Elective Pamphlets
Plastic Futures She Looks Future_City_Prototyp Martin Heide
Plasticity and Autotrophic Life Society. A group of emergentists working with potential. In an increasingly biotechnological era, what might life become? Are we developing new *understandings* in response to the question ‘What is Life?’ Or are we actually changing what constitutes life itself? Are we, in fact, redesigning life? Is the practice of design itself evolving in related terms? Is design a key activity in guiding us into the future? Or, is design redundant as we shift the gears from more mechanistic paradigms into what is called ‘emergence’, as the basis for evolutionary unfolding? If we assume that this gear shift is simply an evolution of design, rather than its demise, what role might aesthetics play in our evolutionary unfolding? How is this linked to ethics, and our ability to participate in the best possible futures? The main aim of this group is to discuss these questions, but also to develop and refine these questions (and new ones) about the relationships between life, architecture, design, ethics and aesthetics in what promises to be an increasingly biotechnological future. Our goal is to use this to make a documentary in which these questions play a role. In other words, this group is an important part of a design process. Pipa.Rownindeed
Members of PALS Plasticity and Autotrophic Life Society.
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She Looks
She Looks preseenting Future-City-Reseach at Biennale 2049... ......�Had a great time at the Biennale. It was very enjoyable to present the developement of our research on Future_City_Prototype and to exchange ideas for further developements. I am still amazed how many people know about our project and would like to join us�.....
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Our approach today seems slightly different. First of all we suggest thinking about architecture in terms of systems rather than objects. Second a healthy system is not defined by the stability of use, rather it is defined by the stability of constant change. If we look at the behaviour of common building materials like bricks Interview with She at the and concrete the ability to Biennale 2049 respond to adaption, change in density or volume is She, you are an architect nearly impossible. Damages and scientist, how do you and disfunctions often led to experience the work you complete destruction or reare doing for PALS and moval. Today we transform for Future_City_Prototyp? material from one substance Is your role more as an to another. The feedback of architect or a scientist? Is it developing conditions has even possible to distinguish become far more accurate those two anymore? that way. The way we look at ArchiWell indeed my work as tecture now resembles how an architect has changed a we conceive autotrophic lot. In the beginning of my organisms. architectural career we used to do competitions about In that sense the border planning buildings for very between architecture and specific uses. Museums, science has become even Residential, Shopping, more blurred. Not long ago maybe the last two seemed science and design were to grow together already, excluding each other, sciespecially Rem Koolhaas entific presentations had to tried to push it that way. be without design elements in order to be considered Mostly the expected longev- ‘serious’, and design that ity of buildings was between included science was con10 and 50 years. Some of sidered as ‘dangerous’. That the buildings I did in Euhas changed because science rope, I am quoting the client has stepped out of its limited now, were meant “to stay field of analyzing and exforever”… plaining how the parts come 3
logically together. Science has reached a point where it can put them together. Architecture as a tectonic discipline has always been about “the composition of parts”,(G.Semper). Eventhough architecture employed science for its static and physical needs the ability to actually use science to create architecture that becomes a living organism has been a revolution. And still all these possibilities have been around us a long time before. Autotrophic life has been occurring for billions of years (Thrombolites), the only difference we have today is that we are able to understand and make use of it. Can you explain to us a little bit more what autotrophic life is about? Autorophic life is a selfsustaining or self-nourishing organism. An autotroph is an organism that produces complex organic compounds from simple inorganic molecules using energy from light (by photosynthesis) or inorganic chemical reactions. Autotrophs are fundamental to the food chains of all ecosystems. They take energy from the environment in the form of sunlight
or inorganic chemicals and use it to create energy-rich molecules such as carbohydrates. This mechanism is called primary production. Other organisms, called heterotrophs(humans, animals), take in autotrophs as food to carry out functions necessary for their life.
How would you call yourself if I asked your profession? Well, maybe a ProBioMedTopophericist Haha, got it.
One last question: How is your relationship to your sister You Looked? She seems to have a different temper than you. Are you still in contact with her? (Smiles) This question had to come but I’ll give you a hint. Right I would say she has probably the opposite character than me. And no I haven’t seen her for decades Would you like to interview her?…Haha
Let me come back to Future_City_Prototyp. It has experienced a huge acceptance. What is your current involvement and how big are you expecting it to grow?
