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MArch 2 Modular 2013/14: STUDIO G
WATER CLOCKS & REGULATING MECHANISMS E R O S I O N
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INTRODUCTION Regulating ecological processes in the Laguna Veneta Geologies Lagoons are geological features that form at the mouths of rivers on gently sloping shores. They are created when a barrier island forms from sedimentary material, and subsidence occurs on its landward side, separating a small body of brackish water from the sea. Lagoons are young, dynamic, and usually shortlived phenomena, depending upon a delicate balance of erosive and sedimentary forces. They are sensitive to changes in relative sea level and the sediment load of tributary rivers, tending either to silt up into alluvial fans, or to be engulfed by the sea. The Venetian lagoon is a result of the deposition of alpine sediment forming the barrier islands of Lido di Jesolo, Lido di Venezia and Pellestrina, and subsidence caused by the consolidation of the alluvial soild of the Veneto. The geo-morphology of the lagoon itself is in a state of constant change, as a result of complex range of factors, including daily variations in tidal flow and evaporation, seasonal wind patterns, exceptional storm events, variations in the input of sedimentation, natural subsidence, and changes in sea level.
Biologies This unique coastal habitat - which includes marine environments, beaches, dunes and salt-marshes, intertidal muds, and shallow, brackish sub-title environments – is collonised by a range of fauna; pioneer species, halophytes, rushes, reeds, sea-grasses and algae. In turn, these flora support a wide range of fauna, particularly wading birds, fish and shell-fish, but also including numerous insects, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles. The relation between lagoon geology and its collonisation by flora and fauna is also complex; changes in lagoon morphology create or destroy particular habitats, and affect the kinds of animal and plant species that can survive. However, collonisation of the lagoon by differing plants and animals can also have a stabilizing or de-stabilizing effect on the underlying geology. That is, processes of geological erosion and sedimentation are attended to and affected by related processes of biological erosion and sedimentation.
Sociologies Of course, the current extent, morphology, and ecology of the venetian lagoon is the result of extensive human intervention, both by accident, and design. The humans occupant of the lagoon have contributed to its accidental de-gradation through industrial and urban development, exacerbating subsidence and leading th to extensive habitat loss. Since the 14 C. the venetian have also been engaged in extensive hydrological engineering to attempt to mitigate against it natural degradation, re-directing river when over-sedimentation threatened, and strengthening sea-defences against the threat of engulfment. But just as the lagoon has been shaped by its human inhabitants, so has it shaped them. The islands of the lagoon were first settled on account of the military advantage they offered, and it was naval prowess, as well as the economically advantageous location in terms of global trade, that lead to the wealth of the Serenissima republic. Through its history, the lagoon has supported unique industries, economies and ways of life, just as today this heritage is turning Venice into a museum city, and leading to its de-population. Further, the particular th political organization of the city has also developed as a result of its relation to the lagoon; since the 13 century, venetian legislation had held water to be a public good, a proprieta da Comun, and the Venice Water Authority, the Magistrade alle Acqua, one of its highest offices. Indeed, water could be seen as the Res Publica of the Venetian Republic - the common thing that brings together governors and the governed and its management the cities principle political and technical challenge. That is, the Laguna Veneta is a complex ecological and socio-technical mechanism, in which geological, biological and sociological processes interact and co-produce each-other in complex and non-linear ways.
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MAP Strata: Geological Bathymetry of Lagoon, South Lagoon, Casone Averto atlantedellalaguna.it/maps/
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The Venice Question The exigency currently presented by this complex mechanism is the flooding of the city of Venice. Global sea-levels are rising as a result of climate change, the lagoon is subsiding as a result of water extraction from acquifers, tidal surges are inundating the city with increased severity. Since the floods of 1966, the ‘Venice Question’ has been deemed a matter of ‘national importance’, to which extraordinary legislative, technical and financial resources have been addressed. Project MoSE (Module Sperimetalle Electromagnetico) is the current solution; a series of hydraulic gates, currently under construction, that will block the mouth of the lagoon at times of acqua alta. There are concerns, however, that the barriers themselves pose a problem for the Lagoon. The Italian Ministry of the Environment, the WWF, the Mayor of Venice, and a range of environmental lobbying groups oppose MoSE, arguing that it will damage the morphology and ecology of the Lagoon, and its associated economies, upon which the Venetian way of life depends. The Venice question – a 30 year deadlock between the erection of physical barriers against the tides, and legislative barriers against these barriers - provides an example of the reflexive nature of contemporary modernity; Humanity has developed a technological capacity that allows it to modify the environment to its own ends, but this capacity brings with it its own risks. The complexity of issues raised by Venice and the Venetian Lagoon pose a challenge to designers, to attempt to understand the environmental impact of our built intervention, so as to be self-limiting in terms of where and when we intervene. Designing Environmental Impact This Studio G MArch Modular course, semester 1 2013/14, challenges students to understand the complexity of the Venetian lagoon system, and to consider architecture as a means of designing environmental impact. Students will be asked to study – through a series of maps, models and fieldrecordings – processes of environmental change occurring within the venetian lagoon, prior to designing a series of related infrastructural, agricultural and architectural interventions – a dam, a farm and a marketplace – as a means to sustain and invigorate the delicate balances between lagoon economies, ecologies, and hydrologies. The studio acts as a primer for a Studio B March Modular course, semester 2 2013/14, in which students will be asked to resolve the technical and environmental aspects of these building proposals in greater details, with the support of external consultants
Staff Studio Leader: Liam Ross Guests:
Tiago Torres Campos Lisa Moffit Jules Rawlinson Michelle Bastian Lisa MacKenzie Miguel Paredes
Learning Outcomes Conceptual Framework
LO1
The ability to develop and act on a productive conceptual framework both individually and in teams for an architectural project or proposition, based on critical analysis of relevant issues.
Architectural Language
LO2
The ability to develop an architectural, spatial and material language that is carefully considered at an experiential level and that is in clear dialogue with conceptual and contextual concerns.
Technological & Environmental Strategy
LO3
The ability to investigate, appraise and develop clear strategies for technological and environmental decisions in an architectural design project.
Representation skills
LO4
A critical understanding of, and the development of skills in using, differing forms of representation (eg. verbal, drawing, modelling, photography, film, computer and workshop techniques), to explain a design project.
