HERE AFTER:
THE MATERIAL PROCESSOR
PORTFOLIO
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[PROJECT SYNOPSIS] The project involves a soon-to-be exhausted copper mine, Ruashi mine, in Lubumbashi, D.R.Congo. By the time 2020, the mine would be left as an huge urban void next surrounded by the rapidly expanding city. Embracing the ‘left-over’, e.g. the mine, waste soil and sulfuric acid from acid mine drainage, from the former copper production, I see it as an oppurtunity in creation and continuation. By first implementing a machine that re-utilizes the waste soil as a neu- tralization agent to the sulfuric acid, while at the same time through erosion generating unique raw building blocks that would be used to construct new public spaces on-site. As the machine operates, starting from the South end, the remained structures from the former neutralization process would be reconfigured as an university campus. Hence, as time goes by, the machine, the contour (mine-form), the campus and the public spaces continuously change their relationships. Throughout the process, it embraces its own ‘left-over’ from various ‘former’ processes, the ‘left-overs’ that are embedded, imprinted with memories and narratives
HERE AFTER project synopsis
- an architecture that anticipates, responds to and records time flow.
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[CONTENT] 01 THESIS STATEMENT 02 MATERIAL DECAY [Wood Decay] [Concrete Decay] [Demolition Waste] [Steel Rusting] [Brick Decay] [Copper Corrosion]
03/04 PROCESS OF MAKING [Diagram of Process of Making] [The Sails, Naples, Italy] [Ordos City, China] [Global Demolition Waste]
05 A MATERIAL LIFE [Diagram of A Material Life]
06 SCALES OF DECAY [Diagram of Linkages and Scales of Decay] 07 NATURE OF DECAY [Actions of Weathering on Material] 08 4 RULES OF DECAY 09/13 SITE CONTEXT [Africa Contextual Map] [Lubumbashi Contextual Map] [DRC
Historical Graphs] [Development Plans of Lubumbashi] [Lubumbashi Contextual Mines Analysis] [Historical Maps of Ruashi Mine, 2005 - 2013]
14/15 HYPOTHESIS [Section across Ruashi Mine at 2013] [Section across Ruashi Mine at 2020] [Collage Map of Ruashi Mine at 2020]
16 MASTERPLAN [Masterplan at 2020] 17 DESIGN METHODOLOGY [Material Scripted Flows] [Components Reappropriation Logistics]
18/20 THE MACHINE [Detail Section of the Machine] [Operation Diagram of the Machine] [Foam Erosion Physical Testing Models]
21/22 PHASED DEVELOPMENT [Section Diagrams of Phased Development, 2020 2045] [Axonometric Diagrams of Phased Development, 2020 - 2045]
23/24 THE AUDITORIUM [Perspective Section of the Auditorium at 2025] [Interior Render of the Auditorium]
25/26 THE IN-BETWEEN [Perspective Section of the Machine at 2030] [Diagrammatic Models of Phased Development]
27 THE UNIVERSITY GENERIC SLAB [Axonometric of the University Generic Slab at 2045]
28 RESOLUTION [Plan of the University Generic Slab at 2045] [Plan of the Floating Programs at 2045]
29/30 FINAL MODEL [Partial Model, Scale 1:150] [Sectional Model of the Auditorium, Scale 1:150] [Final Presentation Wall]
HERE AFTER content
31/32 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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[THESIS STATEMENT] A newly completed building may express the architect’s aspirations in its pristine state, however, would immediately subject to numerous forces that slowly bring it down. While we commonly ignore, or even deny, such natural process, namely decay, through great effort of maintenance, there are always too many unforeseeable and unpredictable agents that lead our endeavor in vain. While decay is a natural and inevitable phenomenon, why don’t we embrace it and see it as an opportunity? I see material and building aging not as a deterioration process, but indeed a process of how the materials and components change their norms and meaning through time. Like wine accumulating value through time, so could architecture gains an additional layer of value, e.g. textural, spatial effect or even memory, through weathering and usages.
HERE AFTER thesis statement
- May, 2013
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HERE AFTER material decay
[top: Wood Decay] [second top: Concrete Decay] [bottom: Demolition Waste] [middle: Steel Rusting] [second bottom: Brick Decay] [bottom: Copper Corrosion]
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[PROCESS OF MAKING]
HERE AFTER process of making
I approached the topic of decay, not as an analysis of the phenonmenon, but understand it as a process of actions, which within a larger ‘process of making’, in this case, of architecture.
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The making of architecture involves numbers of subjects and processes, e.g. design, construction, usage, demolition etc.
