Olhon Island - Part II - Booklet

Traces of People:

Olhon Island

Project by:

Valeria Lifshitz

Supervisor:

Stefano Stabilini

Politecnico di Milano Piacenza 2018

Contents

Intro 4 Traces of People: Olhon Island 5

Case Studies

17

Radical Temporalities:

18

The Landscape of Ephemeral Urbanism Ephemeral Urbanism (Kumbh Mela)

23

Ephemeral Urbanism (Burning Man)

25

Place Studies

31

Olhon 35 Climate and Landscape 37 Landscape Strategy

45

Landscape Tools (Shelter)

53

Landscape Tools (Viewpoint)

57

Materials (Shou Sugi Ban)

58

Materials (Plywood)

60

Materials (Steel Structure)

62

Landscape Tools (Acoustic Mirrors) 4

64

18

Issues (Control and Maintenance)

69

Camps 71 Khuzhir 77 The Settlement

79

Issues (Dustification)

87

Issues (Public Spaces)

91

Informality 97 Settlement growth

99

Issues (Waste Water)

101

Water Treatment Technology

103

Architectural Language (Verticals)

113

Architectural Language (Materials)

117

Fish Factory

119

Architectural Intervention (Fish Factory Community Center) 123

Acknowledgements 128

6

Traces of People: Olhon Island

Traces of people is a project dedicated to the sacred and vulnerable spaces facing transition under changing conditions of human activity.

On the base of Olhon Island of lake Baikal it studies the possibility to minimize the effect of human presence through subtle architectural interventions while maintaining the access for people who seek for experience of the place.

8

Traces of People: Olhon Island

Lake Baikal is located in South-East Siberia, Russia, holds 20% of unfrozen fresh water on Earth. It’s surrounded by landscapes of spectacular untouched wild life and sustains a unique ecosystem.

Olhon is the biggest island and the heart of the lake. Long history of it inhabitation by people left countless legends of the spirits and inimitable special nature of the place. Since recent times when it first was connected to the vast contemporary civilization by electric and transportation networks, numerous seekers and travelers are attracted by beauty and energy of the ferine island.

10

Traces of People: Olhon Island

However along with the rising interest rises

the

question

of

whether

the

austere environment can sustain the growing number of visitors and keep its original character. Or which should be development of manmade facilities to help it do so.

In other words: how to transform the space with minimal intervention in order to keep it intact and provide conditions for users to be nothing but subtle guest who disappear leaving no trace.

The project describes a vision of possible solutions for such questions.

12

Traces of People: Olhon Island

Traces of People is a network of facilities aiming to ensure sustainable traveling within the area.

The first step of the project is creating socially oriented environment within the existing settlements to raise awareness among local communities of their power and responsibilities as the keepers of the place and provide them with better contact to the visitors.

14

Traces of People: Olhon Island

The second step is a network of paths and small scale architectural objects which channel the activity around the landscape to avoid unnecessary intervention to the vulnerable ecosystem and designate the attraction points.

Further developments are connected to technical social and environmental facilities organizing the system.

16

Traces of People: Olhon Island

On the whole the project’s aim is to elaborate a sustainable approach to development of the area and work as a guideline in uncertain times of transition in economic and social preferences, promoting consciousness in exploration of vulnerable spaces.

As a result, the designed architectural objects

should

collaborate

with

the

landscape representing the only visible trace of people left in the nature.

18

constructed structures for hosting

Radical Temporalities: The Landscape of Ephemeral Urbanism

massive

as well as a series of temporary

led by

settlements

Rahul Mehrotra and Felipe Vera, has been a systematic effort for and

settlements

that are built with an explicit expiry date.

Rather

than

understanding

urbanization as a process by which space

is

the

constructions deployed for the Haj

The Ephemeral City

cities

Among

examples analyzed were ephemeral

The Research Project on

analyzing

gatherings.

transformed

into

hard

agglomeration, the project has been focused on the inverse (dis)assembling reversible structures and architectures made out from light elements.

As

part of the work, attention has been paid to an extraordinary intensification of pilgrimage practices in recent years, which has translated into the need of larger and more frequently

constructed

to

host

other Indian celebrations such as the Durga Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi, and the Kumbh Mela — the latter being a religious pilgrimage that, according to official figures, supports the congregation of more than 100 million people and the habitation of 7 million people in fixed space for 55 days – the duration of the festival.