Assessment & Feedback Assessment will be against the above learning outcomes, on the basis of a final exhibition and booklet. Formative feedback will be issued on week 7, on the basis of Project 1. E R O S I O N
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MAP Strata: Biological Erosive front of marsh grasses, 1930-55, 1955-70, 1970-2000, South Lagoon, Casone Averto atlantedellalaguna.it/maps/
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STRATA & MESHWORKS Principles of correspondence between Class, Group, and individual Collaborations between students in this class, and correspondence between students theses in this studio, will be understood through the following two terms: Strata
In developing individual architectural theses, students are expected to develop a particular area of knowledge regarding the lagoon ecology. These individual areas of research will be understood to pertain to one of three broad concerns: •
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Geological What kinds of geological change are occurring within the lagoon? What are the diagrams of geo-morphological erosion and settlement, and what are their causes and effects? Biological What kinds of biological changes are occurring in the lagoon? What are the patterns of animal migration and colonisation, and what are the causes and effects of these changes? Social What kind of social transformation are occurring within the lagoon? How are patterns, practices and technologies of settlement changing, and what are the drivers and effects of these changes?
Students whose research pertains to the same broad concern will be thought of as forming a ‘Strata’ of expertise within the class. A Strata is a loose form of correspondence; it does not imply active collaboration toward a shared end. Rather, members of a strata will be valued colleagues to share information with, leading to an increased shared understanding. It is anticipated that members of strata may wish to collaborate to produce shared base drawings of the lagoon, with geological, biological, or sociological foci. Meshworks
Individual architectural theses, however, will concern the interaction between geological, biological, and sociological concerns; students developing expertise on processes of geological transformation, for instance, will be particularly interested in the biological and sociological effects and causes associated with these transformations. To this end, closer forms of collaboration are expected between strata. The group is asked to organise itself in a number of ‘Meshworks’, groups of 2-3 students - each student representing a knowledge of different ‘strata’ - whose research enquiries intersect. These groupings are likely to form around a related set of programmes or economies within the lagoon – practices that are recognised to have related geological, biological and sociological effects. A Meshwork is a close form of correspondence, implying an active collaboration toward a shared group project. For project 1 ‘Water Clocks’, assessment will be on the basis of a group submission, while project 2, ‘Regulating Mechanisms’, will produce individual building designs, but which form part of a group strategy within their Meshwork.
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MAP Strata: Biological Constructed ground of fish farms, South Lagoon, Casone Averto atlantedellalaguna.it/maps/
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E&S_1
WATER CLOCKS
STATA & MESHWORKS
Mapping, Modelling and Recording processes of Erosion and Sedimentation
This project asks students to identify a series of related ecological changes occurring within the Venetian lagoon; processes by which existing patterns of settlement are being eroded, and new patterns solidifying. Categorising these changes as being Geological, Biological or Sociological in nature, students are asked to study the process of change within each ʻstrataʼ, and the ʻmeshworksʼ that connect them. Students are asked to record the extent and temporality of these changes, to represent their diagrams and indices, exhibiting their finding through a series of maps, models and field- recordings. Exercise 1 Wk. 1-3
Maps
Exercise 2 Wk. 1-3
Models1
Exercise 3 Wk. 4-6
Recordings
Produce a series of maps documenting the extent and speed of ecological change within the Venetian Lagoon, geological, biological and sociological. Exhibit these as a composite drawing and an animation
Produce a model that recreates a process of erosion and sedimentation occurring within the Venetian lagoon. Exhibit this model, and document it in the form of a short film and animated drawing.
Produce a series of field recordings documenting processes of erosions and sedimentation occurring within the Venetian Lagoon. Exhibit these recordings in the form of a short film and/or animated drawing. MODELS Active Model and animated drawing recreating diagram of dune formation Liam Ross
1 The notion of an ‘active model’ as a means of studying processes of environmental change was developed in discussion with Lisa Moffitt. See Seminars ‘Ontological and Analogical Models’ and ‘Diagram’ for further information. For details on Lisa Moffitt’s prior work on environmental modeling, see “Fill, Flow, Track: Modeling Energetic Exchanges,” in Theory by Design, Antwerp, 2012 E R O S I O N & S E D I M E N T A T I O N : G e o l o g i c a l , B i o l o g i c a l , S o c i o l o g i c a l
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Guidance
Tuition
Maps
Use your drawings to familiarise yourself within the spatial and temporal character of the processes studied; what are their extents, and what are their rates of change (linear or cyclic, tidal, seasonal, annual, historical?) Complete your drawings at two scales, encompassing the lagoon as a whole, as well as an identified site of specific interest (liaise with class to agree common working scales as appropriate). Compose your drawings on three layers corresponding to the three strata under investigation. Your drawings should be large in scale; they will form the location and site drawings of your future urban and architectural proposals.
Models
Your active model should not attempt to create a visual likeness to morphological features of the lagoon, but rather to directly reproduce its diagrams of formation. That is, it should be an apparatus for revealing specific morphogenetic properties of matter; it should comprise of a bed or tank, accommodating a population of sedimentary particle (sand, pigment, clay etc.) and a jig and device for submitting these particles to an erosive force (flowing water, waves, forced air etc.) The bed and jig of the model should be large and robust; they should last the duration of the academic year, support multiple re-modlelings, and form the site model for future building proposals. Consider both the spatial and temporal scales that your model operate at; these will be set by the relation between the strength and medium of the erosive force applied, and the properties of the sedimentary particles.
Recordings
Use the class field- trip to Venice to record direct signs (indices) of the processes of ecological change studied prior to the trip. Use the field trip as an opportunity to understand these processes at a finer grain of detail, considering the momentary and the daily, as well as the seasonal, annual and historical. Ensure that you have suitable equipment prior to the trip (still camera, video camera, acoustic recording device, drawing equipment), and that you are comfortable in its use. Equipment is available for loan from the McGovern media centre, and Rachel Travers is available for consultation on its use. Be generous and speculative in the material you choose to record; your recording will offer another means to site later proposals.
