The River of Forgetfulness - Intervention Manual

Decentralising the Galician Landscape INTERVENTION

River Forgetfulness

MANUAL

This 3D environment is an architectural tool that aims to distribute power off the administrations to the people, by allowing access and giving agency over the most vulnerable points inside the Dam mechanism.

Simultaneously, peoples memories are encapsulate online forever through the objects, photographs and voice sound-scape. This were rescued at series of workshop and meetings carried out between the Author and the community. Through the underwater landscape, representations of the current pollution spills can be seen.

This interactive interface can be accessed both online and locally, the application will be available for free online to anyone that wishes to play locally and also online to play remotely. For the latter, it is access though the first layer intervention of the proposal, the website of the River of Forgetfulness.

General INFORMATION

Sofia Yanez Perteagudo -10007794 - ADS8

CONTENTS

General INFORMATION

Controls

The Story

HUD

In-Environment Menu

Getting around

Abilities

Open world interaction types

Open world chart

Credits

QUIT RESTART

Press W to move forward, A to move left, D to move right, S to move backwards or use arrows in keyboard.

Space-bar to jump.

TELEPORT: Click on MENU destinations.

TURN: Move mouse while clicking left top button to turn the camera around.

Using pc keyboard Controls

controller START

MOVE JUMP MENU MENU NAVIGATE RESTART QUIT

Using

CAMERA

The Story

The project presents Galicia as an internal colony of Spain and how the extraction of the land and water have been perpetuated since the creation of the Spanish Empire. The Limia, a perennial river 135 km long between Galicia and Portugal, flows westwards from its source in Talariño Mountain to Viana do Castelo, defining the border between the nations. Despite being part of natural parks, biosphere reserves and the Natura 2000 zone, it hosts several dictatorial interventions that are still having a devastating impact on its ecosystem. 3 Dams and water reservoirs, mass eucalyptus plantations, natural lagoons dry ups and communal forest expropriation. This has resulted in the disruption of the natural life cycle of the native ecosystem and therefore, forced and increased migration out of the Baixa Limia. The current Galician government and bourgeois, chosen by the Spanish government, have abandoned the area too, allowing it to burn in the dry season. The greatest architectural case study of this phenomena is the construction of a Dam in 1992, inherited from an agreement of Francos’s dictatorship in 1960. At that point, Spain and Galicia had been a democracy for 17 years, but it wasn't enough to stop the flooding of 17 kilometres of vibrant villages and ecosystems, The only beneficiary of the water reservoir rights and the electricity produced of this landscape intervention is Portugal, since the Dam was built on its side of the border, only by 2 km. Colonial systems continue to manifest themselves through the extraction and abuse of labour and territory while the place will never be benefited or receive compensation for it.

The project presents Galicia as an internal colony and how the system has been perpetuated since the creation of the Empire. The Limia, a river between Galicia and Portugal, defines the border. It hosts interventions from the regime, which has resulted in the disruption of the life-cycle of the native ecosystem, therefore, forced and increased migration out of the Baixa Limia. The architectural case study of this phenomenon is the Lindoso Dam, 1992, inherited from an agreement of Francos’s dictatorship. Spain and Galicia had been a democracy for 17 years, but 17 kilometres of life were flooded. Colonial systems continue to manifest.

The first four, flooded villages, the others gave away their river meadows, mills, paths, forests, bridges, canals, memory, memory of our memory, the infinite effort of the innumerable generations composing a mosaic of life and beauty for our existence at the beginning of the world, where the whole universe combines, that universe that will remain in us forever, in our feel, and that will stay as a never ever healed wound of the collective life that preceded us.

A wound that will remain in the memory of this land that will always call to be un-drowned, For it to be spirited land once again, land for the people, for the fruit, for the life that is what really kept the valley alive forever, when it sets free from this night and blossoms again.1

Translated to english by Author

1 ‘ASULAGADAS-SUSO DIAZ-2021

HUD

The Heads Up Display is your view of the world through the interface. It adds some key information unavailable to the outside world. Knowing how to read and understand the components of the HUD will increase your understanding of the Lindoso Dam mechanism. A B

A- MENU

B- MINIMAP: Indicates player location with a red star.

C-TEXTBOX: Different messages are triggered in the soundscape as the player moves trough the world, they are translated into English in this permanent box.

D-START

E-INFO: Box drop-down with additional information about the interactions of the curious user.

C D E

In-Environment Menu

1. Hover over with the mouse over MENU button on-screen and click. Click again to close it. The drop-down Menu teleports to all different locations:

DAM

SPILLWAYS

BOTTOM OUTLET

INTAKE TOWER

SUBSTATION PLANT

OLD ROAD

RIO LIMIA

2. Press M = RESTART Button. This option will take you back to the starting location of the interaction.

3. Press Q = QUIT button. This option will close the application

The River of Forgetfulness is a vast land, although there are no vehicles or alternatives for the user to get around other than running at a moderate speed.

This is part of the conceptual design of the environment. As the user is only allowed to interact with the landscape as a human could or alternatively, as water does.