What makes a site unique? An exploration into the depths of what a site withholds in an attempt to find the key to what creates and defines the unique-ness of a site.
Alexa R. Ongoco
s3388923@student.unimelb.edu.au
tutor / Sue Ann Ware Della Maddalena
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What makes a site unique?
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Punta Rossa Port, Mapping Intervention Ongoco, A., 2013
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Contents
Introduction Research Question Generation and Background 9 Methodology 10 A Marriage 11 Kit of Parts 12 Interventions Introduction 13 Landing 14 Grounding 39 Finding 65 Landworks Sardinia 2013 Introduction 161 A picture book 163
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Introduction
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hy “what makes a site unique”? In an attempt to resist telling you my entire life’s story, I will be brief and contend that this question arises from an ever present, internal struggle within myself, of trying to design and create concepts that are non-existent in the world today. It is a sub-question based on the idea that if everything is made up of the Basic Shapes of Life, how then is it possible to be new, different, unique? Realising that a question like this may take a lifetime to solve, or that this thinking belongs only to the greats who no longer walk this earth, with last names such as Da Vinci, Einstein, Bell, and Newton, I have opted to break my question down into parts and apply it within the framework and content of the seminar that I happen to find myself in. Della Maddalena gives me the opportunity to look at an endeavour frequently visited in Landscape Architecture: how one can capture the Genius Loci of a place. While this is a perfectly acceptable answer to hunt down, I believe that it is important to take one step back and ask what a Genius Loci is, and the things that may contribute. Hence, “what makes a site unique?” is posed, and becomes the framework for which I will base (but not limit) my consequent methods of mapping around. What is to follow will be a series of analyses that attempt to unravel what it is about this space that defines it as a place and site, whether that be through the geological, topographical, typological or even the illogical aspects of site (haha.) I should note that what I aim to achieve is not an absolute solution (but if found, will be greatly welcomed), but rather, a series of ideas that may prompt more discussion and questions and can be used in my future endeavours within my Landscape Architecture practice. I hope that you take from this, your own interpretations and observations, and if they should aid you in your own practice, then I wish you all the best. If not, I hope that it was a thought-provoking and pleasurable read regardless.
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Methodology
I feel that in order to generate the best reading and (hopefully) subsequent discussion, it would be best to explain to you the methodology behind the laying out of this folio to generate a smooth read. Over the course of this subject, three key events emerged: 1) A testing of our Kit of Parts, 2) A Landworks workshop in Sardinia and 3) An implementation of our refined Kit of Parts on site in Sardinia. While a chronological order would be a more conventional approach, I have deliberately chosen to mix up the sequence. Instead, you will find at the beginning, a testing of the Kit of Parts as to be expected, but then, the refined interventions will follow after. This sequence allows for an easier comparison between the two interventions. The layout of text will also sometimes follow a certain, perhaps unconventional manner, in which, method, initial thoughts or explanation of the method of mapping will be situated along the left-hand column of the page. Along the right in grey, shall be any retrospective analysis, about what went wrong, what could be improved or what worked. The folio will then introduce the Landworks Workshop, containing an introduction of what the workshop entailed and my involvement in it, and ending with simple flip book of images taken to summarise the Workshop. The flip book will still incorporate the same method of method and analysis layout as done in the interventions. I should note that my discussions will exist in each intervention and as I go along rather than creating a final conclusion. I feel that the overall content of this course gave me mixed feelings in each intervention, and so I have tried to reply to each with a conclusion specifically for that intervention. You may find that the images and their subsequent titles within the interventions are quite simple and plainly obvious. This is deliberate in order to remove any attachment to site. Biasedness, which will be explained throughout, is an extension of our own opinions. It is imperative for me to generate results that are impartial to my own opinions as much as I can. Reducing an object to simply what it is, rather than giving it fancy names such as ‘beautiful, silver key’, allows for this idea to flourish. The following sections will now go on to discuss the inspiration and the rules behind the interventions generated through the marriage precedent of Kathryn Gustafson and Dennis Oppenheim and how these precedents impacted on what to place in my Kit of Parts.
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Kathryn Gustafson and Dennis Oppenheim A juxtaposing marriage of permanent temporality
Kathryn Gustafson
Dennis Oppenheim
Chosen Work Shell Petroleum HQ, Rueil, France 1991
Chosen Work: Accumulation Cut, Frozen Bebe Lake, Ithace, New York, 1969
Highly constructed landscape Permanent Landscape Construction and maintenance requires incredible precision.
