Made issue 6 by WSof Archi

made at the welsh school of architecture

3 Editorial 5

Antarctic Architecture: Living on the Edge Hugh Broughton

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Stepwells in North Western India Richard Cox Two libraries in Barcelona: Impressions and Reflections Ignasi Bonet Translation by Sergio Pineda

Little Utopias Sarah Featherstone

31 FogHive©: Fog Collection and Sustainable Architecture in the Atacama Coast Dr. Cristian Suau 41 43

Analogue Thoughts on Digital Production Ming Chung and Nick Tyson Complexity and Engagement: Art and Design in the Post-industrial Frances Whitehead and Christine Atha

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made 6 2010 Editors: Allison Dutoit and Mhairi McVicar Publisher: Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff. CF10 3NB. Tel: +44 (0) 2920 874439 Web: www.cardiff.ac.uk/archi/made Orders: made, Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff. CF10 3NB. Mail: made@cardiff.ac.uk

Glare; Bring It On M J Long Objects & Places. The Work of the Architect Eduard Bru Enric Llorach

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In Praise of Pebbledash Niall Maxwell The Uncertain Centre of the Mary Celeste Spencer’s Island, Nova Scotia, Canada Roger Mullin

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One man, few tools, a Renault Clio and a Waterbug Sam Clark The Unspoken City Abigail Lockey

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The Hemplime Vault Sylvia Harris and David Lea Learning from Discovery Owen Francis

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The Fall of Man by Ed Green - Book Review Kristian Alexander Hyde

103 Contributors ISSN 1742-416X £10 / €15 EUR / $18 USD / $24 AUD ¥2000 JPY / $23 CAD cover photo: Sant Antoni Joan Oliver Library. © RCR Arquitectes

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made is about materials and connections in architecture: physical making, joining and crafting; also the intellectual materials and connections of architecture: its science, histories, theories, practice and material culture.

made materials architecture design environment

made â&#x20AC;&#x153;bring into existence, cause to be, cause (something to happen), (MSw. maka construct, Da. mage manage, arrange) Gr. masseinâ&#x20AC;Ż(aorist pass. magenai) knead, magieros cook, mageus baker, Osl. mazati anoint, grease, sb. manner, style, form. Maker, manufacturer, creator; (arch.) poetâ&#x20AC;? Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology

Editorial Describing buildings as ‘unstable systems and coastal wind patterns. Aiming to in dynamic environments’, Steven increase the efficiency and applicability Groak argued in The Idea of Building of fog catchers, Suau proposes a Fogthat ‘problems’ in the building industry Hive: a multi-functional polyhedral can be redefined as characteristics; ‘the fog collector. Ingenuity in the ritual condition of the industry, at times to of collecting water is also celebrated in be relished.’ ‘Problems’ to be relished Richard Cox’s description of the extreme included the weather, location, and beauty of Indian Stepwells. materials of building. Working with the built environment inevitably presents In less extreme climatic or geographic uncertainty and complexity, and conditions, challenges emerge from tight architects, artists, designers, and builders sites, sensitive briefs, difficult economic often extract innovation and delight and social circumstances, and restrictive from the most difficult of circumstances. regulations. Ignasi Bonet’s study of two This issue of made explores the diverse libraries in Barcelona – Josep Llinas’ Vila challenges and opportunities presented de Gracia Library, and RCR Arquitectes’ by extremities within the built Sant-Antoni Joan Oliver Library – environment; climatic and geographic; reveals how much can be extruded from social, economic, programmatic; a tight brief and restricted site. Each materials and construction. library uses restrictions to its advantage, generously extending both site and Several papers define responses to program to operate as a public space extreme climatic and geographic and amenity. Working with a sensitive conditions. Hugh Broughton begins with brief, Sarah Featherstone balances the the most challenging of environments, imaginary and reality, invoking the that of Antarctica. Describing the design world of Beatrix Potter to guide an and construction of the British Halley VI architectural response to the needs of a research station on the Brunt Ice Shelf, Rape and Incest Centre. An architectural and the Juan Carlos Spanish Antarctic response to extreme social, political and Base in the South Shetland islands, economic conditions can be difficult designed for temperatures as low as to define, and Abigail Lockey’s studies -56°C, 105 days per year of darkness with of Brazilian favelas employs unwritten katabatic winds exceeding 160mph, and codes embedded within the fight-dancean annual one metre rise in snow levels, game of Capoeira as a filter through Broughton outlines the limits of materials which to gain an understanding of the and pragmatics of construction, as well complex unwritten codes regulating the as the psychological and physical well favelas. While regulations can provide being of inhabitants. The understanding order, they can enforce neutrality rather gained from repeated attempts to inhabit than celebrate extremity, as MJ Long’s extreme environments is highlighted by celebration of glare suggests. Arguing Owen Francis’ thermal analyses of the against uniform lighting, Long contends first research stations constructed for that we not only tolerate, but demand, British Antarctic Expeditions: the 1901 and enjoy diversity and complexity. Enric Discovery Hut, and the Hut constructed Llorach’s study of the work of Eduard for Scott’s 1910-1913 expedition. Bru in Barcelona describes challenges Studying the environmental performance posed by urban voids, activated by Bru of these ‘primitive’ huts, Francis suggests as a design method which disregards potential improvements. Cristian monumentality in favour of ‘the Suau’s research into fog-catchers on the potentiality of the empty space.’ Atacama Coast in Chile learns from precedent, analysing net constructions Challenges arise not only through which harvest fog from one of the driest site and brief, but through design environments on earth, appropriating and construction processes. Frances the unique confluences of geography Whitehead and Christine Atha’s

