AAA Semester 7 Portfolio

| The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe |

By Daniel Defoe

The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is the story of one mans survival after being shipwrecked on an Island for 28 years. Over the course of this time Crusoe adapts to his new home, building permanent shelters and learning to work with the land. He successfully manages to cultivate his own crops and livestock whilst creating all the necessary tools required for his survival through shear determination, will power and innovation. Crusoe grapples with paranoia and desperate loneliness throughout his time on the island whilst also struggling to maintain a degree of hope.

The primary theme to be explored is ‘Self Regulation’ and ‘Adaptation’ which are integral attributes to survival.

1

| Luxury of Abundance | “But all I could make use of was all that was valuable. I had enough to eat and to supply my wants, and what was all the rest to me? If I killed more flesh than I could eat, the dog must eat it, or the vermin. If I sowed more corn than I could eat, it must be spoiled. The trees that I cut down were lying to rot on the ground. I could make no more use of them than for fewel; and that I had no occasion for, but to dress my food.

Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe Crusoe over his time on the island develops a sort of luxury of abundance as a result of his stead fast self control in using only what is necessary - the bare minimum to ensure his survival in the event that things go wrong. The dark clouds present this looming danger that pushes Crusoe to ensure his security. He stands ontop of his accumulated “survival wealth�. Wealth not being monetary but more the agents of his longevity on the island - food, timber, shelter etc.

2

| Stage 1 - Tree Dwelling |

| Stage 2 - Box Hut |

“endeavoured to place myself so that if I should sleep I might not fall.”

“I went to work to make me a little tent with the sail and some poles which I cut for that purpose: and into this tent I brought everything that I knew would spoil either with rain or sun; and I piled all the empty chests and casks up in a circle round the tent, to fortify it from any sudden attempt, either from man or beast.”

1 night

3 weeks

Crusoe’s first night on the island to address one specific need, security. He achieved this by climbing up a tree to protect himself from animals or man.

Crusoe built a small hut out of crates and a tent from a piece of the ships sail.

The hut was impermanent so as to allow him enough time to gather supplies from the shipwreck for his survival before finding a more permanent location.

3

| Stage 3 - Fortified Camp |

| Stage 4 - Cave and Roof |

“what kind of dwelling to make—whether I should make me a cave in the earth, or a tent upon the earth; and, in short, I resolved upon both; the manner and description of which, it may not be improper to give an account of.”

“I began to work my way into the rock, and bringing all the earth and stones that I dug down out through my tent, I laid them up within my fence, in the nature of a terrace, so that it raised the ground within about a foot and a half; and thus I made me a cave, just behind my tent, which served me like a cellar to my house.”

3 weeks

5 weeks

Crusoe relocates for the necessity of security. He picks a spot of land with a steep hill which protects his back from “attack” and immediately sets to enclose himself with a fence for security before building a shelter for his physiological needs.

A roof is constructed to keep the elements out but also to better camouflage him. He begins to dig out a cave to store his growing survival wealth.

4

| Stage 5 - Fence |

| Stage 6 - Finished Fortress |

“... in a semi-circle round my wall (I mean that of my first dwelling), which I did; and placing the trees or stakes in a double row, at about eight yards distance from my first fence, they grew presently, and were at first a fine cover to my habitation, and afterwards served for a defence also...”

“When I came into my castle, I fled into it like one pursued”.

10-18 Years

4 Years

The overarching need for security entirely takes over Crusoe’s existence on the Island. He is constantly paranoid which manifests in his architecture. He demonstrates a great deal of self control in action, allowing as much time and focussed energy to ensure his securities needs are met and does not allow himself to be distracted by other tasks whilst also consuming the bareminimum he must to survive. He self governs his thoughts in the same regard, by only focussing on his security rather than giving over to the impatience of being rescued.

Crusoe begins to cultivate land, his stores grow and require more space.

Out of this necessity he expands the caves into a warren of many rooms and tunnels. He builds a second perimeter fence and embeds green stakes which grow overtime to create an impenetrable wall and to better camouflage his fortress.

5

| The Bower | 3 Years

“…the country seemed to descend to the west; and a little spring of fresh water, which issued out of the side of the hill by me, ran the other way, that is, due east; and the country appeared so fresh, so green, so flourishing, everything being in a constant verdure or flourish of spring that it looked like a planted garden.”

