In the Junk-space of Granite: SET MATTERS
Merve Gokahmetoglu
Abstract “Ecological and environmental planners fail to see the runaway implicit
in
their
own
position.
The
premise
of
human
domination over nature leads to a false sense of control, and, in turn, social organization of technology around this false sense of control increases the inflexibility of our response to ecological degradation.” (Harries and Jones, 1995;8)
The
aim
of
this
thesis
is
an
architectonic
understanding
of
existing reserves and their reactivation within the local economy (its
own
space)
and
ecology
through
the
overlapping
different
scales. A variety of interventions which concerns both today’s and future’s material understanding will be discussed. The first act of this thesis is to form an understanding of the standing reserve of two characters; the host and the parasite. This relationship
helps
address
the
existing
parasitic
situation
of
Olbia as the host body and the tourism industry as the parasite. While
concentrating
on
the
valuable
material
of
the
city,
understanding the importance of the socially produced product is of
substantial
concern
to
reduce
the
dependence
on
the
tourism
economy. Therefore, the first proposition within this local economy of granite matter will respond to the necessity of appropriation of natural reserve in an economical, spatial and social context. Today’s
capitalist
industries
and
supporting relationship
understanding
challenges
their
economic
cycle,
between
tourism
parasites existence.
inverting and
local
the
from To
small
create global
activity
to
scale
a
self-
parasitic a
symbiotic
relationship between local and ecological activities will be the secondary focus. To ‘unhook’ Olbia’s existing economy, which is tied
up
to
global
rather
than
the
local,
understanding
the
potentialities of reintroducing matter into the quarrying will be crucial. The material of Olbia is understood through the corporeal limits of the
quarrying,
the
standing
reserve
being
the
granite
matter
itself. Through a projection of the very real limits of both the material reserve of granite and the volatile tourism economy, the extraction is set up to accommodate an enzymatic transition from standing reserve to the fourfold.
This transforms the material agency of granite quarrying into an ecological
matter.
Through
the
junk
space
of
excavated
granite
quarry grows a series of enzymatic territories (SET), which opens up an understanding of the contemporary and projected knowledge of a parasitic ecological notion of the standing reserve.
ACT 1 Local within the Global Worldwide growth of the cities give rise to an understanding of ‘place selling’, to attract tourists and investors. Countless new buildings aimed at the tourists are rising with a focus of short term, high yields in capital. In Olbia, this understanding has created
an
economy
which
is
sustained
by
the
summer
season
of
tourism, leaving the streets and economy desolate for most of the year.
In
consequence,
consumerist
understanding
has
exploited
Olbia’s beautiful coastal territories for the last fifty years.
Tourism
continues
to
drive
the
industry
within
Olbia
and
it’s
environs, the future of this economy is somewhat uncertain however there has been little to no attempt by the local municipality or local businesses to discuss the necessity of activating new locally sustained industries. During the non-tourist season, the city turns into an abandoned place leading most of the young people to leave the city to find a seasonal job. Olbia suffers from this parasitic relationship with its current high dependence on tourism. However, as long as the economy
is
through
its
established.
skewed natural
toward
‘place
reserves
and
selling’, its
growth
localization
of
the
will
city
not
be
The Gallura region serves as a well-known granite quarry within the global context. Olbia is one of the biggest granite centres within the region. However it is not well operated in terms of the granite economy. It benefits only a small amount of people in the city of Olbia. It contributes to this global material industry in terms of exportation.