Briefing Seminars
Monday, Week 1 ‘Analogical and Ontological Models’, Lisa Moffit, Monday wk 2 ‘The Diagram’, Liam Ross, Monday week 2 Digital Video Editing, Jules Rawlinson, Monday wk 2. Digital Video as Field-work, Tiago Torres Campos, Monday, wk. 3 Animated Drawings, Jules Rawlinson, Monday week 5 Thursdays week 1, 2, 4 & 5
Workshops Group Tutorials Reviews / Exhibitions Resources
Interim Review: Thursday week 3 Exhibition: Thursday Week 6
Drawn information on Venetian Lagoon
Atlas of the Lagoon (English language atlas of lagoon ecology with extensive information downloadable as bitmap images): http://atlante.silvenezia.it/en/index_ns.html Atlante della Laguna (updated Italian version of atlas with further information): http://cigno.atlantedellalaguna.it Regione del Veneto (downloadable CAD and GIS plans of lagoon. Go to; produtti cartographica/ carta tecnica regionale / CTR Numerica 5,000/ DXF / Venezia): http://idt.regione.veneto.it/app/metacatalog/
Workshop Facilities
Lauriston Place Architecture workshop to open mid-semester. Class induction to Lauriston Place CAD / CAM workshop arranged Tuesday 17th September. Class Induction to Lauriston Place metal workshop available on request. Priviledged access to Minto House lower workshop arranged.
Equipment & Technical Support
Digital photography and video equipment available for loan at McGovern Media centre. Canon 1000d with HD video, Panasonic camcorder with HD video plus 2 tripods booked 2-14th October. Rachel Travers available for consultation on technical matters.
Graphic Guides
For useful guides on Graphic conventions, see the work of Edward Tufte and the Graphic Press, including The Visual Display of Quantitative Information,
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Envisioning Information, and Visual Explanations.
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RECORDINGS SOAK: Mumbai in an Estuary Dilip da Cunha and Anaradha Mathur, Delhi, 2009
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E&S_2
REGULATING MECHANISMS
Individuals / Meshworks
Intervening in processes of Erosion and Sedimentation
This project asks students to design a series of related landscape and architectural interventions within the Venetian lagoon. It asks students to consider landscape and architectural design as a means to steer specific geological, biological and sociological processes, accelerating beneficial change, or dampening harmful forms of change. Exercise 1 Wk. 7
Paradigms
Exercise 2 Wk. 8
Processes
Exercise 3 Wk. 9-11
Proposals
E R O S I O N
Identify an urban or architectural paradigm in the history of Venetian architecture, that acts as a means of regulating geological, biological or sociological processes; this might be a hydrological intervention in the lagoon, a farm or mode of farming, a market or other civic gathering place. Prepare a survey drawing of this paradigm, as well as a reductive diagram of its architectural principles.
Produce a second diagram, which illustrates the environmental impact of the chosen precedent; that is, produce a study of the way in which the chosen precedents diverts, captures or directs, the complex of environmental forces considered within your meshwork.
Design a series of interventions in the Venetian Lagoon that deploy a range of related architectural principles with an understanding of their likely environmental impact upon lagoon processes. In re-deploying these paradigm, demonstrate an understanding of how a range of environmental concerns are enmeshed together, and how architectural principles might be adapted to suit multiple and shifting environmental factors. Students might consider one of the following typologies:
Dam
Farm
Market
Make a landscapeinfrastructural intervention intended to re-direct processes of geological settlement within the Laguna Veneta; propose disperse measures that mitigate rising / surging water-levels, and contribute to the sustenance of the lagoon morphology, and increase leisure access to its unique landscape.
Make an agricultural-domestic intervention that re-directs processes of biological settlement; propose measures that manipulate the shifting Lagoon ecology for agrarian purposes, for human sustenance, and that domesticate this landscape as a site for human habitation.
Make an infrastructuralarchitectural that re-directs processes of social formation; propose local measures to mitigate the effect of rising / surging water-levels on the urban settlements of the lagoon, and create a new cultural space to enjoy the consumption of lagoon products.
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PROCESSES [above] HYDROLOGY OF VENETIAN LAGOON Atlante della Laguna / Liam Ross PARADIGMS [below] HYDROLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF NICOLO ZEN http://paradoxcity.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/urbansos_venice_lagoon.pdf
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Guidance
Paradigms
Use the paradigm project as a means to familiarise yourself with relevant venetian architectural histories, and to gather together the relevant material (drawn survey, CAD model, physical model) to allow for the next exercise.
Processes
Consider using your active model as a means of testing the likely environmental impact of your paradigm, in relation to the ecological processes studied in Project 1. Consider the use of digital environmental modelling programmes, such as Autodesk Ecotect, as a means of modelling a wider range of possible environmental effects that might be modelled: sun study, shadow study, ambient light-level study, passive solar-gain study, thermal capacity study, wind-speed study, study of water-flow in event of flood, acoustic-study, etc.
Proposals
Use this exercise to begin to develop an architectural language that demonstrates an awareness of the environmental impact of building. Consider how your building works as part of a system with the others in your meshwork; what are the range of environmental concerns that these engage with?
Recommended Submission
Your recommended submission should include components within your meshwork, as well as individual components:
Lagoon Strategy: [Meshworks] Produce a series of drawings, animations and models as required to situate your ʻRegulating Mechanismsʼ within the shifting lagoon context. Use the maps, models and recording produced for ʻWater Clocksʼ as the site drawings and models for this, working in appropriate media. We might anticipate, then, meshwork plans at the lagoon scale, and at an appropriate site scale, as well as a series of models that can be placed within the ʻactiveʼ model.
Building Strategy: [Individual] Produce a series of drawings and models as required to clarify the nature and extent of your individual building proposals. This might be a conventional series of drawn representations (plans, sections, exploded axonometrics), as well as a CAD and/or physical model, at a suitable building scale. This set of information will form the basis of your environmental and technical studies in Studio B, semester 2. Therefore, it is important that the student complete the semester with the definition of a clearly articulated a building proposal for future technical and environmental analysis. Both components should be submitted as an exhibition and a bound report.