Crusoe built himself a small country residence, “the bower” in a verdant clearing on the island. It first acted as a second location to hide in the event his first was overrun. After successfully cultivating rice and corn the bower out of the necessity for fertile ground became his primary growing land. Here Marlows top need of self-actualisation or the realisation of potential is shown as Crusoe plants only portions of his stock at various times of the year to find the best growing season. After identifying the correct season it isn’t until years later that Crusoe reaps the rewards of his self-control. The collages sought to demonstrate seasonal change, growth and identify a timeframe as discussed in my first pin-up talk.

6

| Paranoia | Crusoe’s paranoia was all encompassing, manifested in his overwhelming desire for security. The collage demonstrates how he viewed the world out of his castle. All of the most important aspects including the cavern, roof and fences are extrapolated to further identify the spatial qualities of the narrative both physical and emotional.

7

| Paranoia | Extrapolating the primary elements and simplifying them into their basic functions as perceived by Crusoe.

The hill acted as a watchtower, it presented hope allowing him to scout the horizon for rescue and for impending dangers. The cave acted as a vault store room which represented all of his civilised accomplishments in cultivation and production. The walls he saw as impenetrable. These great castle ramparts which could not be scaled or broken through. The green houses represent the grass roof, they have the ability to control climate but also camouflage amongst there surroundings. Interestingly, Crusoe never alters his original canvas tent. Its the most modest part of his fortress which shows his heightened paranoia only had eyes outwards and never inwards. The tent was never a necessity.

8

1.

2.

“When I came into my castle, I fled into it like one pursued” Robinson Crusoe, Chapter XI

3.

4.

| Collage References | 1. CJ Lim’s Battersea Dating Agency influenced layering techniques in collage and extrapolation of key elements.

2. Salvador Dali’s paintings highlighte landscapes which are charged by emotion which influenced Crusoe’s Paranoia landscape.

3. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs provided a framework through which Crusoe’s architecture could be studied on the basis of needs in relation to time.

4. The final collage set was strongly influenced by this quote from Crusoe.

9

| Water is Life | Water plays a crucial role in the tale of Crusoe. One of the primary factors in searching for a location suitable for his fortress was water, an integral part of survival. Water meets his physical needs but also mentally it offers hope in the form of rescue.

10

| Water is Paranoia | For Crusoe water also plays a leading role in his mounting paranoia. Water is the cause of him being shipwrecked and stranded on the island. It is violent and unpredictable. It is a cage which although it offers hope and life also acts as a constant reminder of impending death.

11

1.

2.

3.

4.

| Survival Manual References | 1. I found the hand drawn aesthetics and formatting of this old Military manual to be very clear and suitable to the current format style I have used in the collages.

2. This drawing was found in a Robinson Crusoe Case Study blog from some 1st Year Architecture Students.

I was inspired by the simple breakdown and graphic layout of the elements required for each architectural intervention.

3. A 1990’s survival manual.

4. The clear process driven format of a Boy Scouts Guide book influenced the final graphic layout and aesthetic of the manual.

12

| Folding Development | Starting with basic folds I explored how to construct the cave, one of the defining elements of Crusoe’s fortress.

Following this I started looking at more dynamic folding techniques to give depth or transparency. I also focused on smaller elements like the hill of Crusoe’s fortress, fence and roof.

13

| Folding Development |

14

| Unfolding Crusoe’s Architecture | Recreating the collages in a 3d paper model fold out to explore spatial properties. From left to right, Ship Wreck and Box Hut, Initial fort with tent and fence, extrapolated fortress.

15

| Developing Crusoe’s fortress | Following the initial tests and learning the process of making a 2d printable template the next stage was to map Crusoe’s Architectural evolution. I limited this to the fortress as it proved to be more spatially dynamic and richer in elements which clearly developed over time. The first image illustrates the basic fort and its relationship to the surrounding environment. The second image starts to portray some of the extrapolated elements from the final collage and examines the relationship between the context and Crusoe’s neccessity of security driven by his overwhelming paranoia.

16

| Crusoe’s Fortress | To convey the complexity of the fortress whilst embodying his paranoia required the model to be developed further through the incorporation of a dual fold. The left inward fold is the evolved landscape of Crusoe’s fortress - which has now become more of a castle. The watchtower, ramparts and trees have grown larger, whilst his cultivation of crops can be found in the terracing. The outward fold on the right examines the growing cave system which symbolises Crusoe’s successful adaptation as the cave expands due to the neccessity of storing his abundance of crops. Portraying the cave through a secondary fold shows it to be in section and emphasises the growth of this man-made landscape. The model further explores how the concertina manual can evolve over the course of many folds which physically identifies the timeframe to which each phase belongs.