Therefore re-activating the natural resources of the city with an architectural and urban sensibility, creating social awareness and participation of local people is important. As David Harvey claimed, “once society establishes what is meant by natural resources, then practical economy becomes possible.” (Harvey; 1972; 5) Within
this
understanding
context of
my
first
material
and
proposal its
is
established
localisation;
the
on
the
corporeal
limits of local resources within the global economy. With the consumerist global concept of the products, we contact with the unified, finished forms of the materials. Heterogeneity of the matter, the processes that it had been through are doomed to be ignored. As Susan Wills explains,
“The growing distance in between production and consumption moves production to poorer places that makes it difficult to perceive the social relations of production in the commodities produced.” (Bunker, 2005:24)
While workers (extractors, craftsmen) excel on the revelation of the material, they become the ones who least profit from it. In the economic cycle of the material, aforementioned distance gives the biggest credit to the global economy. Therefore, to emphasise on more localized perception of material, my point of departure will be the material and worker relations. Marx’s perception of labour lies behind this understanding, “a process between man and nature, a
process
by
which
man,
through
his
own
actions,
mediates,
regulates and controls the metabolism between himself and nature.” His definition of nature includes, “location of production, source of natural products and original source of materials.” (Ciccantell and Smith, 2005: 3) However, the capitalist mode of production affects the relationship of nature and worker conversely, while putting extra demands on raw material perceives
with all
the
advancement
processes
that
in
technology
the
material
and has
sciences. been
It
through
(extraction, processing and transportation) as a single entity. In all this homogeneity, we experience the material as a daily object without experiencing the intelligence of it.
In this context our understanding of material starts to become superficial; granite is good when it is my kitchen basin, or marble is beautiful when I see it as my bathroom floor. According to Bunker, there are “disruptions and inequalities that the extraction of natural resources for globalized raw material markets imposes on local ecological and social systems.” (Bunker and Ciccantell, 2005:23) Additionally he claims that “the distance in between process and product makes harder to perceive the natural processes of production and the social relations of extraction that provide
the
raw
materials
incorporated
in
the
production
of
commodities.” (Bunker and Ciccantell, 2005:24) Similarly, increasing populations, new technologies and new devices within this technological advancement will require more material to meet
with
the
specific
expectation
of
the
buyer.
Thus,
fast
processed raw material and fast produced product will be required. In this perspective, while living in a material world, surrounded by
its
rapid
understanding.
change,
we
fail
to
grasp
‘material
matters’
In earlier forms of production, when the demand of the material was not to the current severity, extraction space was located outside the city with the majority of trade at its core. Now with the advancement of technology, this perception has globalized. While production
is
in
the
poorer
local
areas,
trade
happens
in
the
countries, which have enough money to meet the expenses of the extraction, transportation and production. “Expansion, intensification, diversification, and more precise specification combine to make new technologies increasingly dependent on more, larger, uniformly higher-grade deposits of raw materials across broader spaces.� (Bunker and Ciccantell, 2005:27)
Today especially, transportation is one of the major obstacles to overcome
in
the
complex
chain
of
material
economy.
Currently,
technology is advanced enough to extract and cut variation of sizes of the material. This requires greater flexibility in transporting and
extra
investment
in
infrastructure.
Therefore,
within
these
greater levels of material flow, for small-local economies, it is difficult to find a place in this globalized emergence.
Figure 1
Global Within the Local Material matters, thus, the space that it has been extracted, and the stone mason matters. Today, locality of the material is more important in the weak, dependent urbanised examples like Olbia. (Weak urbanisation form, which is introduced by Andrea Branzi, is used to represent halfagricultural
and
half-urban
cities
(Branzi,
2010;
112)).
It
is
therefore imperative to activate its natural resources to enliven its economy. In this point, my proposal lies behind the idea that highlights quantity
the
of
value
it.
and
producer
Globalized
of
capitalist
material
rather
understanding
than
the
brings
the
largest profits to the people or organizations that invest more. In this
situation,
one
should
act
according
to
the
following
propositions. First, by setting up the awareness of the localized material with material institutions, secondly, by giving the first opportunity of trading to the local people, and finally, highlighting the value of the material in its own space through well considered quarrying process. As a result the city’s tied up economy can be unhooked. Consequently, as long as we can manage to emphasis the production of space and its social actors, successful material based local economies are possible. Encouraging
the
masonry
institutions,
granite
research
organizations and crafting schools and workshops is important so as to sow the seeds of socially produced product. To keep the material flow
within
the
local
boundaries,
first,
inhabitant
of
the
productive landscapes should gather the intelligences of landscape it
harvests.