Tuition
Briefing Seminars Tutorials Review & Exhibitions
Monday, Week 7 Programme vs Paradigm, Liam Ross, Monday wk 8 Three Venetian Paradigms, Liam Ross, Monday wk 9 Bio-political Regulation, Liam Ross, Monday wk 10 Thursdays week 8, 9, 10 Interim Review: Thursday Week 11 Exhibition: Thursday Week 12
[overleaf] PROPOSITIONS Deccan Traverses Dilip da Cunha and Anaradha Mathur
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Reading Seminars The course will be supported by a series of thematic reading seminars, introducing students to relevant texts from the bibliography, and developing a shared vocabulary of architectural concepts. Diagrams
This seminar introduces students to the concept of a 'diagram' within the philosophies of Foucault, Deleuze, and De Landa; that is, the notions of a diagram as an "immanent morphogenetic property of matter". It considers how certain kinds of architectural models might be considered diagrammatic, and how architectur itself might operate as an environmental or sociological diagra m. Key Text: Landa, M. De. “Deleuze, Diagrams, and the Genesis of Form.”
Clocks
This seminar will reflect upon clocks as devices that signal changes within an environment, and facilitate social coordination. It will consider ethical and political questions related to the measuring of time, with particular reference to water clocks, and our coordination with lunar and tidal rhythms. Key Text: Jones, O. “The Breath of the Moon: The Rhythmic and Affective Time-spaces of UK Tides”
Regulation
This seminar introduces students to a bio-political concept of regulation, rough the writing of Canguilhem and Foucault. It will consider how the current meaning of regulation as corrective action emerges in relation to concepts of internal regulation within biology, leading to conceptual exchanges between theology, astronomy, mechanics, economics and politics. Its will consider how the built environment might act as a passive environmental technology of government. Key Text: Cangiulhem, G. “The Development of the Biological Concept of Regulation”
Paradigms
This seminar presents Colin Rowes reflection on the limits of both Architecture Rationale and Functionalism. Rowe reflects here on the fallacy of supposing that architectural organisation might ever emerge from a purely immanent set of programmatic concerns, but rather, always involves the projection of some preconceived paradigm. Key Text: Rowe, C. Programme vs. Paradigm
Absolute
This seminar presents three Venetian architectural paradigm, projects for a dam, farm and market. It offers students a theoretical account of Palladio's architecture, and introduces Aureli's concept of an Absolute Architecture, of a architectures radical otherness to its environmental, social and urban context. Key Text: Aureli, P.V. “The Geo-politics of the Ideal Villa” in The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture
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APPENDIX 1
Bibliography & References
Architecture
Allen, S. 2011. Landform Building: Architectures New Terrain. Lars Muller Aranda / Lasch. 2005. Tooling. Pamphlet Architecture 27 Aureli, P.V. 2011. The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture. MIT. Behrens, R. 2009. Camoupedia: A Compendium of Research on Art, Architecture and Camouflage. Cassarà, S. Peter Eisenman: Feints. Skira Editore, 2006. Cunha, D. Mississippi Floods: Designing a Shifting Landscape. Yale, 2001 Cunha, D. Deccan Traverse: The Making of Bangalores Terrain. Delhi, 2006 Cunha, D. SOAK: Mumbai in an Estuary. NGMA, 2009 Eisenman, P. Peter Eisenman: Diagram Diaries. Universe, 1999. Gissen, D. SubNatures: Architectureʼs Other Environments. Princeton Architectural Press, 2009. Hwang, j. http://www.antsoftheprairie.com/ Ingraham, C. 2006. Architecture, Animal, Human: The Asymmetrical Condition. Oxford: Routledge Kaplan, K. 2009. Mosquitoes: A Handbook for Survival. Pamphlet Architecture 14 Kwinter, S. “Whoʼs Afraid of Formalism” in Foreign Office Architects. Phylogenesis: FOAʼs Ark. Actar Produccions (sp), 2003. Leach, N. 2006. Camouflage. MIT Press Leatherbarrow, D. 2009. Architecture Oriented Otherwise. Princeton Architectural Press McHarg, I. Design with Nature. Doubleday, 1971. Mostafavi, M. 2010. Ecological Urbanism. Lars Muller Palladio, A. The Four Books of Architecture. Mit Press, 1997. Rowe, C. Programme vs. Paradigm. http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/athena/course/4/4.163j/BOSTON %20SP%202011%20STUDIO/Urban%20Design%20Docs/03.%20Urban%20Design%20Reader/ Rowe%20Program%20vs%20Paradigm.compressed.pdf Rowe, C. The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa, and Other Essays. MIT Press, 1982. Smout Allen. 2007. Augmented Landscapes. Pamphlet Architecture 28 Steiner, H. “For the Birds,” in Grey Room 13. MIT Press, 2003. Turan, N. (editor) 2009. New Geographies 0. Harvard University Graduate School Vidler, A. “Diagrams of Diagrams: Architectural Abstraction and Modern Representation.” Representations, no. 72 (October 1, 2000): 1–20. Wallenstein, S.O. 2009. Biopolitics and the Emergence of Modern Architecture. Princeton. Wittkower, R. Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism. First ed. W. W. Norton &, 1971. White, M. 2011. Coupling: Strategies for Infrastructural Opportunism. Pamphlet Architecture 30 White, M. “Architectureʼs Next Companion Species” in ACSA 101: New Constellations, New Ecologies. ACSA Press, 2013. “Palladio Reassessed by Eisenman”, n.d. http://www.architectural-review.com/essays/palladioreassessed-by-eisenman/8637478.article.
Theory
Agamben, G. 1998. Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Stanford University Press. Agamben, G. 2000. Means Without End.Minesota Agamben, G. 2002. The Open: Man and Animal. Stanford University Press. Agamben, G. 2009. What is an Apparatus?: and other essays. Stanford University Press. Calarco, M. 2008. Zoographies: The Question of the Animal from Heidegger to Derrida. Columbia Gibson, J. J. 1979. The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Foucault, M. 2010. The Birth of Biopolitics: Lectures at College De France 1978-79, Macmillan Jones, O. 2010. “The Breath of the Moon: The Rhythmic and Affective Time-spaces of UK Tides” in Edensor, T., ed. (2010) Geographies of Rhythm, Oxford: Ashgate Landa, M. De. “Deleuze, Diagrams, and the Genesis of Form.” AMERICAN STUDIES -MUNICH- 45 (2000): 33–42. Landa, M. De. A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History. Zone Books, 2000. Perec, G. Species of Space and other pieces. Penguin Books, 2008. Sloterdijk, P, 2011. Bubbles. Spheres Volume 1: Microsphereology. Semiotexte Serre, M, 2007, The Parasite. Minesota Uexkull, J V. 2010. A Foray into the World of Animals and Humans. Minesota Virno, P. 2008. Multitude: innovation and wit. Semiotexte Wolfe, C, 1998. Critical Environments. Minesota Wolfe, C (ed), 2003. Zoontologies. Minesota
Mapping / Graphic Technique
E R O S I O N
Corner, J. “The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and Invention” in Mappings. Reaktion Books, 1999. Corner, J. Taking Measure Across the American Landscape. Yale, 2000. Tufte, E. Visual Display of Quantatitive Information. Graphics Press, 2001. Tufte, E. Envisioning Information. Graphics Press, 1990. Tufte, E. Visual Explanations. Graphics Press, 1997.