Chainsaw to cut frozen lake Temporary Landscape Planning, method and implentation requires incredible precision.
What Gustafson and Oppenheim both presented to me was the challenge to combine an idea of temporal permanence of permanent temporality: a way to simultaneously encapsulate these two integral elements of their practice. Of course, talking about this concept now is quite easy and seems almost normal to think that such a context can exist. Getting to this level did prove tricky however, and the way these two elements are incorporated into my mappings will further be explained in the interventions section. An idea of precision was also prevalent not just in the chosen works above, but throughout their whole practice. This new element added another layer of complexity that was used to aid in the mapping methods, and once again, will also be further explained as to how this element was applied in the interventions.
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Kit of Parts
It is safe to say that the Kit of Parts was heavily influenced by research into the designers just seen, and reflects the discussed concepts. With each method, there needed to be precision, whether that was in GPS Coordinates, documentation of findings, or measurements. In order to do so, the following equipment was used: Mobile Phone for GPS coordinates Compass Clipboard with pre-prepared excel tables Ruler Brickie String Balloons Another rule used to define how my findings would be collected, documented or translated was the need to maintain un-biasedness. These items therefore, offered an element of chance which helped to reject a biased opinion. These inanimate objects defined the constantly reliable methodological rules I would use on the field and also kept in with the element of precision. Watch Dice The Odyssey by Homer The Aeneid by Virgil Then various other pieces of equipment that allowed for the implementation of the interventions in site. Two empty jars to be filled with a heavy material (i.e. water or sand) to act as weights Camera Chalk Pens 12
Interventions
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hat follows is a series of 3 methods of mappings and their translated results found based in two locations around the world. These interventions follow the layout offered by Christophe Girot in his book; “Four Trace Concepts of Landscape Architecture� (1999). Under each category of Landing, Grounding, Finding and Founding, there will be a corresponding intervention and an analysis of that intervention over the two landscapes it has been implemented within.
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Landing
Attractor Maps “...(it) is the first act of site acknowledgement and it marks the beginning of the Odyssey of the Project� (Girot, C., 1999)
Landing is the your very first contact to the site. This contact is not just a physical touch to the site, but encapsulates everything from impressions, to the feelings you possess upon landing, to the things you see and the things you smell: everything about the site all in the one go. Sometimes this can be incredibly overwhelming, and in a physical sense, makes it hard for you to take in the site as a whole. The purposes for the Landing intervention stems from this idea of trying to take in the whole site. From personal experience, upon Landing in a place for the first time, I find my eyes darting back and forth to certain elements in an attempt to piece together the landscape. These certain elements were things that stood out and attracted my sights towards it. Hence, the Attractor Maps became a way to document this landing. These attractions seemed to hold within them something that stood out from the landscape. By capturing these elements, I hoped that by piecing them together, I would be able to generate some sort of rule that captured the essence of what made this site unique. In this case, I focused on colour, and upon Landing, ensured that I kept a conscious note to keep an eye out for colour. While this method was somewhat biased, it was intended to be precise and deliberate, so the results could be compared easily. From the kit of parts, I required:
Camera to capture these attractors Pen Excel spreadsheets documented attraction name, GPS coordinates, photo number Blackberry phone for GPS Coordinates
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-37° 49’ 3.24” , 144° 55’ 59.71” Bolte Bridge, Victoria
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-37 ° 49’ 02.8” , 144 ° 55’ 57.9” #F1F3EE #BA302D
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-37 ° 49’ 04.1” , 144 ° 55’ 57.4” #391C1E 17
-37 ° 49’ 04.5” , 144 ° 55’ 56.8” #5C6177
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-37 ° 49’ 04.5” , 144 ° 55’ 56.8” #DAB888
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-37 ° 49’ 02.8” , 144 ° 55’ 57.8” #474A4F
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-37 ° 49’ 05.0” , 144 ° 55’ 55.4” # D9DED8 #CA3642
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-37 ° 49’ 02.8” , 144 ° 55’ 58.0” # ABA692
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-37 ° 49’ 05.1” , 144 ° 55’ 55.2” #0B2136 #ABA692 23
#BA302D # 474A4F #FBCA63 #F1F3EE #D9DED8 #391C1E # CA3642 #5C6177 #ABA692 #DAB888 #0B2136
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Using colour as the focus of attraction, I believe that through interpreting the attractors as colour palettes worked well. The colours in each element stood out, which could potentionally be the reason why I became attracted to them to begin with.