Additionally,
by
setting
the
corporeal
limits
of
quarries, space-location importance can be emphasised. By doing so, not
only
space-localization
configuration
is
set
up,
but
also
ecological context of material can be underlined. Moreover, before privatising the industry, trading opportunities should be given to
the locals. Therefore, influx of cash can stay within the local boundaries. So far I have focused on the importance of the localisation of material claim
and
significance
“real
production
immediately
tires
production
is
to
of is
make
unexpected
socially rare,
it
produced
it
attracts
something
and
product.
common
improbable;
Serres’
parasites and
it
banal.
overflows
that Real with
information and is always immediately parasited.” (Serres, 2007; 4) brings
an
inevitable
future
understanding
for
real
production
context. In the parasitic chain of relations, unfortunately even if there is a well-established localisation of material production, capitalist understanding tries to use it for its own sake, resulting in larger corporations
that
trigger
the
local
to
participate
to
their
globalized broader network by promising influx of capital. If we consider what Serres claims, as long as one manages to set a new enterprise that runs the economy systematically and highlights the ‘real’ production, one should also be ready for the globalized capitalist
parasites.
They
will
come
up
to
make
production
entity that can be extracted, processed and transported quickly.
an
If we begin to configure a localised understanding of the material, quarrying
(which
is
the
first
and
one
of
the
most
important
processes of this complex chain) will be the next phase to be freed from this parasitic dependence.
The commercial understanding of the material will not last much longer. By re-using the abandoned quarries, challenges of economic changes can be overcome. In the junk space of the granite quarry unfolding
the
potentialities
of
excavated
standing
reserve
are
significant to rebuild profitable function again. Potential reality of quarries has power to create a shift from economic, commercial deterioration to profitable ones. The granite matter of Olbia is understood through the corporeal limits of the quarrying, the standing reserve being the granite matter itself. Through a projection of the very real limits of material reserve, the extraction can be set up to accommodate an enzymatic transition from standing reserve to the fourfold. This context helps us to transform standing reserve into an ecological matter.
With an architectural and urban sensibility of quarrying, we can set up a profitable function in the junk-space of granite quarry. I will discuss more about the parasitic ecological notion of the standing reserve in the part ‘Act 2’.
ACT 2 As the second act, this thesis proposes the quarries as places that can
be
transformed
provides
an
to
inhabitable
understanding
of
the
environment, standing
in
reserve
a as
way
that
parasitic
ecological notion. My first point of discussion is; the parasited one parasites the parasites. (Serres, 2007; 13) In the endless chain of parasitic relationships, re-appropriating the quarries and returning
them
to
a
natural
habitat
can
invert
this
parasitic
relationship to a symbiotic one. By doing so, we can also open up an
understanding
of
profitable
function
of
re-appropriated
quarries. In this parasitic understanding we cannot talk about a reciprocal relationship. As man extracts from the ground, he parasites from earth, and the capitalist market parasites from man, thus, this
relationship
flows
in
one
direction;
Serres
simply
explained,
“semicunduction, a single arrow”. (Serres, 2007; 5) Moreover, he also states, “the parasite is an element of relation.” (Serres, 2007; 185) Wherever a third participant appears, there will
be
a
parasitic
relations,
my
relationship.
proposition
within
In
this
second
complex
act
is
chain
based
to
of the
‘nature’ element. Thus an ecological understanding of the standing reserve
and
their
symbiotic
relationship
to
nature
will
be
discussed. Mankind
sits
in
the
centre
of
this
chain.
Their
engagement
to
earth, and to material, triggers the other continuous mechanisms. Marx
claims
that,
“earth
itself
is
a
universal
instrument
and
provides the worker with the ground beneath his feet and a field of employment for his own particular process.” (Ciccantell and Smith, 2005;
3)
instrumentality
of
material and the tools involved in the mode of production.