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Venice
Lacaton, A. 2G Dossier: Venice Lagoon Park. Gustavo Gili, 2008 Brown, H F. Life on the Lagoons. Research Press, 2008. Scheppe, W. and IUAV Class on Politics of Representation. Migropolis: Venice / Atlas of a Global Situation. Hatje Cantz, 2010. Tafuri, M. Venice and the Renaissance. MIT Press, 1995. Integrated Land and Water Resources Management in History: Proceedings of the Special Session on History, May 16th, 2005. BoD – Books on Demand. “Barriers to Barriers: Why Environmental Precaution Has Delayed Mobile Floodgates to Protect Venice”. http://www.academia.edu/441655/Barriers_to_barriers_why_environmental_precaution_ has_delayed_mobile_floodgates_to_protect_Venice.
WebResources
Safeguarding the Lagoon of Venice: Atlante della Laguna Atlas of the Lagoon Ministry of Env. report on MOSE ʻCollege of Expertsʼ report CORILA Website Nicolo Zen Hydrological Principles Dilip da Cunha lecture on flood risk
http://www.salve.it/uk/ http://www.silvenezia.it/ http://atlante.silvenezia.it/en/index_ns.html http://www.salve.it/uk/sezioni/itermose/allegati/ parere.html http://www.salve.it/uk/sezioni/itermose/allegati/ Rapporto_gb/indice.htm http://www.corila.it/?language=en http://paradoxcity.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/urbansos_ venice_lagoon.pdf http://vimeo.com/album/1907598/video/40611499
THREE VENETIAN PARADIGMS Wooded Fortification, Alvice Corsaro Villa Emo and Rialto Market, Andrea Palladio,
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APPENDIX 2
EROSION & SEDIMENTATION Diagrams of Geological, Biological and Social change
Extended quote provided below, elaborating on key terminology employed within this studio; erosion, sedimentation, strata, meshworks, geology, biology, socialogy, and diagram. From reading below, subject of Week 2 reading seminar: De Landa, M. “Deleuze, Diagrams, and the Genesis of Form.” AMERICAN STUDIES -MUNICH- 45 (2000): 33–42. “When one looks closely at the layers of rock in an exposed mountain side, one striking characteristic is that each layer contains further layers, each composed of small pebbles which are nearly homogeneous with respect to size,shape and chemical composition. It is these layers that are referred to as "strata". Now, given that pebbles in nature do not come in standard sizes and shapes, some kind of sorting mechanism seems to be needed to explain this highly improbable distribution, some specific device which takes a multiplicity of pebbles of heterogeneous qualities and distributes them into more or less uniform layers. One possibility uncovered by geologists involves rivers acting as sorting machines. Rivers transport rocky materials from their point of origin to the place in the ocean where these materials will accumulate. In this process, pebbles of variable size, weight and shape tend to react differently to the water transporting them. These different reactions to moving water are what sorts out the pebbles, with the small ones reaching the ocean sooner than the large ones. This process is called "sedimentation". Besides sedimentation, a second operation is necessary to transform these loose collections of pebbles into a larger scale entity: a sedimentary rock. This operation consists in cementing the sorted components, an operation carried out by certain substances dissolved in water which penetrate the sediment through the pores between pebbles. As this percolating solution crystallizes, it consolidates the pebble's temporary spatial relations into a more or less permanent "architectonic" structure. These double articulation, sorting and consolidation, can also be found in biological species. Species form through the slow accumulation of genetic materials. Genes, of course, do not merely deposit at random but are sorted out by a variety of selection pressures which include climate, the action of predators and parasites and the effects of male or female choice during mating. Thus, in a very real sense, genetic materials "sediment" just as pebbles do. Furthermore, these loose collections of genes can (like sedimented pebbles) be lost under some drastically changed conditions (such as the onset of an Ice age) unless they become consolidated together. This second operation is performed by "reproductive isolation", that is, by the closure of a gene pool which occurs when a given subset of a reproductive community, becomes incapable of mating with the rest. Through selective accumulation and isolative consolidation, a population of individual organisms comes to form a larger scale entity: a new individual species. We can also find these two operations (and hence, this virtual diagram) in the formation of social classes. Roughly, we speak of "social strata" whenever a given society presents a variety of differentiated roles to which not everyone has equal access, and when a subset of those roles (i.e. those to which a ruling elite alone has access) involves the control of key energetic and material resources. In most societies roles tend to "sediment" through a variety of sorting or ranking mechanisms, yet not in all of them ranks become an autonomous dimension of social organization. In many societies differentiation of the elites is not extensive (they do not form a center while the rest of the population forms an excluded periphery), surpluses do not accumulate (they may be destroyed in ritual feasts), and primordial relations (of kin and local alliances) tend to prevail. Hence a second operation is necessary: the informal sorting criteria need to be given a theological interpretation and a legal definition. In short, to transform a loose ranked accumulation of traditional roles into a social class, the social sedimement needs to become consolidated via theological and legal codification. Is there a virtual diagram behind the genesis of meshworks? In the model proposed by Deleuze and Guattari, there are three elements in this other virtual diagram, of which two are particularly important. First, a set of heterogeneous elements is brought together via an articulation of superpositions , that is, an interconnection of diverse but overlapping elements. And second, a special class of operators, or intercallary elements, is needed to effect this interlock via local connections. Is it possible to find instances of this diagram in geology, biology and sociology? Perhaps the clearest example is that of an ecosystem . While a species may be a very homogeneous structure, an ecosystem links together a wide variety of heterogeneous elements (animals and plants of different species) which are articulated through interlock, that is, by their functional complementarities. Since one of the main features of ecosystems is the circulation of energy and matter in the form of food, the complementarities in question are alimentary: prey-predator or