conversation reviews modes of design practice and engagement in postindustrial contexts, while Roger Mullin’s diary of constructing in Nova Scotia highlights the collaboration required to convert design ideals to physical reality in a remote site. Sam Clark’s account of renovating a narrowboat focuses on restrictions and opportunities imposed by a ‘spatially challenged’ boat and the Renault Clio used to transport construction materials, while Ming Chung and Nick Tyson explore the theoretical and physical interface between analogue and digital in their review of the potential of digital tools. Niall Maxwell reviews the rise and fall of pebbledash render in west Wales, where misuse of its application in the extremities of a ‘damp’ climate has, he suggests, unfairly maligned its potential. Sylvia Harris and David Lea summarise the extreme reduction of complexity offered by building with Hemplime in describing the design and construction of a Hemplime vault at wsa in 2009. Responding to extreme conditions is specifically challenged by the threat of climate change, a topic raised by Kristian Hyde’s review of Ed Green’s novel, The Fall of Man, which considers our human ability to respond to change brought about by cataclysmic events. Problems, extremities, uncertainty: all fundamentally define design and construction. Innovation can be extruded from extremities contained within brief, site, material, and construction; in response, the communication of ideas between designers, builders, buildings and inhabitants is paramount. The ways in which ideas are communicated are limitless: drawing, writing, modelmaking, prototyping, building; buildings, too, can be ‘read’ or said to engage in dialogue with their inhabitants, and we welcome papers on these, or related topics, for the next issue of made. Allison Dutoit and Mhairi McVicar Groák, S, The idea of building : thought and action in the design and production of buildings (London: E & FN Spon, 1992).

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Section through a bedroom module at Halley VI. Credit: 7-t

Interior view of the social module at Halley VI with hydroponics green house at its centre. Credit: 7-t

Antarctic Architecture: Living on the Edge Hugh Broughton every year. Temperatures drop to -56°C and the sun does not rise above the The vast unspoilt landscape of Antarctica horizon for 105 days during the winter. provides a unique environment for the In its coastal location the site is regularly study of earth system science, helping buffeted by katabatic winds in excess of us to understand a vast array of crucial 160 kph. Logistics are managed through scientific phenomena in the fields of a brief 3-month summer season by ship geology, biology, meteorology, glaciology, and by plane. A research station has been astronomy and geospace science. To carry occupied continuously at Halley since the out this vital research, scientists must International Geophysical Year (IGY) in endure the harshest living conditions on 1957. In 1985 British scientists working our planet, living for prolonged periods in at Halley first observed the springtime isolated and totally self-sufficient research depletion in stratospheric ozone, known as the hole in the ozone layer. stations subjected to extreme weather. Introduction

Halley VI Halley is the most southerly station operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). It is located on the 150-metre thick Brunt Ice Shelf, which is flowing at 400 meters per annum out to sea. Snow levels rise on the site by around 1 meter

having flowed too far from the mainland to a position at risk of calving off the ice shelf as an iceberg within the next 5-10 years. As the station’s legs are fixed in the ice it cannot be moved and so in 2004 the BAS organized an international competition to select designers for a new relocateable station for occupation by 52 people in the summer and 16 in the winter. The competition was won by Hugh Broughton Architects, working with AECOM.

Bedrooms, laboratories, office areas and energy centres are housed in standard blue The current station is the fifth incarnation modules of 152 square meters internal and was completed in 1992. The first four floor area and which weigh between bases were designed to be buried by the 80-95 tonnes. Although the majority of snow, but Halley V was raised on steel legs, core activities can be provided for using which are then re-aligned and extended the standard modules, the requirement each year to keep it free from the rising to combine the group social spaces for snow. Although successful as a design, living, dining and recreation determined the position of this base is now precarious, the development of a special two-storey

Visualisation showing how Halley VI will look when complete. Science modules are to the left, connected to the habitat modules with a bridge link, which allows sharing of services. Credit: 7-t made

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central module of 467 square meters internal area weighing 160 tonnes.