A
commentary
Moreover,
on
how
Heidegger
humans
discusses
engage
and
tectonic potentialities of the matter.
the
subsequently
reveal
latent
“We can only build a house of stone, because there are first stones in the world. We gather the stones, we arrange the Stones and we create the house from the stones but this is only possible because the stones are there; we do not create stones in order to build houses of stone.� - (Voorthuis, 2010; 10)
Figure 2
Material
was
already
there
before
us,
revelation
of
it
can be
achieved in the hands of men while engaging with it, experiencing, and being ‘near’ to it. While subtracting the material from its undisturbed land, earth dedicates itself to man, and man dedicated itself to earth. We have the power to evolve this relationship to a higher level or an irreversibly dangerous level. As Heidegger discussed, modern technology puts extreme demands on nature, which is challenging the earth’s resources. For him, with today’s understanding of technology, standing reserve is being the raw material. Nature of the material is obliged to seem as a mere source that becomes important while serving to us. While excavating a set of quarries as a necessity to build, human beings stay at the edge of danger and opportunity. Our actions, again, will determine the consequences of this relationship. ‘’ I asked
the
brick
what
it
wanted
to
be;
and
it
said
an
arch’’, Louis Kahn. In
today’s
consumerist
world,
quarries
(standing
reserves)
are
mostly understood through their economic value. If there is no more valuable material to extract, system abandons it and finds another location to work on. Therefore, quarries are condemned to become
vast relics of the capitalist market. Necessity of material will not
stop
quarrying;
structures
will
however
benefit
re-appropriation
the
future
of
of the
these
massive
cities
both
environmentally and economically.
Heidegger’s Jug, Simmel’s Ruin What is a quarry? A jug? A bridge? A ruin? All of them? Heidegger:
“The
jug
and
its
corresponding
void
had
the
potential to contain, and embody, the fourfold preconditions of existence, holding in its familiarity the possibility of reflecting the fourfold back to those who engaged with it.” (Sharr, 2007; 34) Previously,
I
have
discussed
the
importance
of
the
locals’
engagement with material to emphasis the awareness of the granite matter and its value in its economic and geographic context. In relation discussed
to to
this
‘material
enlarge
this
engagement’, notion.
quarries
Understanding
should
the
be
quarries
through their void and Heidegger’s gathering to reveal the fourfold conditions that “help individuals to become closer to the world around them” (Sharr, 2007; 24) is my point of departure within this
act.
In
this
context,
Heidegger’s
hypothetical
jug
is
a
good
example to extend this case. To him, “the jug is its own thing, self-supporting” (Sharr, 2007; 24) and its effectiveness appears through its void. Tao Te Ching addresses the same condition by stating, “One
hollows
the
clay
and
shapes
it
into
pots.
In
their
nothingness consists the pot’s effectiveness” (Sharr, 2007; 28).
To me, quarries can be considered in a similar way. With a quarry, the earth gives opportunity to human-beings to build and engage with
it.
understand
This the
is
one
material
of
the
reasons
through
our
why
we
may
experiences
as
struggle much
as
to a
craftsman or a mason may do so. It is not just because their speciality is on the matter itself, it is also because they gather the world while being ‘near’ to it. By being near, Heidegger points to their “physical and intellectual relationships with it” (Sharr, 2007; 30).
Granite matter was there five hundred million years ago
and will be there maybe millions of years more. However, by carving out through the earth’s layers, we create a void, a space, a bond
in between human-being and earth, thus it matters. It is no longer a matter, a space that we are unaware of. To Heidegger, ‘space is not a single entity, mode of our existence creates
it’.
(Voorthuis,
2010;
10)
A
cause-effect
relationship
opens up the doors of ‘making space’ in the void of quarry. While subtracting from ground we reveal the presence of fourfold through its gathering void. This void of the quarry gathers the nature and allows the meadows and flowers to bloom on or within its solid
surface.
Thus,
its
self-supporting
nature
is
like
hypothetical jug. This is its potentiality to gather and reflect the fourfold. From
another
perspective,
Simmel
believes
“by
disengaging
two
things from the undisturbed state of nature, in order to designate them "separate," we have already related them to each other in our awareness.