The research has also been focused on natural disasters induced by changes in climatic conditions that are increasingly making evident the importance of temporary shelters as holding strategies or short-term solutions. Recent cases include the

Philippines, Haiti, Chile, and several

mining, oil extraction, and forestry

other instances of ‘temporary cities’

as well as cities built for military

built in the context of disaster.

or defense purposes in contested

Additionally, in many locales, political

territories, transaction-induced pop-

tensions have contributed to the

up cities set up within and outside of

displacement of people from their

city boundaries, temporary structures

sites

refugee

that support massive influxes of people

camps around the globe. Additionally,

around sporting events, or even the

non-religious

celebrations

disruptive constructions inside formal

are also on the rise - increasing in

spaces, such as the camps of the

scale as well as frequency. They,

Occupy movement. These cases

too, cause the erection of temporary

present

structures within and outside urban

from which we could potentially learn

areas. Extensive music festivals like

and extrapolate strategies for urban

Exit in Serbia, Coachella in California,

design and planning in the future.

of

origin,

creating

cultural

interesting

provocations,

and Sziget in Budapest motivate the construction of extended ephemeral settlements that for short periods of time congregate incredibly large groups of people. Recent additions include temporal cities built for the exploitation of natural resources in

2015.11.18 BI-CITY BIENNALE OF URBANISM\ARCHITECTURE

22

Ep h e m e r al Urb a nism

Venice biennale 2016, Ephemeral Urbanism Pavilion Design Work Rahul Mehrotra, Felipe Vera | Spring 2016 “Ranging from the scale of the small temporary infill within the urban, to the scale of the ephemeral mega cities, this project gives an overview of hundreds of cases depicting settlements or urban configurations that are constructed with an expiry date. The main argument is that in contemporary urbanism worldwide, it is becoming clear that for cities to be sustainable, they need to be accommodating more temporary fluxes in their structure and broader ecology rather than being anchored solely to static material configurations.�

24

Ep h e m e r al Urb a nism ( K um b h M ela )

Located in the floodplain of the river Ganges, most of the 23.5-squarekilometer area of the festival remains underwater until a few months before its start, and organization is at every stage challenged by the uncertainty and ephemerality of the festival itself.

Spectacular city of Kumb Mela with grid infrastructure of water, electricity, sewerage, roads, and bridges, residential spaces and public facilities serving over 100 million people is constructed within several weeks to then be completely dismantled with all materials reused or naturally degraded, giving space to cultivation before the river reclaims its land.

26

Ephemeral Urbanism (Burning Man)

Burning Man is an annual event in the United States at Black Rock City – a temporary city erected in the Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada. The late summer event is described as an experiment in community

and

art,

influenced

by ten main principles: “radical� inclusion, self-reliance, and selfexpression, as well as community cooperation,

civic

gifting,

decommodification,

participation,

responsibility,

immediacy,

and

leaving no trace.

In 2015, 70,000 people attended Burning Man.

28

Ephemeral Urbanism (Burning Man)

What

is

particularly

interesting

about Burning Man is that this massive event leaves the desert squeaky clean after its finish. This result is achieved by combination of promoting consciousness in visitors and organizing Playa Restoration Teams to pick up every bit of a leftover after the event.

30

Ephemeral Urbanism (Burning Man)

M AT T E R

OUT

OF

PLACE

MOOP is an acronym for “Matter Out of Place”, a convenient way of referring to anything that is not originally of the land on which the event takes place. So everything that wasn’t originally on or of the Black Rock Desert, no matter how small, is considered MOOP, and is to be removed as part of the Leave No Trace efforts. MOOP also includes greywater, and the particulates contained therein.

36

38

Climate

Area of Baikal lake is characterized by large total duration of sunshine - for Olhon it’s an average of only 48 cloudy days per year. Level of precipitation does not exceed 140 mm yearly. In this terms Olhon can be compared to some very arid regions of Central Asia.

Local residents use artificial irrigation for agriculture. Another feature of Olhon is the erosion of soils that can be observed almost everywhere. Weak, easily degradable soil and vegetation layer with frequent winds contribute to the rapid release of humus and transfer of sand, which makes farming difficult and can lead to the emergence of desert landscapes. Today one can observe the “movement of sand” in multiple places.