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modular design. As the ice shelf protrudes at least 20 meters above sea level, all materials delivered to Halley have to be At the heart of this module is a double unloaded onto the sea ice. They are then height light filled space clad with vertical dragged across this and up man-made and inclined high performance glazing snow ramps created in natural creeks at and translucent nanogel insulated panels. the cliff-like edge of the ice shelf. The sea It is planned to install a small hydroponics ice is precariously thin with a maximum greenhouse in this space to provide up to bearing capacity of only 9.5-metric 3 salads a week to the winter crew, who up tonnes, limiting the size of construction to now have been starved of fresh food for components. The space frame sub9-months a year. structure of the module was carefully designed within this limit so that it could The modules are arranged in a straight be delivered fully assembled giving an line perpendicular to the prevailing wind. excellent start to works on site. Similarly, Early design studies investigated attaching many of the station’s rooms and all the modules at node points to limit the length floors were designed to be prefabricated of circulation, but this arrangement so that they could be finished in factory complicated snow model studies. In a conditions and lifted into position on site straight line it is easy to predict that wind ready to use. driven snow will deposit in long tails on the leeward side. All vehicles therefore Tried and tested versus innovation track along the hard and icy windward side, avoiding the soft and uneven snow Survival in Antarctica is hard, and it is deposits on the leeward side. crucial that the modern research station eases life for the teams at work. The life To avoid the fate of previous stations, critical design of the station was therefore the modules are supported on giant developed to rely on tried and tested steel skis and hydraulically driven legs. technologies, although by necessity, these The hydraulic legs allow the station to were often applied in innovative ways mechanically “climb” up out of the snow from sectors apart from the construction every year to avoid being buried, and as industry. For example, the silicone rubber the ice shelf moves out towards the ocean, connectors between the modules have the modules can be lowered, using the to allow significant positional tolerance, hydraulic mechanism, onto the skis and so a company which usually makes towed by bulldozers to a new safer location connections between train carriages was further inland. Utilizing the scouring appointed to develop and manufacture the effect of the wind, the geometry of the connectors to suit the low temperatures modules has been developed to ensure and wider dimensions appropriate to a that the skis are kept free of snow for ease building. All water at the station is made of movement. with a melt tank, which uses significant amounts of energy. Water usage at the The Halley modules are constructed with a base was therefore reduced from 100 robust steel space frame substructure and litres / person / day to 50 litres / person braced portal frame superstructure, and / day through the introduction of aerated clad in pre-glazed painted fibre reinforced fittings and a vacuum drainage system, plastic (FRP) panels. The thickness of the adapted from a marine environment, panels is determined by the low U-value which was also the source of the bioreactor of 0.113 Wm2K required to maximize sewage treatment system. As space in thermal performance and minimize fuel Antarctica comes at a significant premium usage. The outer skin is linked across the (approximately £12,000 / square meter insulating body with resin infused fibre at Halley) the application of space to prevent delaminating under wind load. saving devices was crucial for economic Using FRP, panel sizes could be maximized viability and the sources of these spaceand weather tightness could be achieved efficient appliances inevitably came more using a single skin, helping to minimize frequently from the transport sector than erection time on site. This is crucial, as the the built environment. construction season is limited to 10 weeks. Within the modules, interior design will Prefabrication play a crucial part in determining the success of the project. For example, the Logistic constraints of the site were a colour scheme was developed in close significant factor in determining the consultation with a colour psychologist to

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help compensate for sensory deprivation, to provide stimulation where appropriate, and otherwise to help relax the residents. Within the bedrooms, a special light fitting was developed to help combat the effects of Seasonal Affected Disorder. The lamp uses daylight simulation and an alarm function to slowly adjust peoples red / white blood cell balance as they wake up during the dark winter months, helping limit time-keeping freefall which can often affect Antarctic residents when there is no outside daylight. Research and development In late 2006 the project was tendered to Galliford Try International, a British contractor who had previously worked in Antarctica with BAS. Initial stages of the contract involved significant research and the development of key technical aspects of the project, focusing in particular on the steel structure and FRP envelope. As the contractor was keen to package the frame and envelope together to ensure design co-ordination between the two, procurement was managed using design drawings and a performance specification for a sub-contract package of frame and envelope. The sub-contract was awarded to a South African consortium on economic, logistic and technical grounds, and because they had previously completed the envelope for a sub-Antarctic base on Marion Island. Early R&D stages focused on performance at extremes of temperature and achieving fire resistance of 30 minutes from both inside to outside and outside to inside with Class 1 surface spread of flame on the outside and Class 1 on the inside. Once sufficient panels were completed, a trial module was erected in Cape Town. Within the module, the prefabricated floors, service cassettes and two rooms were installed and hydraulics were successfully tested to verify the structural integrity of the space frame of the module when one leg was lifted, leaving support in only three points. Air infiltration was measured and achieved a rate of 0.1 metres3 per metre2 per hour at 50pa of pressure. The test module also gave site operatives an excellent opportunity to familiarize themselves with the assembly sequence and to make minor adaptations to ease progress on the ice. First Season Construction 2007-2008 In November 2007, construction materials for the new station were packaged in line with the stringent

A mock up module was constructed to test buildability, hydraulics and air tightness.

Space frame substructure of a module being towed across the sea ice after unloading from ice strengthened cargo ship. made

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Modules are clad in highly insulated composite panels made with glass reinforced polymers.

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One of the science modules has a glazed observation deck for 360째 views of the iceshelf.

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requirements of the Antarctic Treaty Environmental Protocol and shipped to Halley. On arrival in Antarctica, a factory line approach to the construction process proved a success with the substructure and super-structure frames for all standard modules first erected, prefabricated room modules, timber floors and service cassettes then installed, and, finally, primary energy components fitted. Six of the modules were then encased in PVC laminated vinyl fabric designed to withstand the Antarctic winter, while the seventh module was clad in the FRP panels as a final test of their suitability for use in Antarctica. Second Season Construction 2009-2010 By September 2009 all the panels for all the modules had been completed Poor Weather at Halley. and a second test erection of the large red central module was conducted. This trial was completed ahead of program and demonstrated the high level of quality, dimensional control and ease of erection which can be achieved with large FRP panels. The second construction season was equally successful and by the end of February 2010, when the season completed, all the modules had been fully clad. This season also proved the success of the design concepts for snow management, and the elevation and relocation of the modules. The first clad module had survived two winters with no snow build up underneath, as a consequence of designed wind scouring. On arrival for the second season, the module was successfully jacked using the hydraulic legs and towed to the construction line, all as conceived in the original competition design. The 2010-11 season will concentrate on interior fit out. Construction of the social module. Although much thought has gone into this aspect of the project, evaluation of the actual living conditions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; such as the success of the colour selection, the design of lighting for daylight simulation, and the provision of the open plan community space - cannot begin until occupation in January 2012. Halley VI: The Future When Halley VI becomes operational it will be the most advanced research station in Antarctica on technical, operational, environmental and social levels. Its flexibility will allow easy conversion of science modules to suit a rolling quinquennial science program The construction line at Halley VI. made