We
have
differentiated
them
both,
together,
from
everything that lies between them.”(Simmel, 1994; 5) Simmel also argues that we cannot connect before separating things. While extracting the material from its unsophisticated land, our intervention on earth makes us closer to it. With this separation, it becomes more than the excavation of matter, it also emerges as a
bond
between
intelligence
of
landscape
and
knowledge
of
man.
Therefore, a quarry starts to serve as a bridge in between mankind and material understanding. On the other hand, quarries are considered as the scars on the earth’s fabric, as ruins to the previous economies. This is true because of the fact that capitalist understanding tries to grasp as much as it can till all the resources deplete, or the investment is gone. However, nature has its own mechanism to put back what is taken. In the ruins of quarry, nature creates its new unification. What is separated before becomes connected with the gathered intelligence of landscape. “It is the fascination of ruin that the work of man appears to us entirely as a product of nature.” He claims when a ruin starts to be surrounded with nature, “a new whole, a characteristic unity emerges.” (Simmel, 1958; 381) This
new
whole
Fascination monument)
of
returns the
comes
ruin
with
as
a
combination
(even its
if
it
gathered,
is
of a
nature
pile
of
experienced,
and
ruin.
stone
or a
prescribed
understanding. In the ruins of quarries, material starts to become something else, something different than its earlier forms. What is taken from the quarry, and what is leftover is no longer a raw-
material, it is “a combination of various factors; of the art, science and technology that produced the structure in the first place; of nature, including earth, rain, snow, wind, frogs, and lizards; and of time, which causes an edifice to become a ruin.” (Hetzler, 1988; 51) Therefore, while testifying to all these transformations we should act
according
to
an
ecological
consideration.
Transformation
of
territory by the act of human (extracting and separating) and by the act of nature (returning and re-gaining) should be understood with
an
“ecological
‘existential’
thinking
territories
that
which is,
means
we
existential
cannot
exclude
ecologies
that
define our ways of inhabiting the worlds we have made.” (Kwinter, 2010; 94 )
Figure 3
Thus, while analysing the quarries, we can observe the shift from man-material engagement to material-nature engagement over time. My proposition
within
the
second
act
takes
its
root
from
this
understanding. Wherever the nature- material engagement emerges, we can refer to a symbiotic relationship. Within all these economic, social and spatial understanding of material, we manage to set the self-supporting cycle of material as it benefits the local economy of its inhabitants and earth.
In this point, re-appropriation of quarries within their ecological environment is of importance. “Increased calls for environmental remediation,
ecological
health,
and
biodiversity
suggest
the
potential for reimagining urban features.” (Waldheim, 2010; 115) It can be said that two different remediation of quarries require two different interventions. First, the quarries, which are not excavated, yet can be considered according to future alternatives. As Mostafavi declared, “within the ecological urbanism promises, while rendering the ecological, economic and social conditions of the contemporary city, projecting the
potential
of
the
design
disciplines
to
render
alternative
future scenarios”, is important. (Waldheim, 2010; 114) Secondly, by understanding the potentialities of existing quarries, re-appropriation of them for the sake of nature, people and economy can be achieved. Rather than considering the quarries as a raw material resource that is ready to serve human-beings, it should be understood
through
its
corporeal
limits.
Nature
eventually
will
highlight its dominance over man in the fascinating void of the quarry, by filling it with water and allowing to new ecologies to bloom in or on it. As Heidegger’s jug, its effectiveness will come from its nothingness.
With a reasoned intervention we can speed up this transformation. Moreover, by helping nature to achieve its natural act, we not only benefit the territory and the ecologies that will return, but we also benefit the economies that tied their existence to it.
Architectural Proposal Within this understanding, my proposition for Olbia is a long-term project,
which
sensibility.
