Chapter 2 | The archive

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 The Archive

Ratan

Ratan

In order to describe Ratan, the words of late Christer Hollinder (1945 - 2021) seems quite suitable. He was a major driver in the documentation and preservation of Ratan's history. The following text is taken from the book Ratan - the story of a people which history has passed on (2007)49. Freely translated from Swedish.

It was rumored that the lighthouses would be extinguished. Both of them. The approach lighthouse on Ledskär and the lighthouse on Rataskär. Thus, the last tangible active evidence of the village’s professional maritime life would disappear. The whole cycle seems to be completed in some way, if crass economy were to prevail. Hundreds of years ago, someone discovered the fine harbor with the strait, in which anchorage, berth, settlement and security are offered. A piece of the countryside that through its natural conditions will provide it with a window to the world. The ships that in their wake figuratively took with them tavern - customs - telegraph - sawmill - pilots - post - lighthouses … And so the PEOPLE. The people whose pursuits became obsolete, and who in time saw their institutions discontinued in about the same order mentioned here, associated with melancholy and anxiety. Development all too often also leads to dismantling, although the word “outdated” should preferably be related to something. In the case of Ratan, that word probably became synonymous with “non-cost-effective”. However, a place does not arouse significant interest among outsiders unless there are living, active traces of what one is trying to document … As is the case with Ratan.

… Today, a rarely conscious population is fighting the final total darkness over the sea. They have discovered the value of conservation through continuity and that development is not always synonymous with decommissioning.

For if God and (especially) the Swedish Maritime Administration want it, the lighthouses will continue to be operated - but under the auspices of the village, as well as the pilot site buildings in general. The digital world we live in somehow requires us to be firmly rooted in a historical foundation so as not to become fluttery and rootless, and we believe that the future will thank us for our efforts in this regard. 50

In the following page, three sites across Ratan have been identified. These are of special interests as they represent a diversity both their location and in their relationship to the landscape.

1.

2. 3.

Ratan map

CONDITIONS: sea, water; island

1. The land

The site of an an anchor, firmly rooted to the ground and the mainland, overlooking the strait and Rataskär with its iconic beacon. Providing access.

2. The strait

Located along the very edge of the ships route into the harbour. A location in the water providing a direct connection with the strip of water that divides Rataskär from the main land as well as the Gulf of Bothnia and beyond.

3. The island

On the Rocky slopes, this site is secluded. Not far from old fisherman settlements, this site overlooks the sea, contemplating the very history of the place.

Landscape

As expressed by Christer Hollinder51 the site of Ratan was probably discovered many hundreds of years ago with its remains of ancient fishing hamlets. It is its location together with its topography that has provided it with a protected harbor in a greater geographic location providing little protection for sea travelers and transportation northbound. It is this history which inevitably has provided Ratan with its roots, still visible today. Before that, the ice sheet covering large parts of the baltic, the nordic countries as well as great Britain 20 000 years ago has also enabled a fast land rise in Ratan, equivalent to almost one centimeter per year, making Ratan a point of interest for scientists, even so that Samuel Schydenius, student of Carl von Linné visited Ratan and made a marking of the current water level 1749 on Ledskär, the first stumbling on the 'water reduction' which later is determined as the land rise. Much like the archival method of this research, the topography of Ratan is ever changing providing different experiences and in the long term will erase its very existence of being a protected harbor, placing it on land.

Land rise model 15x15 cm plaster Year

1749

1800

1900

2000 2022

Topography model, 15x15 cm Maple Scale 1:10000

Dispersed library

Following the concept of analogue architecture and Genius Loci, this archive is taking form in a search for meaning. What is collected and analyzed can be said to form a dispersed library of artifacts. It consists of buildings and elements in a conscious collection found in Västerbotten. From the dispersed library, a selection of six place-specific elements are chosen, all found through research and site visits. These forms the physical departure of the archive as a site-specific element exploration to be further analyzed and juxtaposed in order to provide new and meaningful relationships. These will help inform the design process of the Pioneers.

The attempt is to build a “useful” beauty and to have the capacity to propose an alternative to reality through the imagination53

Gino Malacarne on Analogue Architecture

Artefacts

01

Beacon

This beacon standing 18,5 meters tall was erected 1828, replacing a former landmark. The beacon painted in red and white were also used as a lookout for pilots.

02

Mareograph

Built in 1891 this enigmatic building has been designated to protect and house measuring devices tracking the sea level day and night.