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while its state of the art architecture and interiors will both sustain the crew in unparalleled comfort and, vitally, attract cutting edge scientists to work in the Antarctic with BAS, justifying their radical approach to procurement and design. The key mark of the success of the station will be the additional time and improved environment available for science research at Halley. Juan Carlos 1 Spanish Antarctic Base For our own practice, the immediate success of the Halley project was the commissioning of a second Antarctic station design for Spain. The Superior Council of Scientific Investigation of Spain (CSIC) has been operating a summer only research station at 62º south on Livingstone Island since 1988. Livingstone Island is the second largest island in the South Shetland Islands archipelago, to the north west of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Completed modules at the end of the 2010 season.

Research at the base focuses on geology, meteorology, glaciology and biology with visiting scientists spending up to 4 months on base. In winter temperatures drop to around -25º C and in summer rise to an average +2º C, when the majority of snow on site melts to reveal the glacial moraine substrate. Strong winds buffet the station, regularly exceeding 200 kph. The ecology of Livingstone Island is extremely fragile. Alongside colonies of elephant seals, gentoo and chinstrap penguins the island is also home to the only flowering plants in Antarctica. The site of the station is also the location for extremely rare lichens and large areas are cordoned off to prevent human damage.

First completed module at Halley VI.

The station is run by the Maritime Technical Unit (UTM), based in Barcelona, with logistic support provided by their supply ship, the Las Palmas. Logistics are managed through both Punta Arenas in Chile and Ushuaia in Argentina, both of which are around 600 miles and 4 days sailing away. The base currently provides accommodation for a maximum of 20 people and is constructed using containerized and modular igloo accommodation. After 20 years in use the buildings on the site have now reached the end of their useful lives and are in desperate need of replacement. The CSIC therefore organized an international competition for the concept design for the total remodelling of the base. In October 2007, Hugh Broughton

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The existing Spanish base Juan Canos 1 on Livingstone island.

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Ariel view of the proposed Spanish base.

The station will be constructed using a monocoque composite structure, similar to a yacht or aeroplane. made

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View of the new station. The science module is separated for safety, providing a place of refuge in case of fire.

Architects were selected as winners of the competition with an extruded section modular design.

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without the need for major clearance created in fully accessible interstitial operations before services are fired up. It areas between the two geometries. This also limits connections with the ground, simplifies construction, detailing and reducing flood risk and any impact on the fire protection, which can be achieved Design of the new station rare lichens on the site. to the same standard as Halley using the inner cementitous based linings instead The habitat building comprises three Construction approach of relying on the panel constitution. In wings of accommodation arranged this way it is possible to form the FRP around a central core4 while the science The habitat and science buildings rings using unfilled polyester resins building is a separate structure far enough comprise modular fibre reinforced plastic under vacuum, avoiding the issues of away to provide a refuge in case of a major monocoque rings supported on legs, slow infusion associated with the filled fire within the habitat. The habitat will with ancillary space suspended below. polyester resins, which had to be used at provide sleeping accommodation for 24 Foundations are set into the moraines Halley. This is a clear demonstration of people in single rooms, with the option and are made in prefabricated concrete. successful application of lessons learnt in to double up and increase the population The monocoque structure combines one environment applied to another. to 48 in the future. Open plan areas at the inherent strength of FRP with the the ends of buildings have fully glazed natural strength of a tubular geometry Within the buildings the rooms, so that, for this project, steel structure floors and service distribution will end elevations. is not needed. This is important in such be prefabricated drawing upon the The location and orientation of the a corrosive marine environment. The successes of Halley. This approach also buildings makes best use of the monocoque structure also delivers other maximizes flexibility so that the station site topography and aspect, with benefits. Space is saved through adoption can continue to respond to the changing windows framing wonderful views of of a single system for structure and needs of Antarctic scientists for 20 years the surrounding land and seascapes. envelope; there are no complex structural or more â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whether in terms of space Balconies at each end also double up as interactions between materials with planning or service requirements. In line means of escape and as access at the start different performance characteristics; with this strategy bedrooms, bathrooms of the season. Although the site is free and the overall building weight is reduced and kitchens are planned as prefabricated pods whilst offices and labs utilize from snow for most of the summer season, minimizing excavation for foundations. on arrival in November the site can be partition systems, which can be moved under 3 meters of snow. Raising the As the outsides of the buildings are when needed to maximize flexibility. The accommodation above ground allows the circular and the insides are rectilinear, contemporary interior will be packed with team to enter the buildings more easily clear service distribution zones are areas for recreation and relaxation within

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The Southern Lights light up the winter sky over the first completed module at Halley VI.