[above: Diagram of Process of Making]
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These processes although are common to all of us, however, most of us often only spend most of our time and effort in the ‘creation’ process. The fallbacks caused by such stereotypical practice in architectural design and fixation of architect’s role had already led to numerous failures ranging from architectural scale, urban scale to even global scale. [top: The Sails, Naples, Italy] [middle: Ordos City, China] [bottom: Global Demolition Waste]
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[A MATERIAL LIFE] As a response and critique to the common practice in architectural design, I rethink the role and design process of an architect as a ‘material processor’. Can we alter the process of design as a manipulation of the overall material logistics, in which accepting and addressing the actual process from manufacture to decay to regeneration throughout the life of a building?
HERE AFTER a material life
- an architecture that manifests itself from the material process.
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[above: Diagram of A Material Life]
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[SCALES OF DECAY] While decay takes a great role in processing the material, the notion of decay does not limit in materiality, but also in architectural, urban terms, e.g. economic decline, slum formation etc.
HERE AFTER scales of decay
[above: Diagram of Linkages and Scales of Decay]
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[NATURE OF DECAY] While all matters are never stable, but vibrant and being transformed in all sorts of ways through conjoint actions from numerous actants, ‘decay’ is only a description of such process being carried out. Decay is understood as negative since it changes or deteriorates the original anticipated performance of the material, which is judged mostly from practical or sometimes superficial aesthetic reasons. On the contrary, decay in fact is a intermediary process that leads to a change of norm of a material, e.g. grape and milk turn into wine and yogurt through fermentation. If viewed from this perspective, decay could be a neutral or even construc- tive process. Most common constructive use of notion of decay in construction might be the coating of patina on copper and making of corten steel for greater strength.
HERE AFTER nature of decay
Besides physical properties, decay embeds an intangible dimension of life and time,which adds a cultural aspect to it. Human routine usages create surface wearings, raining washes the external facade and leave blackened traces due to carbon accumulated from the air. These traces even contribute a sense of aesthetics and sophistication to the subjects like antiques. People even crave for these results through ‘artificial decaying’, like washed jeans.
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More severe weathering even leads to failure in the component’s original performance, which will in fact lead to reactions from concerned partici- pants, e.g. dweller repairing a broken door, covering up holes on the wall etc. Decay, hence, possesses a reactionary nature in its action.
[above: Actions of Weathering on Material]
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As decay has a generative potential, wouldn’t it be unjustified to spend enormous effort and expenses in order to prevent it from happening in all circumstances? First and foremost, we have to see decay as a neutral process on any objects, while some results might be beneficial, and some the opposite. Since decay operates naturally anyway, could we investigate into the possibility of utilizing this process in an opportunistic way? On the other hand, material possesses imprints of stories and events of the inhabitants, like that in antique furnitures and fossils, simply recklessly wrecking them down is, in fact, cruel. Just like natural landscapes attained their morphologies from constant influences from its surroundings, from both human and non-human, shouldn’t the enlighten in process of decay in material construction be commendable?
[4 RULES OF DECAY] Common understanding of weathering, hence decay, of material as an undesirable effect due to its failing consequences, e.g. structural failure, is in fact a reductive thought. Instead, weathering is the proceess of condensation of numerous forces present in a ‘field’ onto the matter, the decayed m.aterial is, hence, the physical realization of the complex interaction with the tangible and intangible forces. #1 Decay is self-generative Reality exists as a ‘field condition’, in which numerous continuous flux of forces present and interact in an unstoppable manner. Construction should be considered only as an initial set-up that invites these surrounding forces to enact on. These forces, or energies, slowly convert the constructed matter, hence leading to decay, no matter how determined you are to resist it from happening. #2 Decay is responsive The matter conversion, decay, process is always on-going, while the factors are all intertwined in an extensive matrix of network. Transformation in one part, in turn, modi- fies the magnitude of the others, hence is forever real-time updating itself in a natural manner. #3 Decay is evolutionary Decay although is responsive to every delicate changes, it is far from a feedback homeostatic process. Balances in the sytem only appears in a macro-scale. The micro-scale (referred as building scale in this case) would not achieve such overall balance, but would undergo continuous evolution instead. Material evolvese through its active and passive engagement with the contex- tual human and natural forces.
HERE AFTER 4 rules of decay
#4 Decay is honest Same as aging in human, material ages over time too. Aging is beautiful due to its honest embracement of time. Only by aging could it complexify the original blank canvas of life through the engagement and interaction with natural encounters and turn into a sophisticated art piece.
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HERE AFTER site context
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[above: Africa Contextual Map]
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[SITE CONTEXT] I picked Lubumbashi, in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as the testing site to concretize my idea. DRC is one of the fastest growing nations in Africa and the globae in recent years, mainly due to its increase in export of copper and diamond and other precious metals. While Lubumbashi, as the 2nd largest city in DRC, earns mainly from copper mining and export.
