Our Friends at Animal Architecture are launching the inaugural Animal Architecture Awards.  The competition seeks "exciting projects that engage the lives, minds and behaviors of our alternate, sometimes familiar companion species — insects, birds, mammals, fish and microorganisms – each one with unique ways of world-making. As our society re-examines its place in the global ecology Animal Architecture invites your critical and unpublished essays and projects to address how architecture can mediate and encourage multiple new ways of species learning and benefiting from each other – or as we say it here: to illustrate cospecies coshaping."

Cospecies coshaping is an intriguing ecological principle that has the potential to integrate the "human" world with the "animal" world, so in fact we can eliminate these "terms" altogether.  What interests me most is that architecture is sought as the mediator to bridge these two worlds (not just human but any species).  I am very curious to see the projects from the competition and happy that it will expand our knowledge on the relationship between form and symbiosis.  If you are interested in applying, the deadline is May 15th, and all information can be found here.

[Bat Tower Project by Jury Member Joyce Hwang]

Excess typically implies in addition to what is required, a by-product, or residue.  The continual growth model of our economic system produces a vast amount of excess.  Could excess become part of a larger productive system if it was put to work?  This meaning, is there an ecology of excess?

This notion of Ecologies of Excess was the premise of an intriguing studio taught by Eva Franch Gilabert at Rice University, that I had the pleasure of reviewing last week.  According to Franch, the ideological succession of machine for living by organism for living perpetuated the same social, political and environmental dilemmas of the previous century.  Franch envisions a new movement, Ecologies of Excess, during the 22nd century that "provide us with a guide to thinking, designing and building based on what we, human beings, produce without measure: endless amounts of energy in social [crowds], political [wars], and environmental terms [pollution].  In sum: Excess"

Set in the year 2101, the studio centered on the design of a Worlds Fair Exhibition Pavilion, deemed "Great Exhibition of the Works of Excess of All Nations".  Each studio participant was to site their project in a different country and analyze the productive aspects of excess.  The studio produced fascinating results, two projects of which are highlighted below.

[Top: The floating, tangled settlements of trash facilitate the spread of invasive species (like mussels, barnacles, invertebrates, and pelagic crabs) across the ocean. Middle: Invasive species often attach to floating plastic settlements, affecting the oceans oxygen, phytoplankton, and zooplankton production, to the detriment of native ecosystems. Bottom: The average cubic centimeter of ocean water holds about one million phytoplankton-producing-bacteria; however, if this bacteria attaches to plastic, it creates biofilm colonies on the surface of the ocean, depriving lower depths of an even distribution ocean nutrient cycling. Images Courtesy of: Igraine Perkinson]

Polymergy Waterscapes by: Igraine Perkinson

Polymergy Waterscapes looks at the garbage gyre written about by InfraNet Lab last year.  The great pacific garbage patch is comprised of floating plastics that swirl within slow winds and ocean currents.  Entitled Polymergy Waterscapes, Igraine envisions a future typology that builds upon and with this trash.  Igraine states:

Whereas traditional patterns of urbanity sought to settle away from trash, Polymergy Waterscapes creates a floating aquatic society that inverses this relationship, using garbage as a generative device for new urbanism. The pavilion adopts a labyrinthine open system of channels that brings the trash to its proximity by disrupting the clockwise currents of the gyre. These systems grow by means of compaction, reducing debris by a factor of ten.

[Siting Strategy. Top: The gyre occupies an area of slow wind currents; as a result, fishermen and sailors rarely travel through it—hence, a lack of awareness of its presence. Middle: Warm water from the south crashes into cooler water from the north, creating a spiraling current that collects the floating garbage. Bottom: Each season affects ocean water temperatures, pushing the location of the gyre about 1000 miles north and south every time. Images Courtesy of: Igraine Perkinson]

Sited at an opportune location for gathering garbage – where winds and currents are slowest – Polymergy Waterscapes not only raises awareness of this emerging continent of garbage, but also incorporates programmes that can take advantage of garbage – spas (heat generated by recycling process), research labs, and various recreational activities of play.  The accumulation or densification of the island over time slowly clears the larger mass of water.  Here, garbage is the unit of growth and the subject for occupation.