Near the village of Khuzhir once foresty areas are already covered by sand.

The Baikal water mass influences climate of coastal territory. Winter is softer here, and summer is cooler.

The onset of spring on Lake Baikal is delayed by 10-15 days compared to the surrounding areas, and autumn is often quite long.

40

Vast prairie of Olhon may seem pretty monotonous at first sight, but take care to look under your feet.

The closer look reveals sparkles of color, not only beautiful but also unique.

Endemic plants of Olhon are humble and not easy to spot – they cling to their roots on the thin layer of fertile soil fighting their life through harsh Siberian climate, some species older than the lake itself.

42

44

46

Landscape Strategy

In the times of rise in fishing industry population of Olhon was growing and exploitation of the island’s territory was vast. New roads and forest passages formed their way through the island.

When

the

things

changed

the

settlements started to shrink, some aged out, some were lost to the moving dunes. The roads in the current age serve for tourist’s curiosity and due to the specifics of the prairie often grow multiple clones. They lead to otherwise reserved parts of the island and contribute to damage to the natural layer. It was decided that excessive and misused roads should be eliminated, though simply digging them down could not be a sufficient solution to existing situation.

48

50

52

Landscape Strategy

To support the current change in land use shifting to controlled management of landscapes and separating the commonly used areas from natural reserves we need to channel activity of people facilitating specific areas for attraction, management and comfort.

This goals can be reached with a network of architectural and landscape interventions blending in with the landscape

and

allowing

human

environment coexist harmoniously with natural context.

54

Landscape tools (Shelter)

Transformable cabins are designed as a shelter and viewpoints for distant areas of the island. They can be a closed volume, or partially open protected from a particular direction.

Elevated above the ground surface and featuring a green roof they minimize their own footprint and presence in the environment.

56

Landscape tools (Shelter)

Structure of the cabins is based on a steel frame, exterior surface is designed as burned wood panels, interior made up of transformable plywood elements providing benches and table for a meal or free floor space to lay sleeping bags for a night stay.

The cabins can provide hikers with a shelter from wind and weather, let them enjoy the view of the lake in comfort while appointing a specific place to stay and minimizing the scatter in the areas of interest.

58

Landscape tools (Viewpoint)

Viewpoint tower at most replicates the design of cabins being a simple element correlating to local rural style.

The tower is to be placed next to a road connecting opposite shores of the island to be a pinpoint of the network and provide rest and curiosity on the midway of a long journey through the forest.

The viewpoints a powerful tool of exploration opening the landscape from a completely different perspective and allowing access to other aspects of the environment.

60

62

64

66

Issues (Control and Maintenance)

72

Camps

Wild tourism is becoming a big problem for the Island. People with tents and backpacks can have humble impact for environment when they are few.

But as soon as they start arriving by thousands throughout the season and keep practicing their survival skills by cutting down the tries for campfires and adjusting space for their comfort - some order has to be put to their accommodation. Most crucial issues are connected to firewood, waste management and sanitary aspects of their stay.

74

Camps

On the other hand, what the travellers come for is the genuine experience of the Baikal nature and making them stay within a gated camping would be a hard task for the community.

The idea of this part of the project is to introduce low density camps with focus points that can provide services and possibility of maintenance. Those camps as seasonal temporary spaces set up only in time of need are formed around the sole constant elements that can support their ephemerality by taking upon themselves the pressure of human presence.

76

Camps

Camps may be set up in various areas of the island, when accessible to technical vehicles and most preferred by the visitors. The location for model camp was appointed by local community as a beach with comfortable conditions for stay, good access to Lake and protected from the wind.

The proximity of the nearby village allows authority control of the camp and convenience of trade for firewood and supplies.

78

80

The Settlement

Khuzhir is a settlement (in 19462014 - a town-type settlement) in the Olkhon district of the Irkutsk region.

Administrative center of Khuzhirsky municipal formation.

It is located 86 km north-east of the district center, the village of Elantsy, 35 km from the ferry station “MRSOlkhon Island�, on the shore of the Lesser Sea of Baikal, on the north-west coast of Olkhon Island.

To the north of the village there is Cape Burkhan (Skala Shamanka), to the east Saray Bay stretches as 3 km of a sandy beach, cutting 0.5 km into the shoreline.