The colour palette produced at the end was an accumulation of all the ‘stand out’ colours. Togetehr, they created an interesting colour scheme reminiscent of a navy background, especially when removed from context. When placed back into the context, it becomes obvious why these colours may appear, with the site being right next to open water constantly buzzing with boating vehicles. It seems at the moment, that each site may have it’s own colour scheme that helps to define it. Because of the success of this installation, I will attempt to repeat it in Sardinia. One slight problem however, was the understanding of what classified as being attracted to a certain element. I often found my eyes darting onto things that didn’t necessarily seem to stand out and the rules sometimes became blurry. Should I photograph this? But what about that? In this comes a slight biased opinion, that I will attempt to eliminate in the next installation.
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41° 11’ 33.381” , 9° 27’ 1.0872” Stagnali, Caprera
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41° 11’ 33.94” , 9° 26’ 59.54” #595353
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41° 11’ 32.93” , 9° 27’ 1.33” # 6C362A
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41° 11’ 35.67” , 9° 26’ 59.74” #D5D5D5
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-41° 11’ 34.96” , 9° 27’ 1.06” #97745E # 28292E
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41° 11’ 28.43” , 9° 27’ 1.23” #D4BB56
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41° 11’ 30.16” , 9° 27’ 1.45” # B43830 # 383934
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41° 11’ 35.06” , 9° 26’ 58.77” #E2E7Ed
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41° 11’ 35.82” , 9° 27’ 2.76” # 364F4C
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41° 11’ 35.59” , 9° 27’ 2.87” # 6D5E4B # 1B141B
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41° 11’ 28.40” , 9° 27’ 1.42” #0B6353
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#595353
#D4BB56
#6D5E4B
#6C362A
#B43830
#1B141B
#D5D5D5
#383934
#0B6353
#97745E
#E2E7ED
#28292E
#364F4C
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This installation I believe did not work out as easily as the Bolte Bridge installation. Mainly for the purposes of when creating a colour palette, what defined a ‘stand out’ colour from the rest was at times quite difficult to determine. It seemed that the colours that stood out were potentially part of another attractor I had just looked at. The colour scheme as well did not necessarily hint of a cohesive theme - although there were some neutral colours. What I noticed though, was as the photographs progressed, the sky changed in colour. This was quite interesting, as these attractor maps captured something I didn’t quite expect; the temporal element of climate. It shows a small indication of what the atmosphere in terms of its weather may be like in this specific area.
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With the fact that the attractors were hard to spot or understand in terms of colour, it could be in fact, that what also attracts one is shape and size. Most of these attractions had quite an obvious and at times, imposing structure. While their own colours may have been dull on their own, the shape and size of each attractor could have an effect on how colour is perceived.
This chance to compare the two installations shows to me that site does not necessarily have to rely on a colour scheme. Rather, it is beginning to be an accumulation of things, and elements such as colour can be affected by other elements like a cloudy day. The properties of site and what make it unique therefore, appear to be an accumulation of all of these elements and the relationships they pose on each other.