[A labyrinthine strategy of open water channels collects trash by disrupting the clockwise currents of the gyre, following a specific path typology that relates to process and program. Image Courtesy of: Igraine Perkinson]

[Accumulation Legs, View of Model. Image Courtesy of: Igraine Perkinson]

[Each program zone architecturalizes collected garbage uniquely (zone1 ex: accumulation wall, soft square, synthetic dunes, garbage whirlpool) constructing collective aspirations that result from the design process. Image Courtesy of: Igraine Perkinson]

[Sections. Top: Other water channels empty debris into the collection ponds and topography terraces of Plastic Laboratories, which can then be closed off and left to dry in order to store contents for energy or research. Bottom: Polymergy Spa is an underwater refinery that melts plastic and converts it into energy, releasing mist as a result of the process, and adding a layer of privacy for each user—the relaxation seeker. Image Courtesy of: Igraine Perkinson]

Species Indetermina by: Ashley Johnson
Species Indetermina tackles the issue of species migration in ballast water.  As globalized markets put increasing pressure on shipping, ballast water becomes a large issue.  This water is typically polluted (with the residue of the cargo) and often contains alien species, which are dumped in ports far from their origin.  These alien species often alter and eliminate parts of the local ecosystem.  Ashley Johnson takes advantage of these alien species in her project, Species Indetermina, by containing the ballast water and creating core samples of wildlife and landscape from different parts of the globe.  These contained ecosystem core samples essentially create a new zoo typology that is curated by shipping routes and alien ballast water.  Johnson sites her project in New Zealand, where she notes,  "in 2010 twenty new species of algae were discovered from samples taken in Auckland Harbour labeled species indetermina".

[Placement of a single port outside of Auckland Harbour where Ballast Water is typically dumped. Image courtesy of Ashley Johnson]

[Plan of Port at low tide. Image courtesy of Ashley Johnson]

Her containment port located outside the harbor would allow "The people of New Zealand to sail five minutes off their own coast and enter exotic new environments, on sea level with the new life, as well as up above in restaurants and observation decks." What is interesting about this scheme is that while sited in New Zealand, it could provide a prototype for dealing with ballast water at all international shipping ports across the globe.  A travelling network of contained (and contaminated) ecosystems, which introduce the public to new exotic worlds.

[Proliferation of exotic life. Image courtesy of Ashley Johnson]

[Exploded Axonometric showing public layers hovering above container. Image courtesy of Ashley Johnson]

We are very excited to be taking part in the Theory Forum 09 at Sheffield University.  This year's theme involves unpacking the term 'Ecology'.  We will be running a 2 day workshop at the Theory Forum, examining Ecology in the Arctic.

The Theme of Forum is posited as the following by the organizers:

In architecture, ECOLOGY focuses on the impact of the built form on the environment and society. It recognises the importance of theoretical research as a foundation for development in everything from sustainable design to community development. theory forum 09 addresses the notion of ECOLOGY and architecture. How is ECOLOGY translated from other fields of research into architecture?

Concepts of ECOLOGY vary between disciplines. Proposing ECOLOGY as a central theme around which to develop a common language, can a system of sharing and collaboration between the diverse fields of research and professions be created? Research and theory should be recognised by professions of the built environment and consequently society. Is the sharing of knowledge in such a way the answer to the progression of research in academia?

theory forum 09 wants to explore how architecture engages with the concept of ECOLOGY. The forum aims to collate various methodologies and operations conducted by related disciplines, as well as divergent fields of research. The aim for the theory forum 09: ECOLOGY will be to become a testing ground through which a common language of ECOLOGY can be formulated.

If you are in the area, the schedule of the Workshop and Lectures is as follows:

Friday November 13th, 2009:

9:30 "Ecologies: Limitations and possibilities" Irenee Scalbert, SAUL, Ireland

9:50 "The Potential of the Empry House" Catharina Gabreilsson, LSE

10:10 "Ecology as Lived" Kush Patel, University of Michigan

11:20 "Ethics vs. Aesthetics" Steve Parnell, University of Sheffield

11:40 "Pictorial Ecology" Nigel Dunnett, University of Sheffiel

12:00 "Urban Homeostasis: Counterbalancing Urban Disruptions" Ruxandra Berinde, TU of Cluj-Napoca, Romania

13:45-14:45 Keynote: "Territorial Ecologies" Neeraj Bhatia & Maya Przybylski, InfraNetLab, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo

Saturday November 14th, 2009

10:20 "Design Ecologies: Ecologies of Access" Lisa Tilder, OSU

10:40 "States of Change: Transformative Shanghai" Rosalea Monacella, RMIT University

11:00 "Education for Sustainable Architecture: Qualified Architects with Insufficient Knowledge?" Bing Chen, University of Sheffield

12:10 "Urban Space and Models of Sustainability" Mick O'Kelly, National College of Art and Design, Dublin

12:30 "Ecology and the Art of Sustainable Living" David Haley, Manchester Metropolitan University

12:50 "Critical Ecologies" Jon Goodbun, University of Westminster, WAG Architecture

We will be be posting updates and work from the Theory Forum on the blog, so stay tuned….