17

1.

2.

3.

4.

| Folding References | 1. Ingrid Siliakus is the queen of paper architecture. Her models form entire worlds out of a single sheet of paper. Her work was instrumental in constructing the Crusoe’s world with depth and energy.

2. Collette Fu constructs beautiful and detailed photographic scenes with motion. Her work influenced develping the model beyond the singular 90 degree operational fold.

3. Olof Bruce’s interpretation of Italo Calvino’s ‘Invisible Cities’ helped develop a framework for adopting Crusoe’s narrative into a 3-dimensional fold out world.

4. Ryue Nishizawa’s Workbook of Architecture helped formulate potential idea’s of the ways in which paper can be manipulated into spatial forms.

18

| Survival Manual | The survival guide maps the architectural explorations and development during Crusoe’s time on the island. The Manual comes complete with each stage of his progress, including quotes from his diary, inventory of tools, required method and maps. The concertina illustrates the timescale / timeline of Crusoe’s development. Each task is allotted a certain page size reflecting the length of time required.

19

| Constructing Crusoes World of Paranoia | The final fold-out model phases of Crusoes development can be removed from the manual and joined together creating a 3 dimensional world of paranoia.

20

| Folding Development | Developing a formal language of paranoia and understanding complex folding techqniues. Experimenting with material, form, colour and technique.

21

| Crusoe’s World Phase 1 | Arriving on the island and setting up a hut from crates collected from the shipwreck. The strong geometric forms illustrate the beginning of his paranoia, lost on an island and having almost died.

| Crusoe’s World Phase 2 | Relocating to a more permanent location. Crusoe’s mindset is calm and focussed illustrated by the organic landscape forms. His immediate and total focus is of security using the hills to protect his camp. A fence is constructed around his tent and a cave is dug to secure his supplies.

22

| Crusoe’s World Phase 3 | Developing his fortress. Crusoe’s camp has begun to expand. His fence has grown into a tall hedge bordered by trees. His camp begins to be camouflaged by the surrounding environment. His mindset is calm and happy illustrated by the dominance of the soft landscape. However his paranoia continues to grow shown through the strong geometric form in the centre of the model.

| Crusoe’s World Phase 4 | Crusoe’s fortress evolves into a castle. His fence has grown inpenetrable, the cave has been enlarged and the trellaces signify his susccessful cultivation of crops. His mounting paranoia however is at its peak and rises from beneath him illustrated by the geometric form branching out. This paranoia also crushes which is shown by adopting the geometric forms above his castle.

This final model seeks to show the complexity of the relationships by grafting multiple layers of form.

23

| Crusoes World of Paranoia | The final fold-out phases are merged together with tabs. The final world demonstrates the growth of his architecture over time and illustrates the severity and complexity of his paranoia.

24

1.

“Ideas must be put to the test. That’s why we make things, otherwise they would be no more than ideas. There is often a huge difference between an idea and its realization… [what we] thought were great ideas… just didn’t work.”

Andy Goldsworthy

2.

3.

| Vejle Programme References | 1. Underground Global Seed Vault in Svalbaard, Norway.

2. Reclaimed landfill site turned into a golf course. Tokyo Bay. 3. Andy Goldsworthy. (Interview with Conrad Bodman, curator at the Barbican Arts Centre (2001))

25

| Adapting to Abundance |

26

| Through the lens | Looking at the situation of population growth and subsequent waste management issues through the lenses of paranoia. The anxiety and paranoia surrounding the threat of society not being able to manage its waste is demonstrated on the right side of the collage which illustrates a scene from Italo Calvino’s, Invisible Cities.

“Leonia’s rubbish little by little would invade the world, if, from beyond the final crest of its boundless rubbish heap, the street cleaners of other cities were not pressing, also pushing mountains of refuse in front of themselves. Perhaps the whole world, beyond Leonia’s boundaries, is covered by craters of rubbish, each surrounding a metropolis in constant eruption. The boundaries between the alien, hostile cities are infected ramparts where the detritus of both support each other, overlap, mingle.”