Grounding
Chalk Poetry “...its surrounding context, its soil, climate, water, ecology, and history are unique and special.” (Girot, C., 1999)
This installation looked at understanding the site and translating experience of site through the use of books. The Odyssey was chosen because of its relation to journey, and my personal reason in that I found it a good opportunity to finally read it. To keep all writings fair, I used a dice and watch which relied on chance ratehr than my own opinion. Both of these materials made use of their number properties to generate certain aspects needed for writing. The second hand on watch once looked at immediately determined the direction in which the writing would be set in. The dice, upon being rolled, determined the line number in the book. This number multiplied by my favourite number 11, determined the page number (which continued to be added onto the previous page number), and the amount of steps to be taken for the length of writing. This method to me, althuogh complex, allowed me to be precise on the field as I was bound by rules. From the kit of parts to be tested in the Docklands, I required: The Odyssey by Homer text from which I would produce poetry from Chalk to write on ground with Excel spreadsheets documented dice number rolled, page number, line number, ‘blocked’ words, GPS coordinates Blackberry phone for GPS Coordinates String for accuracy in writing straight Dice for generating page numbers and line numbers Watch to generate direction and combines with dice to generate page numbers Jars to act as weights to hold the string in place Ruler to aid in position the string in the correct direction
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“And now all I ask is a good ship and a crew of twenty men to speed me through my passage out and back. I’m sailing off to Sparta, and sandy Plyos too, for news of my long-lost father’s journey home. Someone may tell me something or I may catch a ruour straight from Zeus, rumours that carries news to man like nothing else. Now if I hear he’s dead, no longer young Prince Telemachus and Nector’s shining son. Menelaus retired to chambers deep in his lofty house with Helen the pearl of women loosely goverened beside him. // When young Dawn with her rose-red fingers shone once more the lord of the warcry climbed from bed and dressed, over his shoulder he slung his well-honed sword , fastened rawhide sandals under his smooth feet, stepped from his bedroom, handsome as a god, and sat beside Telemachus, asking kindly, ‘Now my young prince, tell me what brings you here.’ Stripped away his clothes, diving Calypso’s gifts, and quickly trying the scarf around his waist he dove headfirst in the sea, stretched his arms and stroked for life itself. But again the mighty god of earthquakes spied him, shook his head. There are twelve peers of the realm who rule our land, thirteen. But God’s iron sentence boung him fast: barbarous herdsmen dragged him off in chairs. Yet when the months and days had run their course and the year wheeled round and the seasons came again, then mighty Iphiclus loosened the prophet’s shackles, once he’d told them all. They might well wonder, blind to what had happened, till Alicinus rose and made things all too clear: ‘Oh no - my father’s prophecy years ago... it all comes home to me with a vengeance now!’ He used to say Poseidon was vexed with us because we escorted all mankind and never came to grief. He said that one day, as a well-built ship of ours. It’s not that all our people have turned against me; keen for a showdown. Nor have I brothers at fault, brothers a man can trust to fight beside him, true no matter what deadly blood-feud rages on... Zeus made our line a line of only sons. Arcisius has only one son, Laertus, and Laertus had only one son, Odysseus, and I am Odysseus’ only son. He fathered me, he left me behind at home, and from me he got no joy. So now our house is plagued by swarms of enemies. All the nobles who rule the islands round about, Dulichion, and Same, and wooded Zacynthus too, and all who lord it in rock Ithaca as well - drove to the last man they court my mother, they lay waste my house! And mother... she neither rejects a marriage she despises nor can she bear to bring th courting to an end - while they continue to bleed my household...”
‘The Odyssey’ by Robert Fagles retold through site as a seamless reading
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The written work failed to be photographed, so instead, were translated into a physical documenation. Each segment of The Odyssey was written onto separate pages with the number rolled on the dice. These are framed pieces of work as told by site.
The re-writing of the poem in this way did not necessarily show much, and instead, aimed to be something of aesthetics. It certainly did frame the work like an art piece, as if to say the author was the site, however this is where it ended. I believe that using a mapping method that included the GPS locations or made use of this method would have generated something of more depth. 41
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One of the biggest problems with this intervention was the lack of photographs taken, as they lost an inside look into the precision that generated these segments of poetry. Another issue was found in using the number 11 as a multiplier. It meant that too much time was spent in the one direction, writing too much out. It meant less time to cover the site. It would be wise to reconsider such a large number. The jars also reduced effective use of time. As I had only brought two, it mean that I could only have one piece of string tied at one time. It would be nice to see a grid of lines formed on top of the writing themselves, to show the precision involved in creating straight lines, and to emphasise the linear directions. Apart from these, the intervention for me was one of the strongest, especially seen on site. Perhaps this idea of photos not being taken further contributed to the installation being temporary. What was taken away from it became the permanent instead. The installation generated a new way to look at site. It suggested that site could tell us its own story, and that if we were to compare it to another site, the wordings would be entirely different.
As mentioned opposite, a success in the installation was the understanding of site that formed afterwards, in that this was a way for site to retell it’s story. Upon re-evaluation, I found a slight error in that this story telling was not necessarily due to the site’s uniqueness. In this installation, the part that site played was the idea of being in it and drawing on it. I believe that a stronger connection to the site was necessary. What I discovered during the installation was the way the chalk failed to write over certain typologies. In this, is where that connection and grounding could be found. In the next installation, I aim to exploit this and use the site’s surface to help read the story much better. Discussion was also brought up on the choice of book. The Odyssey was chosen because of it’s reference to journey and adventure. I found that the chosen story did not have any consequence to how it was written on site, and so for the Sardinia trip, a consideration of a book that referenced Italy’s history might be looked into.