industry, ranging from the rail to the aircraft sectors. The design aims to limit the stationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environmental impact while making best use of renewable energy. Solar and wind generated energy are already in use at Juan Carlos 1 to power scientific equipment during the winter months, when the station is unoccupied. Ancillary modular single storey buildings The new designs will extend this power arranged around the site provide space for source to allow for expansion of science technical equipment, waste management programs and utilization of renewable facilities and stores. Separation improves energy within the accommodation. robustness of the station in case of As life safety is critical, however, the fire. The ancillary buildings will also major power load will continue to be be constructed in FRP, raised above provided by four CHP generators in two ground on precast concrete foundations modules. Sewage will be treated using a and with timber cassette floors. Service bioreactor. Water production at the base distribution between these buildings will is complex: for parts of the summer a be managed in insulated ducts raised 1 stream runs next to the site, fed by melt metre above ground, which will provide water from lakes. At the start and ends easy access and maintenance without risk of the season, however, the stream does of water and ice penetration. One of the not run. The scheme therefore includes key requirements of the brief is that the both treatment of the stream water and a base is easy to open and close at the start reverse osmosis treatment plant to purify and end of each season with a limited seawater for consumption when the team from the UTM. stream is not running. a comfortable, uplifting environment designed to sustain both the community and the individual alike. Roof lights and glazed entrance areas will maximize daylight, reducing energy consumption and allowing the crew to continually engage with their surroundings.

Service systems

Construction process

Similar in approach to Halley, the proposed scheme utilizes the latest technologies from a broad spectrum of

At Halley the construction process was largely determined by the bearing capacity of the sea ice. For the Juan

Conclusion 100 years after Scott and Shackleton built their timber huts on this frozen continent, the designs for Halley VI and Juan Carlos 1 will propel Antarctic architecture into a new modern era, introducing the very best accommodation for both living and working achieved with ground breaking technologies and the latest building materials. The stations will be packed with stimulating areas for recreation and relaxation, and allow total flexibility for growth and change. They will be the envy of Antarctica; a beacon for sustainable living and, above all, they will provide an icon to draw attention to some of the most significant and influential science conducted on our planet today. made

Carlos base, the determining factor was the size of landing craft which can land on the beach without the need to construct an expensive pier head. Once landed, the rings of the station, which weigh between 2.5 - 3 tonnes each, can be erected relatively simply using a simple system of hydraulic lifts and temporary propping. The design for the new Spanish Antarctic Base allows for a fast and effective construction process, which maximizes off-site fabrication.

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Stepwells in North Western India Richard Cox Stepwells are a very particular form of traditional Indian architecture that can be found in North West India, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi and Haryana. Unlike the spectacular fortresses, palaces and temples, stepwells are not well known outside the SubContinent. The history of these stone wells date back to the 8th century, built in the first instance by the Hindus and latterly by the Mogul dynasties.

places, to meet and socialise and for personal worship.

now contains hundreds of sculptures of deities taken partly from the adjacent ruined temple.

The name stepwell aptly describes the method by which the water could be Abhaneri is typical of the stepped ponds collected. Following the Monsoon, wells or Kunds that are open to the sky but could be full or partially so, and those who distinctly different from the other main collected the water - nearly always women stepwell designs. Single shaft stepwells, - descended the steps to the water surface. like Neemrana built in 1700, is an As the season progressed, so the water exceptionally large and deep built well, receded through use and evaporation, and has shaded pavilion landings on leading one to descend deeper. In the each of its 9 levels, descending 200 feet Their siting and construction took deepest wells, this could mean descending below ground. Many other variations of these exist with two, three and into account a number of factors: the 200 feet below ground level. occasionally four stepped entrances, geological nature of the location, the although these are rarely deeper than presence of ground water, the natural Abhaneri Chand Baori seven floors. A third kind of well also features of the landscape, and the distinctive styles of the respective regions, One of the finest and largest wells ever can be seen in the Shakawati district whether constructed by the Hindus or constructed can be found off the Agra in the north of the Thar Desert. Jodahs Muslims. Built in arid regions, in villages road, 95 km north east of Jaipur in the are usually rectangular or circular lakes and cities, especially throughout the Dausa district of Rajasthan. Abhaneri with stepped sides, but are shallow in Thar Desert, they served to harvest water Chand Baori (built c. 825 AD) is an depth by comparison with other stepwell in reservoirs and as aquifers providing extraordinary example of its kind: at designs. These were often were built to nearly 200 feet square feet, it forms the accommodate direct access for livestock crucial access to water in desert regions. shape of an immense inverted pyramid by way of stone ramps. These wells were importantly also social on three sides, descending fourteen levels and religious centres, tanks and Kunds when empty. The fourth side comprises In the mid nineteenth century, the were nearly always built adjacent to a series of rooms and ante-chambers on British Raj closed down the stepwells, temples, and sometimes richly decorated four separate levels, whose occupancy is banning their use as unhygienic and with animals, flowers and Gods especially dictated by the relative level of the water replacing them with water pumps. This those built by the Hindus. Their multiple which rises and falls throughout the year. led to the widespread abandonment and dereliction of the wells. However, functions included entertainment, a place for recreational bathing and, by contrast, This stepwell is unusual in that it is an the extremely robust nature of their a place to bath and cleanse the body example of a Hindu original design that construction, many earthquake proof to was subsequently modified and repaired 7.6 on the Richter Scale, meant that a following a funeral ceremony. under Mogul supervision. Despite its great many still exist, and in recent years, In the villages and towns, they served considerable age, it is excellent condition. particularly in the last decade, some are a cohesive social role, providing resting The lower rooms and shrines are of now being fully restored. places during the fierce summer heat for Hindu design and date from the eighth travellers. Many wells were constructed century where as the upper and larger It is hoped that important sites, like with landings and pavilions reaching palace rooms were added by the Moguls Abhaneri and Neemrana, will be granted down as deep as 7 floors. In the lower in the eighteenth century. At about the World Heritage status by UNESCO, levels the subsequent drop in ambient same time the well was enclosed on recognising the important nature of this temperature provided cool resting all four sides by an arcade wall which aspect of Indian traditional architecture.