We see this fortress of our own waste building and threatening to topple over. It overwhelms our houses and everyday. It is cyclical, and a route we cannot break easily. As we consume it fuels our cities and although some is recycled the majority is left to landfill with the end result of whole cities built out of rubbish. This is the crux of paranoia, this endless cycle which perpetuates and seems out of control. Through the lens this problem is complete, it is black and white and it is skewed. We look from an angle, emphasizing the uncertain outcome of a certain situation.

However! Paranoia can be a benefit. As we saw with Crusoe, it pushed and motivated his survival. In this regard paranoia can also offer hope. Through this lens hope is it is clear and colorful. We can understand that with the right focus energy and threat of waste can be reversed into growth, into something to our benefit and not

27

him to achieve 2 dimensional, resources this our detriment.

| Closing Rosborg | What would happen if the recycling and watse management station of Vejle closed down? Exploring the breakdown of society when waste isn’t collected. Idle wandering, altered urban landscape, disease and confusion. Heightened paranoia from the uncertainty of a changing city.

28

| The lungs of our Earth | The gradual build up of landfill and its calcification in the earth renders the cyclic healing of the natural world to be poisoned. The build up of methane in landfill sites poisons us as if it were 1 large cigarette burning forever. It is an entropic environment which in its disorder and uncertainty of sustained life instills hope. Hope is the driver to adapt and survive. What may kill us may also push us to discover, innovate and utilise.

29

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

1

2

3

4

5

6

104m

E3

F2.5

G2

H4

H3

C3

| Rosborg Site Visit |

30

| Phase 1 - The Tree |

31

| Phase 2 - The Box Hut |

32

1 2

7 8

6

3 5 4

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

|Locating Rosborg’s Fortress |

33

| Phase 3 - The fortress |

34

| Phase 4 - The Green Roof and Cave |

35

| Phase 5 - Improving Security |

36

| Phase 6 - Castle|

37

2 3 4

1 6

5 7 8

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

| Locating Rosborg’s Centre for Cultivation |

38

| The Bower - Centre of Cultivation |

39

| Foundry of Waste |

40

| New Products and Old Techniques |

41

| Library for Innovation |

42

| Innovation from Necessity |

43

| Maximising potential |

44

|Sanctuary |

45

| Laboratory |

46

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

| Fortress References | 1. Alnwick Castle 2. Acre Castle 3. Framlingham Castle 4. Harlec Castle 5. Old Sarum Castle 6. Old Sarum Castle replica

47

The Rubbish Island Fortress is a self-contained laboratory of adaptable thinking which protects Vejle from its increased waste.

Vejle’s general public and its professionals collaborate and interact with the waste to maximise its potential and minimise its impact.

The paranoia of addressing waste is the catalyst, which forms the fortress, and the hope of finding a resolution is the driver of the laboratory within.

| Programme|

48

KEEP

MOTTE

ARMOURY

PALISADE

PALISADE

ALLURE BAILEY

GATEHOUSE

MOAT

BERM

CHAPEL

BARBICAN

TOWER

| Rosborg Castle Zoning |

49

POSTERN

WELL

IS T LOG

ICS

AB OR ATO

RY

TER WA

C OL

FORT LABORATORY

FO OD

LA

BO RA TO RY

L

AB

Y TOR A R O L AB

ON

CE L

TI

FEN

RY RATO

L ABO

DE

ORA

CO M

MU

NI C

AT IO N

LA

BO R

AT OR Y

CATALOGUED WASTE FOR APPROPRIATE LABORATORY WASTE SEPARATION

| Rosborg’s Chapel | The most integral zone of Rosborg’s Rubbish Island is the chapel. Medieval castles contained chapels to support the religious ideologies of its people. The chapel in this context represents and emphasises the conceptual ideologies of the programme, facilititating its function within the site. Waste is delivered through the main entrance into the chapel. The waste is then sorted and catagorised into walls applicable to each laboratory. The centre of the chapel acts as a meeting point for each laboratory to collaborate with eachother.

50

1.

2.

3.

4.

| Remediation References | 1. Vall d’en Joan Lnadscape Restoration, Batlle i Roig Arquitectes 2. zv, Israel, Braudo-Maoz Landscape Architecture Ltd 3. Fresh Kills, New York City Landfill, 1997 - Current 4. Evergreen / Brick Works, Toronto, Canada, 2010, Diamond Schmitt Architects / Claude Cormier + Associates

51