I
is
considered
will
with
introduce
an
this
architectural
project
in
two
and
urban
phases
in
relation to aforementioned two acts. First phase indicates series of small-scale quarries in the city centre;
a
well-considered
area
is
chosen
to
activate
material
understanding. Second phase continues with the re-use of quarries by raising a bathhouse around and on it. Within the first act, the aim of the city centre quarries, which is an
anomalous
bringing
the
act,
can
be
renaissance
explained of
lost
under
craft,
three
second,
aims.
First,
providing
an
education tool for the future quarryman, and third, attracting the tourists. Location of the project is chosen according to one of the
very central points in Olbia. Granite intensity of the site, easy public access and intense civic activities, and manipulation of the material are the main reasons for this selection. Additionally, the appropriation
of
the
project
is
based
on
a
pervious
old
Roman
bathhouse and Roman Piazza that had been located in the same area. Thus
historical
importance
of
the
site
also
strengthens
the
significance of the site. Quarrying process in this proposition is a necessity to establish the localization of material in an economic, spatial and social context. Intelligence of the material is aimed to experience in a very central point to create ‘nearness’ of material. On the other hand, it has a commercial importance that can take the process a step further. This quarrying process is a hand crafted process which does not include
any
heterogeneity
high of
impact the
extraction
process
of
e.g
explosives.
material
will
be
Therefore, emphasised.
Moreover, the relationship in between worker and user, and material and worker will be highlighted. The city centre quarrying is aimed at dissolving the “landscapes of speciality” as seen within the capitalist framework of production. On the other hand, to achieve a local material economy in Olbia, social awareness of the material
is the first phase to register. As David Harvey claimed, “once society
establishes
what
is
meant
by
natural
resources,
then
practical economy becomes possible.” (Harvey; 1972; 5) Then, by introducing the quarrying as a daily activity to Olbian people, this understanding will be established. To Heidegger, ‘’it was only possible to begin trying to understand the world from a starting point already enmeshed in the familiar everyday language, priorities and things of the world.(Sharr, 2007;27) Primitive (hand crafted) way of quarrying is no longer exist, and within this fast processed raw material economies, we lose our connection to material. By proposing the revival of the tradition of
quarrying,
I
aim
Moreover,
through
methods,
quarries
to
the
strengthen
our
re-application
become
an
of
education
attachment
to
traditional tool
for
material. extraction
the
future
interventions. Additionally, this distinctive way of hand working processes will attract the people who are passing from the street or
who
live
close
by.
Therefore
established with a daily routine.
awareness
of
material
will
be
As I mentioned before, this process is a long lasting quarrying process because of the slow nature of the hand working techniques that
have
been
used
on
extraction.
My
proposition
within
this
perspective takes its roots form slowness of the granite matter.
The phasing of each program and their consequent relations is a paramount concern.
Every year through the expansion of quarries, different kind of public and material interventions are proposed. First two years, different quarrying emerges in two different areas in the borders of chosen site. At the end of the first year, a platform appears for people to watch granite-working processes at the east side of the site. In the second year, extension of St Paolo Church’s piazza reaches to the site and a coffee shop begins to appear above the quarrying activities. Additionally, a wall appears at the west side of
the
site
to
shield
quarry
from
the
neighbourhood.
In
the
following two years (from 2016 to 2018) third quarry begins to be excavated
while
others
continue
to
grow
in
with
and
depth.
Moreover, next three years (from 2018 to 2021) a workshop for the craftsmen
emerges
at
the
north
end
of
the
site,
and
a
secure
pathway in between the quarries gives chance people to watch hand working quarrying process from a closer distance. Introduction of workshop is an important point in this process not only because of its educational significance, but also because of its future use. Workshop is proposed in an unusual way that you do not expect to
see in a kind of space. Walls are covered with the tiles and rooms are combined to each other with the door arches. Within the following four years, workshop expands and starts to serve not only for craftsmen but also for the people who wants to learn more about granite crafting techniques. At the end of the 2025, a shop starts to sell the products that have been produced in the workshop with the material taken from the quarries. Within these years, site’s relationship to the context is considered with an urban sensibility. A new café in the piazza, shops and viewing platforms are some of these propositions. In these fourteen years (from 2014 to 2028), quarrying activity ends. Existing workshop walls and new additional parts start to turn an accommodation for the bathhouse. Importance of the introduction of bathhouse takes its roots from the idea of ‘becoming’. Commercial use can disappear by over time, as Serres explains with parasite theory. However, material of the building and the form can last longer. In my proposition, material is
highlighted
building.