A recent thesis project at McGill University by Tania Delage takes Lebbeus Woods’ idea of the borderline and the ecological phenomena of the ecotone as an opportunity to cross-breed infrastructure, ecology and public amenities.

The borderline is the site where various systems collide, superimpose, or react to create a new condition. (Woods) These systems can vary greatly in scope; from social conditions to ecological and biological conditions. They may be tied to shifts in economic activity, technological advancements, obsolete or growing infrastructure, and environmental phenomena. Ecotones are the natural spaces where transformation and growth occur, typically at borderline site conditions. It is these sites of superimposed systems that provide the grounds for a new ‘mode of culture.’

[Points of infrastructure and ecology along St. Lawrence Seaway]

At an ecological scale, the site is the Great Lakes basin and Saint-Lawrence River, the largest freshwater system of the world. The watershed is home to many ecological systems and provides important migratory routes for fish that spawn in fresh water only to return to their salt water habitat. Ringed by areas of intense urbanization, the watershed represents a major transportation artery for commercial navigation and provides a source of hydro electric power to the surrounding areas. The waterway also serves as an open sewer to cities along its shore, as it simultaneously supplies their drinking water.

[View of finger-like aerobic filtration gardens, and ringed sedimentaion gardens, which together form natural filtration system for the river water]

The site of intervention is the overflow or deversoir of the Rivière-des-prairies hydro-electric dam, one of the first built in Québec, located between the north shore of Montreal and the south shore of Laval. The overflow is essentially a giant retaining wall that allows for the regulation of water levels. The overflow is adjacent to the nature park – l’Ile de la Visitation. In contrast to the bucolic nature of the area, housing developments upstream discharge the equivalent of one Olympic-sized pool of untreated waste every three days into the river, producing highly polluted sediment in the area.

[1 Aerobic filtration gardens, 2 Sedimentation gardens, 3 Fish ladders, 4 Visitor pathways]

The project reconfigures the dam to become an inhabited filtration system and a public ‘water’ park. Fingers into the river form aerobic filtration gardens, while the concrete rings in plan form sedimentation basins, and support natural habitats for amphibians and waterfowl and re-establish migratory routes of certain fish species.

[Hydro park negotiating variable water levels]

Hydro-electric generation can literally be turned on and off by shutting and opening the watergates, an endeavour lasting merely a few minutes. In times of low energy requirements, such as at night, the watergates are shut, thereby stopping the currents. The two water levels present in the site offer opportunities for a changing landscape, atune to the cyclical hydrological variations. Floating filtering gardens, located on the high water level sway back and forth with the currents produced by the dam to reminding visitors of the inner-workings of the facility itself. At the lower water level, an extension of the nature park is created, allowing visitors to experience the filter housing sequence.

[Visitors walk on pathways, alongside fish ladders which help reestablish migratory routes displaced during the original construction of the dam]

Elements of the landscape become submerged, no longer suitable for human inhabitation but become appropriate for different types of wildlife. Part infrastructure, part landscape, the park becomes a shifting exchange point between water systems, energy resources, human users and animal habitats.

[Inhabiting the Ecotone Hydro park]

An interesting article in Science chronicles the ever rising numbers of dead zones. Dead zones are oxygenless waters as a result of activities such as riverine runoff of fertilizers and other algae-multiplying nutrients. As written by Diaz and Rosenberg, "Dead zones have now been reported from more than 400 systems, affecting a total area of more than 245,000 square kilometers (95,000 miles2), and are probably a key stressor on marine ecosystems." Their murky waters generate blackholes in the ocean – no fish, therefore no birds, no recreational or commercial fishing. And shift infrastructures – boat routes, port activity, a

Dead zones have been tracked sine the 1970s, but have increasingly expanded their locations, their reach, and are lingering after summer.

[Several visible sites with expanding dead zones. Mississippi Delta at the top, with Yangtze River in the bottom left and Pearl River in the bottom right. The dead zones are the tinted clouds swirling at the coastal edge. Image via the SeaWiFS of NASA.]

[The Gulf of Mexico dead zone.]

Clocking in at over 8000 square miles (21,000 km2) this year, probably the largest dead zone today stems from the Mississippi River delta in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a site at the confluence of significant farming in the midwest and significant fishing (and shrimping) in the Gulf area. The dead zone spans east to west along the Louisiana and Texas coasts. The hypoxic region expands during the summer, so shrimpers and fishermen are casting their lines and nets farther out in the Gulf.

For more see an article in today's Time magazine.