[above: Lubumbashi Contextual Map]
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The testing site for my thesis is a copper mine called Ruashi mine, located at the edge of the city, Lubumbashi, at the center of Africa. The city relies hugely on copper mining and currently undergoing severe development and expansion since the cease of 06 civil war.
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[top: DRC Historical Graphs] [bottom: Development Plans of Lubumbashi]
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There are 6 major mines around Lubumbashi, besides the one in Kipushi, all of them are still operating. These mines vary in their lifespans, depending on their extraction plans. However, due to such large scale expansion, it has led to a great shortening of the mines’ lifespans, which left only 10- 20 years until all the mines exhaust.
[above: Lubumbashi Contextual Mines Analysis]
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Ruashi mine locates at the fringe of this expanding city, not soon the mine would be totally surrounded by the urban fabric.
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[above: Historical Maps of Ruashi Mine, 2005 - 2013]
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[HYPOTHESIS] Worse still, by 2020, at the time of mine exhaustion, the mine itself is a ‘leftover’ from the production of copper which no one wishes to touch upon afterwards, mainly due to the occurrence of Acid Mine Drainage when the mining production finishes. AMD is a oxidation of the exposed sulphide ore which produces concentrated sulfuric acid. The acid basically seeps into the groundwater and endangers the aquatic life and damages the surrounding infrastructure.
[top: Section across Ruashi Mine at 2013] [bottom: Section across Ruashi Mine at 2020]
HERE AFTER hypothesis
Common measures either back-fill the mine with waste soil or immerse it with water. However, both measures leave the huge mine as an unusable urban void for the next hundred of years.
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So that is the point where my implementation begins, of embracing this ‘leftover’ landform from the former copper production. There are 2 main agendas for me to react to at the initial state: 1. resolve the hazardous impacts of the AMD 2. make use of the vast open landscape at the prime location at the city, allow it to regain its potential value and give it back to the city at large.
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[above: Collage Map of Ruashi Mine at 2020]
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[MASTERPLAN] The programs would first involve a neutralization machine and a gypsum factory that through neutralization of the acid produces unique building blocks and also gypsum by-products.
[above: Masterplan at 2020]
HERE AFTER masterplan
Slowly along time and location of the operation, a university campus would grow through re-utilization of the former machine structure, while a few pieces of large public spaces would be constructed from using the eroded building blocks from the neutralization process.
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HERE AFTER design methodology
[DESIGN METHODOLOGY]
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By centering individual materials or components at the center of attention. Through designing the flow in-between and reappropriating them into various roles or characters at different times according to their properties. Hence constantly a design that constantly reconfiguring the material relationships, an architecture that appropriate the best of itself based on the material performances.
[top: Material Scripted Flows] [bottom: Components Re-appropriation Logistics]
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HERE AFTER the machine
[above: Detail Section of the Machine]
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[above: Operation Diagram of the Machine]
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[THE MACHINE] The machine consists of a horizontal layer with 4 stratifications, silo track, conveyor track, catwalk circulation and the reaction belt. With the vertical retractable cranes as well. So the operation of the machine at first mix the lime and waste soil to the compression chamber to produce the raw earth blocks which is then dipped into the sulfuric acid for neutralization to occur. From the reaction, the block would be eroded into designated forms but with unique texture, while the gypsum by-product released would be pumped back to the factory on the other end to manufacture gypsum products.
[above: Foam Erosion Physical Testing Models]
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[PHASED DEVELOPMENT] 5 different stages have been depicted throughout the operation over a span of 30 years starting from 2020. Each stage undergoes various operations in reaction to the progress of the acid mine drainage and the resultant landform. a. The relocation of neutralization operation areas, which moved from the south to north end along the contour. b. The extension of retractable cranes that reach the rim of the eroded landform. c. The replacement of silo track structures as basic modules attaching to the vertical cranes to house campus programs.
HERE AFTER phased development
d. The translocation of eroded earth blocks for construction of public programs.
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e. Slow invasion of the middle circulation layer with additional partitions using the copper compression chambers and gypsum products in establishing the generic slab for campus programs.
[above: Section Diagrams of Phased Development, 2020 - 2045]
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[above: Axonometric Diagrams of Phased Development, 2020 - 2045]
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[THE AUDITORIUM]
HERE AFTER the auditorium
The auditorium make use of the resultant eroded earth blocks from the neutralization process, with post manufacturing involving carving out individual edges in suiting the program’s needs.
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The auditorium encompasses and demonstrates the potential of using the eroded blocks as both shelter and textural substances in creating spaces with unique spatial experiences.