82

The Settlement

The settlement was founded in 1938 with the creation of Malomorsk Fish Factory, MMRZ. In the past, the small town-forming enterprise was providing employment for the entire population.

Currently, the Fish Factory is mostly closed and abandoned, while the main occupation of local residents is management of the tourist flows.

A network of family hotels and tourist bases has been built. Locals provide pedestrian, car, horse, bicycle and water tours to the attractions of the island and the adjacent water area.

86

The Settlement

Nowadays Khuzhir is a capital of Olhon in many relations. It holds most of the commercial and administrative activity: most of the public facilities, shops and restaurants are located along Baikalskaya street in the center of the settlement. People coming to Olhon usually start their journey here, first arriving to Khuzhir for supplies and accommodation. It is also known for the jewel of the island - Shamanka of Burkhan cape which is believed to be a palace of Baikal’s spirits, is also located here.

134 m 40 m

88

Issues (Dustification)

One of the crucial problem of settlements of Olhon, and Khuzhir among them, is dustification of roads and inhabited areas. Due to vulnerability of the fertile layer of soil combined with careless land use, wherever people come vegetation leaves. Dry sandy soil turns to dust and gets blown away by winds of the lake. Sand migration caused abandonment of one of the shore villages - Peschanoe several decades ago. Nowadays dust is the main feature of Khuzhir’s central streets.

92

Issues (Public Spaces)

Poor condition of public spaces and misuse of roads are the other issues harmful for community state. The project features renovation of some most significant areas and ordering the driveways and pedestrian routes. This measures aim both to solve the problem of dustification by increasing the total green area in the settlement center and returning the dignity to community with quality public spaces.

94

Issues (Public Spaces)

No asphalt can be used on Olhon, therefore

the

hard

pavement

is

minimised to pedestrian passages and squares. Private sidewalks are to be arranged in the local style with wooden decking. Outskirts of Khuzhir where dust doesn’t seem to be a problem show that grass can grow without any special treatment in areas where the car traffic is limited. However, if necessary, new lawns can be irrigated with recycled water from the phytodepuration lakes

96

Issues (Public Spaces)

Another feature is hard space for playground, orchards and area for seasonal greenhouses around the settlement pond. The water body is located close to the school and the selected facilities are a specific response to the educational and communal needs.

98

Informality

Informality within formal boundaries is one of characteristic trends of local development. People wont touch the common areas neither for their own profit nor for taking care of it, but within private land plots construction is uncontrollable shifting the density of buildings, their heigh and type of use, applied technical installations or materials. Many would build additional guest houses on their territory or turn them into small business like cafĂŠs or shops.

Settlement growth

The

time-lapse

satellite

images

of Khuzhir show that though the population grew in past years and seasonal population is spiking high, the boundaries of the settlement did not change much in 25 years. The most growth took place in building up the boundaries hill area in the center of the settlement and expanding to the forest on the northern border. The pattern of growth shows that the settlement is more prone to densifying - local people build additional houses on their own land plots to accommodate their families and raise the income by hosting guests during touristic season.

102

Waste water issues

While densification is a positive trend limiting the growth of the inhabited area, it becomes problematic in relation to water treatment. Most local houses don’t have any blackwater treatment installations, and due to the low density of population and traditional way of life this was not causing many harmful effects for years. But with the rise of population density and more contemporary water use, this results in large amounts of contaminated water ending up in ground waters or directly in Baikal.

104

Water treatment technology

The chosen option for water purification technology can be iMETland project.

It suits small isolated communities working with electroconductive biofilters that don’t depend on external electrical source and can maintain productivity in low temperatures trough significant part of the year. Wastewater is disinfested and converted in pathogen-free water, suitable for irrigation. The conversion of sewage treatment into electric current can be used as an output signal to control the process through ICT. iMETland units are well integrated with the surrounding environment as landscape elements.

106

Waste water treatment

The goals of arranging water treatment system can be achieved by combined seasonal approach. For the matter of economy and municipal control several households can share one septic tank with an access through a manhole located underneath the street on public territory.

108

Waste water treatment

Septic tanks are able to function throughout the year while in a mild season from April to October when the population of the settlement and water use increases, the treated greywater from septic tanks can be processed further

to

phytodepuration

lakes

located in lowlands on the edge of the settlement.