I also found that reading each individual poem as one combined made for an interesting read. It was disconnected and the sentences stopped halfway through. This only emphasised how the installation worked on site. 47
This installation on site in Caprera attempted to rework the mistakes made in the first installation attempt. Two of which were the main points of interest. 1) To take photos of process and final work. While I contended that the lack of photos taken increased the temporality of the installation, photos were essential in showing the precise methods, and to help explain the installation slightly better. 2) To use the topography of the site to tell the story. An emphasis of site typology was going to be heavily implemented. I wanted to show the different types of ground surface, such as grass and soil, in an attempt to map the invisible through the stories told by the Caprera site. I also refined my method of calculating page numbers in order to ensure time was used effectively. Rather than 11, I pushed it down to 7 - another favourite of mine, but still somewhat arbitrary. The jars were discarded as well, as I aimed to use whatever I could find on site to use as a weight. In this segment, the images taken at site will be presented, with some slight annotation to point out successes and/or failures. Alongside this, will be an A1 mapping of my findings.
From the refined kit of parts to be tested Punta Rossa Sailing Club, I required:
The Aeneid by Virgil text from which I would produce poetry from Excel spreadsheets documented dice number rolled, page number, line number, ‘blocked’ words, GPS coordinates Blackberry phone for GPS Coordinates Brickie string for accuracy in writing straight Dice for generating page numbers and line numbers Watch to generate direction and combines with dice to generate page numbers Rocks found on site to act as weights to hold the string in place Ruler to aid in position the string in the correct direction
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The beginning.
Rocks found on site proved useful due to their weight and plentiful quantity. They held the string in place quite well.
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Topography on site began to affect the placement of string causing the line to deviate slightly.
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Understanding already how topography could affect writing. Different surface materials changed the visibility of writing, as well as the presence of vegetation. These small interceptions were noted down in the Aeneid in order to be documented on the larger map.
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Making use of the materials on site and the kit of parts.
Once again, the rocks proved useful and in this case, allowed string to create continuous lines, rather than having only one line at any time. The rule aided in directing the next end point to be.
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An image of the kit of parts used and how typography continued to define the legibility of writing.
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An exciting discovery of the installation came when the poems began to cross over.
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What began to define how these writings could further portray site was upon approaching a barrier. While the writings were to continue on, due to infrastructure on the site, this became impossible. Rather than just documenting topography, this mapping technique could now also document infrastructure. 56
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Sometimes a certain topography would be approached in which, no writing could take place on ground. This was documented to be represented on another map.
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I found after refining, that this installation captured the essence of site in a successful manner. I loved the aesthetics of producing the temporal installment, but also loved how the opportunity was used from the problems of using chalk to draw on site. My only wish is that I could have had more time to document more of the writings. I believe that through more and more lines, the mapping would become more defined.
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The method of mapping for this installation proved incredibly successful. The A1 sheet that accompanies this installation shows a real reading of the site, in which, the site is actively telling us what exists. It highlights the topography, and even hints to a bit of typology. It shows where it might be best to walk based on the legibility of the words, and even subtly shows placement of infrastructure.
Finding
Mundane Objects “What is found is the je ne sais quoi ingredient that conveys a distinct quality to a place... they are something unique (though hidden) that definitely belongs to a place and contributes durably to its identity” (Girot, C., 1999)
What generated the concept for this installation or method of collecting found objects on site came from the struggle to marry Gustafson and Oppenheim. How could one simultaneously create something that was temporal but permanent, and still imply some sort of precision? I finally arrived at a solution: the use of balloons. Air is something quite temporal, it blows through once and disappears into the abyss. Therefore, to capture air would be to capture something temporary and hold it within something permant. The use of balloons would fit this criteria easily, and also give rules for the found objects to be collected: that they could not be bigger than the neck of the balloon. In order to test the idea of uniqueness in a site, collecting mundane objects was chosen over collecting ‘unique’ objects. By collecting things that seemed ordinary, I hoped to collect the essence of what made up the site. From the kit of parts to be tested in the Docklands, I required: Balloons to collect the objects within Excel spreadsheets to document object found, the GPS location and the photo number Blackberry phone for GPS Coordinates Camera to capture the object Pens
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-37 ° 49’ 04.7” , 144 ° 55’ 54.5” cigarette butt.