in
a
durable,
continuous
and
century
spanning
Bathhouse is a place that you can only achieve by subtraction. Through this second phase, the aim is to balance the addition and subtraction
activities
in
one
place.
Therefore
challenges
of
quarrying; such as transportation, storing, space-product distance are attempted to overcome. With the completion of bathhouse, existing stairs of the library are used to open the site to one of the most famous streets, Corso Umberto. By using the library to give an entrance to the site, more public circulation is aimed into the area. Moreover, extension of the library proposes a reading room that immerses the user in the quarry bath house gardens.
Plan and Section of Quarry Bath House
The urban design proposal aims to create a cultural, civic and educational place on the void of the quarries. CONCLUSION In this thesis, I attempted to evaluate the relations in between the volatile
tourism
economy
and
constant
granite
material
by
introducing the parasited city, parasiting tourism. Olbia is a city that remains at the edge of localisation and globalisation. The project
addresses
these
conditions
through
the
city’s
of
Olbia’s
standing
reserve, granite. Within
Act
dependence
1, and
activities.
I
have
its
discussed
material
Moreover,
the
economy
emphasising
the
city within
global
material
to
tourism
and
local
enliven
the
economy and establishing the localisation of material in spatial, social and economic contexts. Act 2 began the discussion of the quarries becoming
as
a
standing
potential
the
reserve, ruinous
and
in
doing so
excavations
hold
evaluated
the
through
the
gathering of ecosophic possibilities. Allowing for economic, social and environmental growth within and on the ruins of the granite matter.
The
architecture
attempts
to
materialise
this
understanding
as
discussed in Acts 1 and 2. A SET of quarries are proposed to activate the material experience of the territory. The bath house becomes
the
stable
existential
territory
within
the
quarries.
Furthermore the library and surrounding facilities increase civic cohesion within the program of the interventions.
The matter of granite is one of slow and fast processes. The slow ties in with the symbiotic relationship the matter has with the ground in which it is formed, processed over hundreds of millions of
years.
The
fast;
the
global
market
in
which
the
matter
is
exchanged within and the rate the matter is extracted from the ground.
Through
an
understanding
of
incorporating
the
symbiotic
process of the slow formation of the matter whilst parasiting from the established tourism economy the project has the opportunity to prosper within the current market whilst providing a framework for the production of local subjectivity. The SET matters at hand are addressed through the divergent program and the understanding of the becoming project. Material matters, thus the interventions are composed to reveal the importance of the Galluran granite.
Figure 4
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Waldheim, Charles, ‘Weak Work: Andrea Branzi’s ‘Weak Metropolis’ and the Projective Potential of an ‘Ecological Urbanism’, in Ecological Urbanism, (Lars Müller Publishers, 2010), pp.114-121 Voorthuis, Jacop, On Place and Space: The Pragmatism of Existentialism, (2010) < http://www.slashdocs.com/ksxvwm/on-placeand-space-the-pragmatism-of-existentialism.html > [accessed at 20.07.2013]
Images Figure1:http://graphichug.com/plenty/wpcontent/uploads/2010/04/quarry.jpg : http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/qvworkinglives.html : http://www.granix.com/products/granite/angola-black/ Figure2:http://damakimages.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/an-epitaphs-ofhistory-grave-stone-maker/ Figure3:http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-marblequarry-near-estremoz-portugal-image21810568 : http://www.utata.org/sundaysalon/edward-burtynsky/ Figure4:http://quarriesandbeyond.org/states/vt/vermontphotos02_b.html All other images are authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own work.