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Two libraries in Barcelona: Impressions and Reflections Ignasi Bonet Translation by Sergio Pineda Some students are sitting on the stairs, or on the stands, looking inwards towards the reading room. Other students stand on over a glass pavement over the access to the lobby. Another group stares outwards through the glazed façade, where the outside buildings appear to be almost touchable. Some others are leaning on a handrail a bit further up, looking towards the street where people walk and everyday life continues. They are from Cardiff and have come to Barcelona to study its architecture. I think this is one of the best places to empathize with this city’s life: we have the pleasure to be chatting for a while above one of the main crossroads of the ancient Vila de Gracia, a place marked by a unique tempo and character. The design of this exceptional mirador is the work of the architect Josep Llinas – though he was only commissioned to create a library, the Vila de Gracia Library. It is not the first time that Llinas has created more with less. Much more than just a library, his response to the site

‘It is adapted to the meticulous scale of its neighbourhood […] By creating a series of small breaks at ground level it opens up the urban space without taking away from the strength of the street’s formal unity. By incorporating small collective uses and opening new perspectives, the project creates interferences between urban space and architecture. The multiple angles of the project transform the pavement – so expressionless and flat –into a place where more stable encounters may happen. In short, this architecture radically transforms its surrounding urban space without losing any of its identifying values’1.

projects are forced to cope with corners in tight urban locations characterised by high density. At Calle del Carme it was possible to widen the street by slimming the actual built form, whilst at the Gracia library the conditions suggested the creation of a threshold on the corner that precedes the main entrance. Here the verticality of the corner allows new perspectives and visual connections between indoor and outdoor spaces, as we’ll see further down. The two strategies are different, but the results are the same: generous public spaces for casual meetings and encounters. This quality is especially significant for the library as meeting place for city-dwellers, starting point of new dialogues and fleeting site of sudden civic synergies. An expanded threshold at the junction of Torrent de l’Olla and Travessera de Gracia becomes – in a rather unexpected way – essential to a building that aspires to be the key civic reference of its district.

The case of the library deals with a different use and context, but both

Llinas achieves this within a tough context by pushing the actual potential of the site

resolves brilliantly – with intelligence and sensitivity – an important corner, giving way to new visual relationships and startling dialogues. Some years ago Oriol Bohigas commented on one of Llinas’ projects (Housing Development on Carrer del Carme):

(left) Vila de Gracia Library, Josep Llinas, Architect. Image © Julio Cunill. (above) Vila de Gracia Library, Josep Llinas, Architect. Image © Josep Llinas. made

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Vila de Gracia Library, Josep Llinas, Architect. Image ÂŠ Julio Cunill.

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Vila de Gracia Library, Josep Llinas, Architect. Image © Julio Cunill.

to its limit. Typical of the Gracia district are sites with no more than 200 square metres and a width of just 8 metres – the library’s site is no exception. The location of a 1,300 square metre programme is not easy under these conditions. A simple layering of the activities will result in at least 6 stories (6!). The initial sketches of the early design stages must have been utterly underwhelming given the unfeasibility of establishing relationships between different levels of the building. Add to this the impossibility of providing the reading rooms with a public character, the difficulties of resolving appropriately the vertical circulation, and fire regulations that prevent the main staircase from being anything but a shaft – at first glance, a compelling design must have seemed unattainable. Functional zoning determined the location of the lobby and the magazine lounge at ground level, the kid’s library on the first floor, the general reading rooms on 2nd and 3rd floors and the private working rooms alongside admin areas in the 4th floor. A large study lounge was placed in the basement with the multifunctional room which can be used as a small lecture room or exhibition space. Once the underlying functional and formrelated conditions were in place, Llinas prepared himself to ‘tenaciously dispossess’ the project’s architecture and unwrap its narrative as if peeling off the successive layers of an onion.2 Under this premise,

Vila de Gracia Library, Josep Llinas, Architect. Image © Josep Llinas.

he unveiled an arsenal of tactics, some of which he had used in previous projects. To begin with, the building is separated from the adjoining party walls, providing lower and basement levels with natural light. A sky-light illuminates the kid’s library whilst subtly bathing one of the walls in the magazine lounge, creating a backdrop to the activities on ground level. Small secondary stairs are scattered about, helping to avoid “cul de sac” spaces and giving character to the different areas of the building. Double heights are successfully inserted as a strategy to connect the second and third levels, as well as the third and fourth levels. These double heights are located next to the general reading rooms. Llinas proposes a delicious miniature spiral staircase with a broken geometry that provides a unique vantage point outwards. Walking up the stairs with the Cardiff students, in silence as in a religious procession, one

Another double height staircase connects the basement with the ground level. Its façade is glazed and it runs parallel to the street, in such a way that those using it are visible from the pavement (once again!). This setup enables those in the basement to perceive the street – at the very least they can sense its presence. This space is notably qualified by the semi-circular bench in the magazine lounge which defines its upper border, as well as a skylight and the foundations of an ancient structure which have not been removed. Whether these historic masses remained on site by virtue of the architect or an external requirement, they remind visitors of the site’s distant past. made

has a sudden view of the street, and one’s presence in the city is re-affirmed. Visitors can literally feel the tone of the street as they revolve around a space that hovers beyond the façade and the border of the site. Once again, city meets architecture.