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-37 ° 49’ 04.8” , 144 ° 55’ 55.2” charcoal.
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-37 ° 49’ 04.8” , 144 ° 55’ 56.1” yellow flower.
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-37 ° 49’ 04.5” , 144 ° 55’ 55.7” little rocks.
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-37 ° 49’ 05.1” , 144 ° 55’ 55.7” nut shell.
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-37 ° 49’ 04.4” , 144 ° 55’ 58.0” salmon packaging carton.
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-37 ° 49’ 03.8” , 144 ° 55’ 58.4” white pvc piping.
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-37 ° 49’ 04.0” , 144 ° 55’ 58.2” nut (steel).
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-37 ° 49’ 02.4” , 144 ° 55’ 57.6” weeds.
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-37 ° 49’ 02.4” , 144 ° 55’ 57.6” feather.
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-37 ° 49’ 02.6” , 144 ° 55’ 56.8” twig.
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-37 ° 49’ 02.9” , 144 ° 55’ 56.1” seeds.
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The way the findings of this installation were documented were in three parts. The first images seen are the collected objects placed in a blown up balloon and held up to a light. Their sihouettes are the only things that shine through. I felt that this was incredibly successful in giving stripping the object of its original context, allowing it to exist as soemthing beautiful and alien like. What was originally mundane became something extraordinary and special. The next part of the documentation invovled showing the context. What it was like before the collected object, and what it looked like after it was removed. In some cases, this method worked, when it came to the very mundance objects such as twigs and rocks. They were already a part of the landscape and so, was hard to tell if they had been removed. Finally, an analysis of the shapes was done in order to see if there was an overall shape or form from the collected objects that could hint to what made the site unique.
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I still believe that there is not enough data to fully understand how these documentations can aid in understanding what makes a site unique, and so, a comparison of the items collected in Sardinia will be necessary. Once again, going about this installation without being biased proved tricky. While I had set up the rules for the size of the object, saying the word ‘mundane’ is not necessarily a strict rule and allowed for some leeway. I often found myself wanting to take on certain objects, but had to constantly remind myself that they were not necessarily mundane. What is interesting about this, is that it relates back to the attractor maps. These objects on site held in them, a unique quality that could be seen amongst the rest of the site. I believe that for future experiments, perhaps comparing the mundane to the unique may be an interesting topic.
From the revised kit of parts to be tested at Punta Rossa Sailing Club, I required: Balloons to collect the objects within Excel spreadsheets to document object found, the GPS location and the photo number Blackberry phone for GPS Coordinates Camera to capture the object Pens
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boat fragment.
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charcoal.
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cigarette.
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flower.
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flower.
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flower.
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key.
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nail.
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plaster.
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plastic netting.
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plastic ring.
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plastic wrapping.
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plastic reflector.
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rocks.
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rope fragment.
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sand.
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shells.
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steel nut.
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This second installation saw the removal of listing GPS locations because I felt that they did not do much for the object itself. The installation followed the same 3 part method of documentation, as I strongly felt that it gives the reader the opportunity to isolate the object from any context and think about what the object may be. I also focused on including some flowers in this site to see how they compared back to the ones in Australia and whether their composition may hint of something different, which therefore could decipher something unique about either site that allows a certain characteristic in the plant to grow. I hoped that it would capture the site’s underlying geology, however since I’m not necessarily a horticulturalist, and from observation alone, I could not gather sufficient detail into the physiology and structure of each plant to determine how they were different.