03

Sideral-light

In 1878, this parabolic shaped device powered by a simple lantern were a welcome addition to the sailors, guiding them into the strait when dark.

04

Mistwatch

Lighthouse with mistwatch completed in 1874. The Lighthouse has since been restored while the mistwatch remains to be rebuilt.

05

Cold bath

Commissioned by master pilot Nils Blomgren in the beginning of the 21st century this cold bath provided tourists with a chilling experience.

06

Stone coffin

This marks on out of two stone coffins elevating the former jetty of the pilot boats. Originally only rocks and timber, since added with steel and concrete.

Mareograph Beacon Sideral-light

Image

Elevation

Chapter 2 Additional

Top

Site

Keywords

Contrast: tall, window Functional: enigmatic, measurement Condensation: concentric, light

Mistwatch Cold bath Stone coffin

Suspended: roof, protection Privacy: accessible, framed Foundation: mass, elevate

Fragments

Stone coffin

Beacon

Mareograph

Mistwatch

Open air bath

Sideralsken

Collage of framgment models

Iterating the archive

In order to further understand and explore the artifacts, another iteration is made, abstracting the previous identified keywords into architectural scale models. From the artifacts certain elements, shapes and properties have been juxtaposed as a play of scale and function. The idea is to, through the expressions of the artifacts generate new experiences and expressions.

In line with the previously outlined theories, this research is not seeking to simply preserve the past or providing a romantic view of history, but rather to use it as a departure point, mixed with contemporary global influences on architecture. The collage (right) is made as an exploration trying to some extent explain the scope of this research. In the collage, parts of Wingårds Liljewalchs+, an art gallery finished in 2021, is juxtaposed with a photo taken by Sigurd Lewerentz on one of his study trips during the 20th century.

On the following pages, the artifacts have been reiterated and remodeled into new architectural models and situations.

Collage by author Image by Sigurd Lewerentz coollaged with fragments of Wingårdhs Liljevalchs +

Mareograph

A functional fragment, from the outside enigmatic, while inside providing advanced measurements.

Translated into an enigmatic structure, closed to the exterior. Proportions and geometry is kept but translated into a structure of lamellas that further strengtens the functional aspects.

Mistwatch

A suspended structure with an overhanging roof, protecting and providing orientation.

Reinterpreted into a shelter, the roof itself, this time not suspended but placed on the ground.

Open air bathouse

A bathouse providing privacy for bathers and accessibility to the strait. Framing the sea and the sky, focusing the experience.

Again placed in its original setting, this time with a focus on a timber structure, suspending it above the water line.

Beacon

Contrast on the horizon, a tall structure acting as a window to the sea.

The interior structure, reprented by sections has been mirrored and the original tapered structure of the beacon has been exagerrated as well as its original one window, now being four, one for each point of the compass.

Sideral-light

Condensation of light through a repetition of concentric circles in a parabolic profile.

The parabolic sideral-light has been magnified and elevated, now placed on top of a tall tower, providing a 360 degrees view for anyone entering its base looking up.

Stone coffin

Foundation through mass of concrete & rocks. Elevating a path, protected from ice and water.

The concrete is poured on top of rocks and stones and its structure is elevated generating an imaginary scenario, still protected from ice and water.

Conclusions Chapter 2

The making of an archive should not be limited to a specific method or way of exploration and it should be acknowledged that different approaches may yield various results. This method of making and craft is not a linear process but rather a correspondence between maker and material which has been helpful in exploring the characters and in the search of Ratan's identity.

Materiality - All buildings in Ratan are made using conventional materials that are locally available mainly timber and granite along with later additions of concrete.

Landscape - All buildings are sensitively placed in the landscape corresponding to their specific function. The beacon standing on top of Rataskär for maximal visibility, the Sideral-light located at a bedrock at the inlet of the strait and the Mareograph, at the time, located at the very edge between sea and land.

Making this archive has provided insights in materiality as well as structure and a greater understanding of how things are made. At the same time, it has been useful in identifying keywords and a critical perception of reality where the beacon can be condensed to a window to the sea, connected with a ladder.

This has further been explored through the last iteration where the artifacts, their materiality and their properties have been explored along with a play of scale.

This archive is indeed mainly of the past in the artifacts chosen, it is however constantly re-read in the light of the present as well as the future. This is also the goal of making this archive, to learn from the process while simultaneously allowing for an active relation between the present and the past as a departure point when moving forward. The goal of the archive has been to provide insights and learnings to be put forward in the design of the three Pioneers that are the physical outcome of the archive explorations.