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Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver Library, RCR Arquitectes. Image © Pep Sau.

A similar operation is performed at a smaller scale at the other side of the building over the main staircase to the basement. The manoeuvre rescues the space from becoming a bleak and forbidding cavity, successfully distributing the light coming from an opening with nearly squared proportions.

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The brief did not specify a kid’s library with visual or spatial connections to other spaces. But Llinas did not hesitate in providing a solution with more than just 4 walls and a ceiling. In order to open visual relationships (once again in relation to the city) he included a cylindrical prism at the end of the space hovering over the pavement. He located here an area for ‘performative’ reading of stories for children, and provided a horizontal window in such a way that kids can feel as if they are part of the movement in the street below them. In turn, those in the cylinder become part of the visual landscape of pedestrians outside. The presence of library users in the public realm (one of the client’s requirements) is here interpreted and skilfully materialised.

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But the most radical of all the operations carried out by the architect is (in my eyes) the hollowing of the corner, which connects up to 4 different levels. It may be possible to imagine the quality of the resulting space from plans, sections and axonometric drawings, but to really understand its complexity, it is necessary to visit the atrium in person. In a gesture that defines the identity of the corner, the space provides – in first instance – a place of shelter and a sitting area for those arriving in the library. Visitors then have a first glimpse of what they will encounter upstairs in the form of a double height space – the lobby. Ascending toward the upper levels, one discovers a rainstorm of what seems to be ancient graphic characters. It later is explained (in the walls of the staircase) that these are letters of early Mediterranean alphabets. The corner embodies a confluence of street clatter, individual memories and cultures – the richness of diversity. Inside, users of the library will convert different understandings into knowledge. This massive hollow space with its soup of ancient letters seems to be referring to this. 20

When we reach the second floor we rediscover the double height cavity from a new perspective, in a bird’s-eye view from within the silence of the library. A glazed pathway over the huge void leads us towards a staircase connecting to the third floor. The glazed passage is an exceptional podium to witness the movement outside – a rare location to read, contemplate and connect with the city at the same time. This is where our group has paused to contemplate the surroundings. This is where I first understand in its full dimension the relationship between this library, the city and the essence of each one of them (urbs and civitas). The architect has found solutions such as voids, double-height hollows, and multiple secondary staircases in an effective attempt to deal with a restrictive site and a brief packed with constraints. In short, significant spatial constraints and an apparent deficit of square metres have propelled the project forward and the architect has – apparently – stood back (Llinas always does so) to let the architecture happen on its own, as

Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver Library, RCR Arquitectes. Image © RCR Arquitectes.

if naked. In this sense, this truly is a ‘dispossessed’ architecture.3 A lattice of small vertical apertures defined by metallic profiles in the façade reduces (to the naked eye) the scale of the building and grounds it in its context. The hovering volumes compensate the area subtracted by internal voids. Stucco and timber elements complete an awe-inspiring façade with an almost ‘symphonic’ sense of tempo in the city (perhaps these elements are like instruments being tuned4?). What may at first glance come across as a frivolous gesture assumes now its true identity as a decisive step towards a design of internal principles and a rigorous response to challenging requirements. These internal mechanisms are born from Llinas’ will to generate welcoming spaces with ‘a friendly and atmospheric attention to others. Just as passengers on a bus: in silence, without any discourse or communication – providing each other with company.5 His architecture can always be counted on to protect and give comfort to those using it.

Two days later we are in a seating area hovering over a public passage in the Eixample district. The Eixample is, in fact, below us and around us, in the form of multiple facades that look like theatre backdrops. To one side we have a street and to the other the internal courtyard of a densely built block. We happen to be in the presence of books in this evocative space. City views, books and extracts from the sky help to consolidate a place that is, in fact, similar to the Gracia Library: a combination of built city and culture ideal for thoughtfulness and contemplation. Given its size and privileged location, this seating area is in fact the principle space of another library. Carmen Pigem – from architectural practice RCR – is about to tell us (in a gentle voice) her practice’s design intentions for the project, the Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver Library. As in Gracia, the brief established a series of constraints that forced the architects to take a forceful approach. The building – elegant and rich in nuances as all RCR’s projects – has been conceived

The original brief – a competition – asked to fit three separate programmes (a library, a civic centre for pensioners and a garden) on a site formerly occupied by industrial spaces. In a sensible move the project locates the pensioners’ areas with a garden for children in a courtyard framed by the library. The use of the library and its outward looking façade provides a robust public presence for the development. The project was always intended as a ‘bridge-building’, or a ‘door-building’, connecting the public realm with an internal courtyard at the centre of the city block. This type of solution is becoming increasingly common in the Eixample district – the original concept made

with clarity and distinctiveness. I feel compelled to look at these two libraries as corresponding efforts in spite of their fundamental differences in tectonics and formal tactics. In first place, challenging briefs seem to have triggered immoderate approaches in both cases. In second place, each one of these libraries plays with the visitor’s perception by formulating interior spaces intensely related to the city.

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Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver Library, RCR Arquitectes. Image ÂŠ RCR Arquitectes.