parasite-host being two of the most common. In this situation, symbiotic relations can act as intercallary elements aiding the process of building food webs by establishing local couplings. Examples include the bacteria that live in the guts of many animals allowing them to digest their food, or the fungi and other microorganisms which form the "rhizosphere", the underground food chains which interconnect plant roots and soil. The world of geology also has actualizations of these virtual operations, a good example being that of igneous rocks. Unlike sandstone, igneous rocks such as granite are not the result of sedimentation and cementation, but the product of a very different construction process forming directly out of cooling magma. As magma cools down its different elements begin to separate as they crystallize in sequence, those that solidify earlier serving as containers for those which acquire a crystal form later. In these circumstances the result is a complex set of heterogeneous crystals which interlock with one another, and this is what gives granite its superior strength. Here the intercallary elements include anything which brings E R O S I O N
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about local articulations from within the crystals, including nucleation centers and certain line defects called dislocations, as well as local articulation between crystals, such as events ocurring at the interface between liquids and solids. Thus, granite may be said to be an instance of a meshwork. In the socio-economic sphere, pre-capitalist markets may be considered examples of cultural meshworks. In many cultures weekly markets have traditionally been the meeting place for people with heterogeneous needs and offers. Markets connect people by matching complementary demands, that is, by interlocking them on the basis of their needs and offers. Money (even primitive money such as salt blocks or cowry shells) may be said to perform the function of intercallary element: while with pure barter the possibility of two exactly matching demands meeting by chance is very low, when money is present those chance encounters become unnecessary, and complementary demands may find each other at a distance, so to speak.�
APPENDIX 3
LAGOON ECOLOGY Geology, Flora, Fauna, Tourism, Industry and Agriculture
Summary of key geological, biological and sociological formation of the venetian lagoon. Information taken from http://www.salve.it/uk and http://www.venicexport.com The lagoon is a wetland coastal area in a continual state of instability which communicates with the sea through openings in such a way that the movement of water inside it is governed by the tide. In this way, lagoon morphology depends on the relationship between the amounts of solid material brought by the sea or the rivers and the erosive forces of waves and seas. Communication between the lagoon and the sea guarantees, among other things, the survival of the lagoon and its unique brackish water environment. The physical shape of the lagoon is modified and formed through the daily entrance and exit of the sea through the lagoon inlets. The sea can also be considered one of the main risk factors involved in the evolution of the lagoon basin, especially if the erosive actions of wave motion and coastal currents predominate over the build up of sediment accumulation. Geo-morphology The sediments of a lagoon are made up of organic and inorganic particles originating from the land or the atmosphere. The transportation of sediments within a lagoon can occur in the following ways: through river tributaries, through wave motion, or through coastal currents coming in from the lagoon inlets. A lagoon survives only if the correct balance exists between sedimentation and erosion. When the accumulation of solid material prevails, a lagoon tends to silt up, and turn into dry land. If the overall balance of sediments is negative, the evolutionary tendency which prevails is erosion and the lagoon tends to become a marine environment. Subsidence, or the lowering of ground level, is the result on the surface of processes occurring underground. Subsidence can occur because of natural reasons (for the most part tectonic deformations of strata deep beneath the earth or the progressive consolidation caused by the geostatic loads of fine alluvial deposits, like silt and clay), or because of human-induced causes, the most common of which is the intense extraction of underground water supplies. Eustasy is the variation which occurs in sea level. During the coldest periods of geological time, precipitation is held back in the form of ice and, consequently, the level of the sea lowers. The contrary happens during the hottest periods. The eustatic rise, which is a phenomena independent of subsidence, “reduces� the altimetry of ground level (in coastal areas this altimetry refers to sea level). If subsidence and positive eustasy predominate over the accumulation of solid materials, a lagoon could be invaded by the sea and disappear. A lagoon therefore has three possible destinies: if erosion and sedimentation compensate for each other, the lagoon environment survives, even if its equilibrium is precarious and unstable;if the solid materials brought by the rivers and the sea prevail, a lagoon tends to silt up and become land, as is the case of the Po delta; if on the other hand, the erosive forces of waves and tides prevail, a lagoon is transformed into part of the sea. This is the current tendency of the Venice lagoon. Flora & Fauna Areas of the littoral strips have different levels of plant colonisation which correspond to different zones of the ecosystem. These zones move from the first sand, through the strip of dunes, until the area further back where dunes begin to consolidate. Sand vegetation can be interrupted by patches of wind breaking vegetation. The salt marshes, land areas which are only submerged during the highest tides, are covered by a thick growth of plants. They are inhospitable for most plant types, but are ideal for halophytic species, that is plants which need salty soils. Salt marshes, however, differ from one another. Rushes and reeds, for example, grow in the ones nearest to the edge of the lagoon, where there is a greater quantity of fresh water. There are four species of eelgrass native to the lagoon: Zostera marina and Cymodocea nodosa, that colonise beds of more than a metre in depth, and Zostera noltii and Ruppia maritima, that usually colonise around salt marshes and mud flats. Up until recently, eelgrass was an important element of lagoon bed vegetation. Vast meadows of eelgrass covered lagoon beds, consolidating them with its complex system of roots. The growth of this plant has now greatly diminished, and algae species (in some cases rare ones) have spread throughout the lagoon. Plants adapted for fresh water environments grow around waterways and swamps. Typical plants that can be found in these areas are the common reed and the cattail. Following the waterways, the reeds make their way into the lagoon along the channels. There are two typical habitats for fauna that live along the coastal strips: the dunes and the wooded areas behind the E R O S I O N