Unfortunately in comparing the two schemes of collected objects, I did not find an over arching shape that defined the two. What I did find were two key things: The first being that certain objects such as a steel nut, rocks and charcoal were found in both locations. It may seem like a factor to reject the idea of the sites being distinct and unique from each other, however this may be out of context. Instead, this finding has brought up another question: can a site be unique based on the relationships it shares with another site? Perhaps there are things that the Docklands shares in common with Punta Rossa Sailing Club that it does not share with any site it may be compared with. Of course, while that may be a farfetched idea, it is an idea nonetheless that draws in a new concept of being unique, and that is the relationships a site may possess to other sites. The second key point somewhat stems from the previous point, and an indepth look at the objects gathered. What sparked this new revelation if you will, is that I had found a way these found objects could aid in the defining of a landscape. Similar to the Chalk Poetry mapping, these found objects carried an essence of the site: the typology. Sand for instance, would come from a beach, and the shells collected only reiterate this. Many other objects indicated an industrial setting, with steel nuts, keys, and rope. What I found quite common, which may also be a tool for determining what a site is like, was the boating material I managed to find, indicating the activity that exists on the surface of site. Therefore, using the GPS coordinates of each found object in Caprera, I located them onto an A3 map and combined with the Chalk Poetry mapping to further generate a map showing the range of surfaces and infrastructure that exists on site. 159
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Introduction
Landworks 2013
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oming into Landworks, I kept my intent to find what made a site unique in the back of my mind, but still, always present. I was placed into Stefan Tischer’s group, and our site was an old establishment for gunpowder storage and completely covered in Agaves. Agaves. These chalk-blue, spikey plants were to become the catalysts for our projects, the bane of my existence during my time on site and something that Stefan used as the main driver for our design. In our initial days we traversed the site and attempted to generate design responses. These responses were then catergorised into 4 sections, which when combined, would help us to realise our concept now identified as one that “emphasised the decay of the landscape through exotic species, and through decay, represented and played on through the site’s original use for gunpowder storage.” These four sections included 1) Dealing with the exotic species in relation to the natural 2) The access path to connect the inside from the outside 3) How to represent the information 4) Emphasising and representing the gradual decay through the 3 existing buildings And groups of 3-4 participants worked on each section. My chosen section was the last and dealt with the 3 existing buildings on site that previously stored gun powder. The next section of this chapter will describe and discuss the sections of work I was mainly involved in, our developing concepts and the journey of the work produced through images and supported by discussion.
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41° 10’ 33.83” , 9° 28’ 11.06” Punta Rossa, Caprera
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Landworks 2013
The Journey concised into a picture book
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First Impressions - Entrance
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From the get go the site was blocked off and closed from everything else. It seemed even the entrance was not made to be entered anymore
Left Wing
Huge overgrown shrubs dominated the site, covering the rocks and the walls. In the middle of the photo is an Agave that sits on a ledge running around the whole inside walls. This ledge was later climbed up onto and was used to get a birdseye view of the site.
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Straight down the axis
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This was the first and most obvious of the three buildings existing within our site. Apart from this half-crumbling infrastructure, two features stood out amongst the rest 1) The bright red ‘do not cross’ barrier that was placed at the entrances to all buildings and 2) The huge and very abundant Agaves.
Right Wing
A very overgrown and untamed section, down past the barrier leads the pathway to the most intact building on the site. Notice the ledge in the background
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The Three Buildings: Building 1
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The first of the three buildings, this was the one kept in the most pristine and untouched condition. It had gates both attached and whole.
The inside of this building, while dusty, was still in tact. It was obvious the roof had gone through a bit of damage, but the building as a whole had remained in quite good condition.
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The Three Buildings: Building 2
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This building was in direct line with the entrance, and hence sat upon the main axis. There was no sign of any gate left to the entrance of the building, nor doors. All that remained were holes revealing exposed bricks.
The inside of the building matched that of the outside: there was still structural support, but there were huge holes in the walls. The right ‘window’ saw a flow of soil coming in. The floor had also been ripped up and divided into three sections by the structural beams.
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The Three Buildings: Building 3
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The last of the three buildings. Apart from the misconceiving structural wall, behind it was nothing short of demolition.
Only the front facade was left standing, and even that was minimal. The site had been overrun with vegetation and rubble that it was hard to tell where the building’s boundaries lay.
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Concept Building
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Working within our smaller groups to create the concepts for our buildings
After the initial site visit, a lot of ideas had been playing in my head, especially in regards to the native and exotic species. This topic was my first preference to be working on, however I opted to work with Zac on developing the buildings. I think it might be a bit worthwhile to explain some thoughts that I had, and only continued to grow through the studio, about the relationship between the natives and exotic species. With my research question still in mind, I began to look at the Agaves, Carpobrutuses and the Aloes(all exotic species) in a different light. I found it somewhat spectacular that a species could arrive from so far away and not just grow but flourish on this island, while the natives suffered. While that could mean that these species were in fact super in their abilities to resistant the elements and adapt in many environments, it also said something about the site: that perhaps the site’s geographical structure allowed for these species more than the species growing on it. It says something about its diversity, and what elements it contains within that allows species to flourish. My concepts for the site then became about celebrating the Agaves and the trips they took to get here. I also tried to incorporate the idea of gunpowder production and distribution, of how it was delivered to the island and then distributed out. The Agaves could act in that way. It was unanimous that the exotic species were to be pulled out, and so I thought this could be an opportunity to celebrate the logistics an exotic species would use to get here. The exotic species could be ripped up and placed in a very orderly manner as if sorting them out ready to distribute as products, and allowed to die so that as they decomposed, their remains would be sent back out into the world from which they came. Needless to say, this concept was a bit hard to translate and did not necessarily end up going as planned.