[above: Perspective Section of the Auditorium at 2025]
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[above: Interior Render of the Auditorium]
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[THE IN-BETWEEN] The Machine constantly is in transformation, simultaneously performing industrial function, housing university campus programs and generating public activities.
HERE AFTER the in-between
e.g. West-end as university and public programs; East-end as industrial performances.
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[above: Perspective Section of the Machine at 2030]
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[above: Diagrammatic Models of Phased Development]
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[THE UNIVERSITY GENERIC SLAB] At each stage, the university campus slowly invades the circulation middle layer of the machine structure.
HERE AFTER the university generic slab
Through replacing the copper cathode sheets and addition of gypsum manufactured products from the factory, a generic slab housing university programs would grow informally in suiting the programmatic requirements.would be constructed from using the eroded building blocks from the neutralization process.
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[above: Axonometric of the University Generic Slab at 2045]
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[RESOLUTION] In conclusion, the thesis explores the potential of seeing acceptance and embracement of decay of architecture as part of the design process. Through respecting the varying conditions of material and component that changes over time, re-appropriating them with different norms, as a result to create a piece of architecture, that embedded with unique spatial and textural qualities that could never be achieved without the passage of time.
HERE AFTER resolution
[top: Plan of the University Generic Slab at 2045] [bottom: Plan of the Floating Programs at 2045]
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HERE AFTER final representation
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[above: Partial Model, Scale 1:150]
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[top: Sectional Model of the Auditorium, Scale 1:150] [bottom : Final Presentation Wall]
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY] 01 ARCHITECTURE OF THE EVERYDAY Harris, Steven and Berke, Deborah / Princeton Architectural Press, 1997
02 IMMATERIAL ARCHITECTURE Hill, Jonathan / Routledge, 2006 03 THE TIMELESS WAY OF BUILDING Alexander, Christopher / Oxford University Press, 1979
04 RUINS Dillon, Brian / MIT Press, 2011 05 A THOUSAND YEARS OF NONLINEAR HISTORY De Landa, Manuel / Zone Books, 1997
06 MATTER: MATERIAL PROCESSES IN ARCHITECTURAL PRODUCTION Borden, Gail Peter and Meredith Michael / Routledge, 2012 07 CRITIQUE OF EVERYDAY LIFE Lefebvre, Henri / Verso, 2008 08 THE PRACTICE OF EVERYDAY LIFE Certeau, de Michel / University of California Press, 2011
09 HERZOG & DE MEURON: NATURAL HISTORY Ursprung, Philip / Lars Muller Publishers, 2005
10 ON WEATHERING: THE LIFE OF BUILDINGS IN TIME Mostafavi, Mohsen and Leatherbarrow, David / MIT Press, 1993
11 MATERIAL PRECEDENT: THE TYPOLOGY OF MODERN TECTONICS Borden, Gail Peter / John Wiley & Sons, 2010 12 VIBRANT MATTER: A POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF THINGS Bennett, Jane / Duke University Press, 2010
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13 FAILURE Le Feuvre, Lisa / MIT Press, 2010
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14 GORDON MATTA-CLARK: THE SPACE BETWEEN Le Feuvre, Lisa and Attlee James / Nazraeli Press, 2003
15 AIR ARCHITECTURE Klein, Yves and Noever, Peter / Hatje Cantz, 2004 16 WORDS AND BUILDINGS: A VOCABULARY OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE Forty, Adrian / Thames & Hudson, 2000 17 THE STORM AND THE FALL Woods, Lebbeus / Princeton Architectural Press, 2004
18 ACTIONS OF ARCHITECTURE: ARCHITECTS AND CREATIVE USERS Hill, Jonathan / Routledge, 2003 19 THE WASTE MAKERS Packard, Vance / Longmans, 1961 20 PLEASURE OF RUINS Smith, Constance Babington / Thames and Hudson, 1977 21 AMBIGUOUS SPACES NaJa & de Ostos / Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 22 BUILDING MACHINES McCarter, Robert / Princeeton Architectural Press, 1987
23 GRAVITY Fantauzzi, Frank and Van Elslander, Terence / Princeton Architectural Press, 2003
24 THE AESTHETICS OF DECAY: NOTHINGNESS, NOSTALGIA AND THE ABSENCE OF REASON Trigg, Dylan / Peter Lang, 2006 25 POINTS & LINES Allen, Stan / Princeton Architectural Press, 1999 26 GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI: THE COMPLETE ETCHINGS Ficacci, Luigi / Taschen, 2000
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HERE AFTER:
THE MATERIAL PROCESSOR
PORTFOLIO