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dunes. The species that live in these areas are generally thermophilous, that is they adapt well to environments with high insolation and medium to high daytime temperatures. Most of the fauna is made up of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The fish along the external areas of the lagoon (inlets, jetties, and deep channels) is made up of species typical of a marine environment. The salt marshes, environments flooded by the tide, make up a unique habitat for some animal species. Vast wetlands which are exposed during low tides provide many bird species with an excellent feeding ground. The man-made outline of the lagoon was created through reclaiming some interesting transitional environments like swamps, wetland meadows and woods, and backwaters. These environments were once part of the lagoon. The clay quarries in the inland territory behind the lagoon have been spontaneously re-colonised by the fauna which once lived in these original transitional environments: little molluscs, insects, reptiles, and amphibians. During the migratory season, birds find a needed temporary habitat and feeding grounds in these areas. These environments are the only areas where fresh fluvial waters and brackish waters meet in the lagoon. Almost all of the coot and the ducks in the whole lagoon territory are concentrated in fish farm areas during the winter months and during the migratory season. The reed bed environments offer nesting areas for numerous species. Among the small mammals, the Harvest Mouse and the Miller's Water Shrew are the most interesting species, but Badgers and Polecats have also survived. Reptiles like the Water Snake and the Swamp Turtle Palustrine also find their homes here. Economy Tourism is the economic pillar of Venice. 14 million visitors come to the lagoon city of Venice, while the laggon itself is home to only 90,000. About 4 million visitors stay overnight in the city. Some 10 million are day visitors. Boosted by tourism, arts and crafts industries flourish in Venice, Burano, Murano and the surrounding islands. In addition to tourism, heavy industry dominates Venice. The largest chemical centre, the largest thermal power plants and the largest oil depot in Italy are situated on the mainland in Marghera, and represent a major economic factor in the province. Agriculture is also an important aspect of the Venetian economy, with companies operating in hunting, fishing and fish-farming. Local products of the lagoon include a range of premium vegetable, cereal and fruits, as well a products such as Barena Honey and Montasio Cheese. Fishing-aquaculture is traditionally one of the most important sectors of Venetian agriculture. The animated fish markets of Venice and Chioggia daily supply the fisheries of Northern Italy and Europe thanks to the variety of fish which the rivers of the province and the Adriatic sea offer. Within the sector, the fishing of molluscs, marine animals characterised by an internal shell (cuttlefish and squid) or without (octopus) or with a protective external shell formed primarily by calcium carbonate (mussels, clams) and called also “fruits of the sea� is very important. Typical molluscs of local production are: razor clam, mussels, oyster, short-necked clam; the others are represented by: squid, Queen scallop, scallop, clams, sea snail, curled octopus, murex, octopus, cuttlefish, seppiala, truffle, flying squid, clam, longone clam.
APPENDIX 4
REGULATING THE LAGOON Summary of river and tidal regulation in the lagoon
At the beginning of the 14 Century, numerous rivers emptied out into the lagoon, and several lagoon inlets existed. Over the following six centuries, repeated interventions would be made to modify their number and form, at first with an ambition to reduce silting and marshformation, later with the ambition of increasing industrial capacity, and more recently with the ambition of reducing flood-risk. th
Operation to divert the Brenta, seen as the primary cause of silting, began in the 14 C. and were not completed until the 16 In the 16 C. Corsaro and Sabbadino provided opposing arguments concerning the safeguarding of the lagoon. Sabbadino argues that rivers were the cause of the growth of swamps, and influenced the re-direction of all major river mouths. At the same th
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time the Sata Spirito Channel was dredged, to allow ships through the Malamocco inlet. In the 17 C. the boundary of the lagoon was defined and marked out by stones, and specific regulation was drawn-up for this territory. In the 18 C. the Murazzi (sea defence) walls were built along the coastal strip. In the 19 C. the trans-lagoon railway was built, a new commercial port built, and jetties built at the inlets, while work was begun on the Lido. At the beginning of the 20 C. extensive fish farms were built in the north and south of the lagoon, and and car-bridge built. In the later half of the century, the industrial port of Mestre was extended, reclaiming large areas of the lagoon, and a new channel for petrol tankers dredged. The Tessera marshes were reclaimed to allow the building of the airport. th
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Following the dramatic floods of 1966, the ‘Venice Question’ became one of safeguarding the architectural and urban treasures of Venice from the increasing frequency and severity of flood. Law 171/73 was the first ‘special law’ which defined the safeguarding of the lagoon as a national priority, and created a complex and ‘extraordinary’ body of regulation and financial provision to support this. Since this time, a range of alternative solutions have been investigated, all facing different challenges as to their probably effectiveness, cost, and environmental consequences. The current strategy involves a range of disperse strategies – morphological restoration, changes in industrial use, coastal reinforcement, and arrest of environmental deterioration. Its central component is a MoSE (Module Sperimentale Electromechanical); a mobile barrier designed to close the lagoon to the sea at times of Acqua Alta. This was designed in 1995, and subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment from a committee of international experts. In 1998, however, The Italian Ministry of the Environment, objected to the report and attempted to stop the scheme being completed. The scheme has been implemented despite opposition, and is due to be completed in 2014.