From here, I shall discuss my experiences in working with the concept for the 3 buildings.
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The concept for our 3 buildings stemmed from their appearances and the obvious procession it took going from building to building. Starting from the right and moving to the left, each building became more and more dilapidated and damaged. While I found it amusing at how lucky this coincidence might have been, I appreciated it nonetheless and used it as an opportunity to create a narrative exploring decay in relation to the native and exotic species. My concept for these buildings was to show the take over of man-made objects by the exotic species. In this case, the manmade objects, or buildings, represented the native species: what was already there. As the buildings became more and more dilapidated, I wanted there to be an obvious increase in the presence of exotic species growing and covering the buildings.
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Concept Building
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Above are depicted the three buildings and their current states. The concept was tweaked to show that as the buildings decayed, so would vegetation. The most in tact building would contain a well-manicured and looked after front yard, while the final building would show a large amount of dead vegetation around the edge of the building lot, as a suggestion of the rubble within.
The concept for the second building was always to be a mix of the two on either side, but it also incoporated the whole concept of decay from within. With the flooring removed, the inside ground of the building was covered with rocks and debris. We wanted to show decay through materials, and so we chose to divide the floor into three parts, showing a change in the materials used to fill the sections up. 179
To help with the flow, I will now discuss the process and journey each of the buildings took indivdiually.
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Building 1 - Pristine Condition
As we investigated this building, one of the features we loved about it, was how small slits of light penetrated through the broken wooden roof. We considered emulating this by shining torches into the building from the outside to catch the shapes and shadows it would make against the walls in an effort to simulate the time drifting through. 181
The concept then developed after finding a table along the side of the house. After placing the table in the middle of the room, we began to consider making it a sculptural piece that dictated the decay through nature. Within each building we would place one piece of vegetation in the middle to represent decay. As you moved from building to building, the vegetation would also decay. 182
In order to retain this building’s image as a pristine and in tact building, we endeavoured to trim, de-weed and level the building and the area around it to give the feel that it had been maintained and someone was still living inside.
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Conceptual drawings on how to stop people from entering the building.
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Uncovering of steel cable after trying to layer the ground and digging too far.
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Process photos of labour work
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View from the building outwards. The plants bought from the nursery had arrived that day 187
Detail of a tree I pruned and trimmed with precision 188
Preparing to build a slope...
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The slope...
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The demolished slope after the concept was changed
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Uncovering and tidying of concrete blocks at the foot of the gate.
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The final design. The planting scheme involved natives and planted in a way to act as a barrier for people walking through. 195
Building 2 - Decaying Inside
Two overarching concepts existed for this building. 1) That the ground plane would show a progression of decay through materials and 2) The two ‘windows’ at the back would should a juxtaposition between the native plants and exotic plants spilling in the take over
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Existing conditions. Notice the three part divisions and the two windows
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Final design. Notice the gradual change in materials: sand, small stones, large rocks and rubble.
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Planting of the Aloe barbadensis Miller (Exotic) 201
Final Design. The left window was left bare to emphasise the existing conditions rather han planting natives inside.
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View from inside the building outwards. The terra cotta tiles were another concept implemented to express the roof materials used and the abundance of the tiles on site. They also aided in guiding your line of site down the main axis and out towards the ocean. 203
Building 3 - Complete Decay
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The initial concept for this building was to emphasis the decay of not just the building, but of the vegetation around it. We had discussions about whether we should place dead native vegetation around the building lot, dead exotic vegetation, or live exotic vegetation around the block to coincide with the decay of the building. The access to the building was also heavily considered, and we decided on carrying the theme of ‘decay’ out into the access
Concept drawings for Building 3 205
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Sourcing rubble from on site to create the access way 207
Sorting the rubble from the vegetation inside the building
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Rebuilding of Building walls to define the boundaries more.
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Final Design
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Reflection
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Artist’s impression of final design. The state of each building is evident even just based on the roofs (or lack thereof)
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Final group celebrations!
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