Haha… Thank You She for the interview
My work contains the coordination of growth in Future_City, including the management of the water nutrition as well as the life of the Thrombolites which are the indicators of health in our city. Depending on our own ability to produce nutrition we expect to inhabit 5-7 million people in 2100.
She’s sister You Looked being charming
About Me I am a 47 year old BioMed Architect and member of the PALS (Plasticity and Autotrophic Life Society). At the moment we are developing the Future City Prototype, which is evolving close to Mandurah in Western Australia. Similar to Thrombolite organisms which live near our site, our city is dependent on water nutrition. The growth or the waning of the City represents a symbiotic relationship shared with the Thrombolites. Being responsible for the health of a system makes me realize how important it is to work together with other people. A movement like PALS provides the structure to progress on various levels of society and to ensure longevity for our environment. 4
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Future_City_Prototyp
2040 Future City_Prototyp Future City Prototype, has its center of grwoth in the former area next to Lake Cliftionclose to Mandurah in Western Australia. Similar to Thrombolite organisms which live near the site, the city is dependent on water nutrition. The growth or the waning of the City represents a symbiotic relationship shared with the Thrombolites. The city takes nutrition from the water but produces also its own nutrion including the food for the inhabitants. Besides autotrophic abilties of the citystructure itself, agriculture will be based on aeroponic and hydroponic systems to ensure the wealthfare of the city. The expected population growth fom 2040 to 2100 will be between 5-7 million people. 6
Generating City Thoughts
ate from the waters of the lime-enriched lake to form the rock-like structures. Thrombolites and stromatolites were the only known form of life on Earth some 350 to 650 million years ago. They grow at an average of 1mm a year. The Thrombolite structures reach heights of up to 1.3m.
“Sea City” (Ortner &Ortner 2004)
passageway or transfer zone, it would be inhabited space, like a Ponte Vecchio with different climate zones. A bridge without its banks, a bridge which doesn’t connect or separate destinations. A bridge as a bridge not for what it does but what it is. A City-Bridge, not a city’s bridge…
Thrombolites Stromatolites and Thrombolites are created by algae and represent the earliest record of life on earth. Thrombolites are formed when the micro-organisms photosynthesise. During this processs they are able to precipitate calcium carbon
Thrombolites, Lake Clifton, Mandurah,W.A
“The Continuous Enclave” (Viktor Ramos )
Process of making use of nutrion
What if the future city employs these possibilities? What if the future city becomes bridge-like? Rather than being the center of an aggregated population of excluded and included, the City-Bridge could function not only as connector,
Mangrove Trees Mangroves are halophytic (salt loving) trees, shrubs and other plants growing in brackish to saline tidal waters.Nutrients uptake Prop root systems allow mangroves to take up gases directly from the atmosphere, and various other nutrients, like iron, from the
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inhospitable soil. Gases are quite often stored directly inside the roots and processed even when the roots are submerged during high tide. In harsh environment, mangroves have evolved a mechanism to help their offspring survive.The seeds can produce its own food via photosynthesis.
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2100 Diagram The colours in the diagrams explain the overlapping of uses/ functions. The space we inhabit won’t be designed by someone else anymore, we are able to program our own interfaces. People will have the capability to script their daily needs. Future City provides an adaptable structure for evolving uses. Depending on the need of the citizens, each single part has to adjust, grow, decrease and transform whenever change is necessary. No area in the city will be dedicated to a specific use. 9
Social Vitamin-D Indicator
SocialVitamin-D Indicator On the way to work and back home the Hat gets recharged. In the office it works as a lamp. If the worker doesn,t stay in his sun program the boss has to tell him off. That works both ways, the worker stays happy and well and the boss stays still the boss, thats why bosses have always bigger heads...
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Nano_Autochanging_Room
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Touch Me e Touch M
in 2040 Future Concerns....How does the outsource of knowledge in external data basis e.g. Wikipedia or other
internet platforms influence our way of thinking? Is the dependence on one side, freedom on the other side? Communication and Entertainment seem to have a significant role in the coming decades. “Streaming” will provide nearly every information we are looking for. Given our visually, auditivley saturated world, how important will our sense of touch become. What are the possibilities of touch? In times where God became a “[…] procreative virus” (G.Lynn) religion seems to split the countries. While the number of people who call themselves religious, is continuously decreasing in western society, except America, religion seems to be able to play an important role in Islamic cultures. Is the growing network of internet based communities going to change or even going to substitute the necessity of religious traditions ?
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