and Conservation Biology

Andy P. Dobson, A.D. Bradshaw, A.J.M. Baker

ScienceMag.org (25 July 1997)

http://legacy.lclark.edu/~heathere/Dobsonetal97Science.pdf

Recently, I found this article from an online scientific magazine [sciencemag.org] regarding the topic of 'Human Dominated Ecosystems', which describes the effects that humans have on the natural habitats and ecologies of our environment. What was most remarkable were the charts and graphs provided that illicit the drastic effects of the ratio of 'population : degradation'. The article primarily focuses on the developments in restoration ecology (the practice of mitigating and remediating the ill-effects of an ecology marred by humanization) and their positive qualties when paired with conservation biology (the practice of preventing such effects through design). I view this article as a primer towards my research, as it features ecologies, restoration, biodiversity and their relationship with humanization and agriculture.

Lexicons...Unite!

Eidetic Operations and New Landscapes - James Corner

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[Topic Based]

Cultural Geography- (n.)

1. The effect or impact that social/cultural forces have towards the development and evolution of the surrounding natural environment.

2. A landscape that is not a result of prior schematization, but one comprised of multifarious and often unforeseen occurrences that alter the shape and dynamic of the physical scenery.

3. The proverbial 'land' or 'space' that exists within the vast borders of culture, not necessarily homogenous in shape, density, or size. Can stand as a metaphor for cultural timeline and dissemination throughout the world.

Quote:

"[t]he visible forms [of the land] and their harmonious integration to the eye, may indeed be a constituent part of people's relationship with the surroundings of their daily lives, but such considerations are subservient to other aspects of a working life with and community. The composition of their landscape is much more integrated and inclusive with the diurnal course of life's events ...." - Dennis Cosgrove

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[Descriptive/Active]

Synoptic Objectification - (n.)

1. A brief view that does not allow the viewer to fully recognize the complex realities of the scene.

2. The mind's ability to decontextualize and externalize authenticity from a general view, idealizing false emotions of utopia and nostalgia, displacing actuality momentarily.

Quote:

"The net effect is personal withdrawal and nostalgia for the presence of the past , both of which are rooted in aestheticized -- rather than a productive, useful, or engaging --landscape experience." - James Corner

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Beginnings...

Hello all,

I suppose I must dust this off and begin. I suspect that my title may fluctuate throughout the term, as would any 'good' developing thesis topic. Right?

I entitle it thus far, "Agro-ecologies and Architectural Relevancies", as I am interested in the value and relevancy that 'architectures' (defined here as the human species' ability to manipulate, adapt, and design the physical and/or built world) have within the ecologies of commercial agricultural production. It is widely known that today's commercial agricultural practices greatly contribute towards negative ecological effects, rendering soil seemingly unusable and mitigating opportunities for sustainable production through biodiversity. My interests lie in the commercial farming sector because I feel that the production and/or shortage of agriculture lies within the nexus of the most important crises that we will see in our lifetime. Above almost all necessities, the way we grow, harvest, and ship our food will continually remain one of the most precious commodities we have. In the end of this, I would like to see an architecture that recognizes this immediacy.