MARKET, INVISIBLE

Genetic Modification As Architectural Spectacle

STUDIO: ADVANCED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN ADVISOR: MARK STANLEY INDIVIDUAL PROJECT SPRING 2021

The world is coming closer to a food production crisis - agricultural sciences and technologies are racing to keep pace. One method for stabilizing food production is through genetic modification of crops for resiliency against harsh climatic conditions. I propose a building in Los Angeles that reframes the conversation around GM plants by directly connecting the public with experts. This architecture is a public facility for production of a drought resilient corn, allowing the public to witness the technological spectacle from test tube to test site. The structure houses all aspects of resilient corn production in a structure that is surrounded and perforated by public green space. The scientists perform their operation in zones physically closed to the public, but the form and materiality on site are defined by radical transparency. This allows the public to experience transparent production and celebratory choreography of a process usually defined by fear and conspiracy.

This building responds to the context of Los Angeles by approaching the design from macro to micro resolutions. From a regional perspective, this design embraces not only the climatic conditions of LA, but also its constraints. LA is plagued by drought and heat, which this corn was bred to resist. Furthermore, it is responsive to the social region by embracing the Hollywood paradigm. This design trades efficiency in production for celebratory choreography, a display which asks the question ‘what if GMOs were not just organisms, but a socially acceptable spectacle?’

Circulation paths between operational bodies kiss and part throughout the building, exposing people directly to the humans behind the abstract science of GMOs. Visitors can physically interact with the GMO as they might engage with any planting strategy in public green spaces, reinforcing the legitimacy of the corn as a real plant, not an abstract concept.

There is an embedded irony within this project, one that breaks down the utopia of design towards something more real. This design publicly proposes ‘radical transparency,’ however, it remains a staged experience. There is no actual research being conducted on site - just highly controlled replication of off site discovery. Furthermore, when viewing the facility from afar, it appears transparent and open; however, as an occupant in the site approaches a location of detailed scientific production, their views behind the proverbial curtain are physically obscured.