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c. 1800
For further details of the approvals procedure, and opposition from the Ministry of Environment, see: http://www.salve.it/uk/soluzioni/f_acquealte.htm
c. 2000
APPENDIX 5
MODULO SPERIMETALE ELECTROMAGNETICO Arguments for and Against the MoSE
Summary of two key arguments, for and against, the MoSE Project. The first is an extract from the 1995 summary report of the ‘Collegio degli Esperti’’s “Report on the mobile gates project for the tidal flow regulation at the Venice lagoon inlets”, which supports the project. The second is the introductory section of the “Summary of the conclusions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Commission on the preliminary project for tidal flow control measures at the lagoon inlets”, prepared by the Ministry of the Environment. This report provided a negative judgement on the environmental impact of the scheme. Collegio degli E R O S I O N
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protection, on the environmental impacts, and on the economic effects of the mobile gates and its alternatives, as presented in the previous chapters. Even without climate-change induced sea-level rise, the flooding frequency and the level of exceptional high waters is likely to increase over the next 50 to 100 years. This means that Venice and the lagoon will continue to sink relative to the sea level, and damage will increase over the decades to come. Even disregarding the intangible costs to the artistic and historic heritage, the economic costs of high water will be very high. The mobile gates project. The mobile gates system is flexible and effective for protecting Venice against high water under a wide range of sea-level rise scenarios. The environmental impacts of the mobile gates during construction are of secondary importance. In the operational phase, effects are very likely to be small. The environmental effects may be more important in future, should an increased number of closures be required. This could occur in the second half of the next century, at which time a new environmental evaluation may be necessary. The case for this might be reinforced in relation to the possible conflict which may emerge between the protection of the lagoon, the protection of Venice, and of the port activities. The cost-benefit analysis shows that the net present value of the project is positive under most sea-level change scenarios. The "diffuse" and the "insulae +" alternatives The "diffuse" alternative provides some protection against high water for the least damaging highwater events. The protection decreases with sea-level rise, and in any case is almost zero for extreme events. Diffuse measures increase the storage capacity of the lagoon and slow down the propagation of water in the lagoon. Their combined effect depends on the type and duration of tidal events. It may be significant for steep and fast tides, especially in some areas at the periphery of the lagoon. For slow tides that last several hours, the effect on the maximum water level in the lagoon will be negligible. The "insulae+" alternative (augmented insulae protection up to 120 cm) will reduce the frequency of floods to about one per year under the current sea level, but will not protect Venice against extreme events. In addition, this project raises feasibility concerns and will take a long time to complete. In the case of climate-change induced sea-level rise the effectiveness of the augmented insulae will be almost totally cancelled. The diffuse measures will have some positive and some negative environmental impacts. Some measures, however, are beneficial for the lagoon and should be implemented in any case to restore the lagoon ecosystem. While diffuse measures and insulae protection are, on their own, only partial solutions, they can be combined with the mobile gates. Raising the low-lying parts of the city to higher levels than 100 cm should be pursued when technically and economically feasible. Should the mobile gates project be implemented, this would increase the flexibility of the operations and limit the number of closures, especially in case of sea-level rise. This would reduce the trade-off between protection against high-water, environmental impacts and port activity which could emerge in the future. In the case of sea-level rise induced by climate change, the onset of the phenomenon is expected to be slow. The possibility of a progressive adaptation to the new circumstance will represent an important asset for any solution adopted. The mobile gates, which can guarantee the protection of Venice for different sea levels, offer this possibility. They leave enough freedom and flexibility to adjust the operational regime so that the protection of Venice and its lagoon can be reassessed in the future under the prevailing scientific insights and societal preferences of that time.�
Ministry of the Environment
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“The Commission believes that the safeguarding of Venice cannot be achieved without a comprehensive management of the whole lagoon system, consisting in the lagoon watershed and the major rivers bordering the lagoon, the coastal area and the marine area between the mouths of the Adige and Brenta rivers, the lagoon inlet system, the lagoon basin itself, and its morphological and anthropic units as well. The events occurring in the area are affected by complex and non-linear interactions. The Commission believes that the Project cannot successfully manage the most frequent and typical tidal flows without damaging harbor activities or negatively affecting the open and continuous exchange between sea and lagoon because it combines into one single action and type of solution both the measures designed to reduce the medium-high tides in the lagoon and the measures for regulating exceptional "high water" episodes, also by means of works at the lagoon inlets involving mobile gates for tide control, which implies an increase in the frequency of closures. The Commission believes that the continuous management of the exchange between the sea and the lagoon is an unavoidable factor in the recovery and maintenance of the unstable and fragile balance between marine and dry-land environments, from which it originates. This balance between fresh and salt waters is not simply a morphological and hydrodynamic state, it is the reason for the survival of an environmental and anthropic mosaic that determines the very nature of the lagoon. The Commission believes that such a balance can only be achieved by means of an articulated combination of actions and measures that have all the experimental, reversible, and gradual features needed to pursue such an aim. Therefore, the Commission regards it as essential to strictly correlate the project evaluation with the planning of measures for the morphological restoration of the lagoon, which was developed by the Proponent within the scope of the concession granted by the Venice Water Authority. On the basis of the aforesaid considerations, the Commission believes that the research on and definition of target parameters for the environmental system, against which the planning of measures and the design of works could be measured, is sadly lacking.�
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Timetable Mondays (2-4)*
CAD / CAM induction Lauriston Workshop
BRIEFING ES_1 [2-4]
WEDNESDAY [11-12]
ES_1: Water Clocks Level K Seminar Bay
Video Field Methods Tiago Torres Campos, Hunter Lecture
2 LECTURE [9:30] Ontological / Analogical Models Lisa Moffit, Hugh Robson Lecture Theatre
GROUP TUTORIALS [11-5] Studio / Seminar Bay
ES_1 WATER CLOCKS
GROUP TUTORIALS [12-5] Studio / Workshop Minto House
WORKSHOP [11-1] Digital Video Editing Jules Rawlinson, Alison House Seminar Rm
SEMINAR [4-5] The ‘Diagrammatic’ Models Liam Ross, Minto House Lecture Room
3 Model Discussion Venue TBC
INTERIM REVIEW [9:30-12] Lisa Moffit Guest Studio & Seminar Bay
FIELD TRIP PLANNING [2-5] Studio
4 FIELD TRIP: VENETIAN LAGOON 7th – 14th October, Detailed Itinerary TBA
5 WORKSHOP [4-5] Animated Drawings Jules Rawlinson, Alison House Atrium [NB: Jet2 flights return 13:15]
SEMINAR Time-spaces [Jones] Michelle Bastian, Level K Seminar Bay
GROUP TUTORIALS Studio
6 Model Installation Seminar Bay
REVIEW Lisa MacKenzie & Tiago Torres-Campos Guests Seminar Bay
7 PRESENTATION [2-3] Paradigm’s and Processes Studio
No teaching [Contract Game]
ES_2 REGULATING MECHANISMS
BRIEFING ES_2 [3-4] ES_2: Regulating Mechanisms Level K Seminar Bay
8 SEMINAR
TUTORIALS
Programme vs Paradigm [Rowe] Liam Ross, Level K Seminar Bay
9 SEMINAR
Studio
TUTORIALS
Three Venetian Paradigms [Aureli] Liam Ross, Level K Seminar Bay
10 SEMINAR
Studio
TUTORIALS
Biopolitical Regulation [Canguilhem] Liam Ross, Level K Seminar Bay
11
Studio
REVIEW Studio
12 EXHIBITION INSTALATION E R O S I O N
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S E D I M E N T A T I O N :
EXHIBITION &
EXHIBITION G e o l o g i c a l ,
B i o l o g i c a l ,
S o c i o l o g i c a l
EROSION & SEDIMENTATION
TUESDAY [9:30-10]
Strata & Meshworks Studio
2013/14: March Modular Pathway Studio G
1 PRESENTATION [9-1]
Thursdays (9:30-5)