110

Water treatment and public consciousness

After phytodepuration the water is good to be returned to Baikal through open channels or used for irrigation. The lakes have an additional function of a passive green space that by its sole existence works as a mark of public awareness to environmental necessities and serves as a peculiar space organically blended with the landscape.

112

Waste collection and recycling

The strategy of waste treatment is based on the collecting potential of the main street and Community Center. Since the recycling projects have already been started in Khuzhir with the efforts of local community, the further steps need to be supporting their work. In this case increasing the intesity of the main street use and creating a gahering point in Fish Factory will provide settlement with useful and efficient spots to locate recycling points within walking distance from most households and the interest zone of the guests.

114

Architectural Language (Verticals)

Vertical elements are a special feature of local landscape in relation to the timeline of community development.

Firts to come were the Serge, or horsehitch - ritual pillars and trees from the Buryats. They mean that the marked place has an owner. They are often installed near the yurt, at the gate of the house, saying “while the serge is standing, the family is alive�.

Serge is associated with the cult of the horse and is also a symbol of the tree of life, the world tree that unites the three worlds. Three horizontal grooves are cut out on the pole. The upper one is intended for tying the horses of the celestials of the upper world, the middle one for the horses of men, and the lower one for the horses of the underworld.

In the past, the serge was installed during the initiation of the shaman. In the burial places of shamans, very high pillars were set up - for the tethering of gods and spirits.

Architectural Language (Verticals)

Second stage came in 1940’s with the industrialisation and opening of the fish factory. As the factory became the main driver forming the settlements of Olkhon, chimneys of its smoking shop where the new character of Khuzhir landscape.

In 2005 Olhon was connected to elctric grid and short time after to mobile telecommunication. The alley of electric poles grew along the main road of the island with a sharp end in Khuzhir, crowning the highest point of the village with steel towers. What they brought along was the brand new era of guesthouses and travellers. Before that not many tourists were bold enought to stay on the land of the off-grid islans, disconnected from mast of civilisatin. In a short while everithing changed.

Architectural Language (Materials)

As it turns out, the Shou Sugi Ban technique is not new to the settlements of Olhon. Many fishermen buildings have traces of the fire treatment, as for example some shops of the Fish Factory.

Reuse of timber materials from some abandoned

structures

is

another

peculiar matter. It’s common on the island to recycle the old structures as material resource or firewood. This not only keeps the landscape in order, but also allows to endure the character of aged wood in the new applications.

Fish Factory

The Malmorsk Fishery Plant (Fish Factory or MMRZ) was once the industrial pride and beauty of the whole region. Founded in 1932, it used to have several production shops on its balance: fishing, processing, netting, forestry, etc. Boats and barges, motorbots, trucks, tractors - everything was aimed at fishing and processing of fish. Its own power station gave light to the whole village.

In the early 1990s, significant changes occurred in the country. At Baikal fishing rates dicreased, prices for fuel and materials rose sharply. Now the plant is in very poor condition, the production shops are in decay, only one of them still works occasionally. Building are slowly falling apart, boats and barges are left to rot on the bay.

122

124

Architectural Intervention (Fish Factory Community Center)

Being the start and soul of Khuzhir, the Fish Factory does not have to end with the industrial era. The building stands at the entrance of the settlement and still draws a lot of people with it’s specific character and location.

In the new age when truism became new life of the settlements, Fish Factory is the one space that can bring the community and the visitors together and be the base of unfolding a new lifestyle.

We take permanence as a default condition, we don’t look at reversibility.

In contrast, I do a lot of historic preservation, and there reversibility is a big piece of the jargon, where even if you add on a contemporary thing, another generation should be able to remove it, like if its reversible it can float away, because tomorrow we might not like it.

Why can’t we architecture?

design

reversible

Rahul Mehrotra

Special Thanks to: Michael Lifshitz Olga Dik Orkhan Abdullayev Ilya Dunichkin Anna Verbitskaya Vladislav Zakharov Natalya Bencharova Polina Cherkasova Tatiana Grigoroshenko Valentina Tkachenko Carlos Valencia

Some of the photos used in this booklet were downloaded from free access sources on the internet and belong to their authors.

None of the booklet materials are intended for commercial use.

I express deep gratitude to the authors of these photos for their help in delivering a clear image of my work and the project site.

If you are an author of any of the photos, or you want to know the source of the used images, please feel free to contact me by e-mail: valeria.lifshits@mail.polimi.it