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for these courtyards by Idelfons Cerda has been revived over the last 20 years in an important effort to recuperate them as green public patios. A connection to these civic voids is usually achieved by an opening at ground level which punctuates the continuity of the outer facades. The Eixample’s urban paradigm (113m X 113m blocks with chamfered corners at 45 º and streets that run 20 m in width) defines a vast extension of Barcelona’s inner city. The recuperation of these inner voids is now critical if this highly densified part of town intends to have a green agenda and incorporate trees and vegetation. Aranda, Pigem and Vilalta (directors at RCR Architects) embrace radically the strategy of the ‘building as a bridge’ – or ‘building as door.’ They propose two solid bands separated by a light band that performs as the main entrance to the courtyard at the centre of the block. From the street one can see the internal facades of the buildings onto the courtyard, the vegetation, and the sky. Two glazed volumes – containing the main reading rooms – are suspended within the space as a transparent presence producing innumerable reflections. The spatial stratification6 is marked by the silhouettes of readers and library visitors who suddenly become part of the cityscape. Achieving an analogous effect to that of the Gracia Library, here public realm (defining component of city character) intermingles with culture and books (defining constituents of civil identity) as two sides of one same coin. Urbs and civitas, once again. In addition to the essential challenges of resolving a ‘bridge building,’ RCR had to add the difficulty of inserting an architectural object in a consolidated urban context. The fact of dealing with a densely built metropolitan context was a new kind of hurdle in their design process as most of their projects are born from a direct dialogue with locations privileged with verdant natural surroundings. It’s as if their proposed objects had a need for openness in order to breath – as if they required nature around them in order to be clothed. This relationship with nature occurs in most of their houses, all located within the dense forests of the constituency of Garrotxa. Here, abundant rain all year round and copious amounts of forestry produce a charcoalcoloured light in which hills and country gleam in countless shades of green. This is where RCR is accustomed to insert its

Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver Library, RCR Arquitectes. Image © RCR Arquitectes.

Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver Library, RCR Arquitectes. Image © Pep Sau. made

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Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver Library, RCR Arquitectes. Image © Pep Sau.

pure, abstract, sharply defined objects of powerful materiality. This is where the practice distils and synthesises matter, object and nature. Within the artificial cityscape the object/ nature duality is broken. RCR resorts to openness (voids) to define the line of thought that drives the designs for the library. To my view, the library is born out of producing an exception to its built surroundings: the library is a void within the dense built continuity of the Eixample. It is within the void that one can experience the most interesting moments – or where spaces become true locations of privilege for users.

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The lightness of the central band in the overall scheme is by no means a random choice. Rather, it is at the core of the project, and it is where RCR locates the main reading rooms, the key seating areas and the children’s rooms. The two solid bands flanking this central axis of light exist as a background, or rather, as a series of backdrops that define a stage for the emptiness.7 In this sense, the solid bands are secondary within the narrative of the project

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– they are what remains after producing the void. This becomes even more evident if one contemplates a scaled model of the project: the solid bands are the result of subtracting a volume with the size and typology of a typical Eixample building. The cavity is the stage where all relevant events take place: the main reading rooms, the access to the library, the connecting threshold with the surrounding city. Visitors discover slowly the interior gardens as they make their way through the threshold, which is defined by the suspended volumes not only spatially, but almost gravitationally, as if their pendant weight kept the void’s tautness. By definition a threshold welcomes/ protects those who go through it whilst prefiguring a situation of transition and change8. This is where the entrance to the library occurs. This is where the magazines section becomes a showcase of the library in direct dialogue with the public realm. This is where one can access the library, exit the building and meet with others. This is where we’ve met with the group of students. This is where we shall say goodbye. 24

In my view the ‘building as a door’ is configured mainly through the staging of the void. In similar fashion to the programme distribution at the Gracia Library, the magazines section is on the ground floor, the children’s section is on the first floor, the main reading rooms are in the upper floors and the multi-functional rooms (lecture room / study room) along with the exhibitions room are on the basement. The only difference is the location of the admin/ office spaces, which are on the basement in this case. It seems that in the preliminary concept design, the two solid bands were to be packed with books and contained all vertical circulations (lifts, stairs, emergency exit shafts, M&E shafts, etc) in order to liberate the suspended volumes within the void. In the built design, this concept is fine-tuned so that double and triple height spaces lighten the fullness of the solid bands and provide visual connections between the different levels/ circulations. In parallel, their solidity is regulated by the tectonic definition of the façade – vertical metallic bands

Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver Library, RCR Arquitectes. Image © Pep Sau.

Sant Antoni Joan Oliver Library. © RCR Arquitectes. made

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Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver Library, RCR Arquitectes. Image © RCR Arquitectes.

that enable a degree of transparency and interior/exterior views. The filtering façade (an array of vertical bands, metallic or glazed) is a device previously used by RCR in a variety of cases and ranges. They seem to be a practice interested in indexing the endless expressive possibilities of materials (particularly steal) and studying materials as if interrogating them in order to obtain answers for their projects. In the Library, the main staircase ascends discretely behind the steel frontage. After dawn, the staircase appears de-lineated though undrawn behind the steel components. As we contemplate the project from the seating area and Carme Pigem explains the project, some students fix their gaze on the Eixample facades, or just stare into the vastness. Before us, towards the street, we can see cornices, friezes, balconies, a motif in the stucco patterns, the steal balustrades or the plantain branches. As we ascend towards the top of the seating area, we discover a bird’s-eye view of the internal garden. Here, the Eixample surroundings reveal their more intimate self: the drying laundry, the open blinds, the signal antennas, the A.C. boxes, and a series of enormous galleries with bicycles, gas cylinders and sun loungers. The street and the internal courtyards of the Eixample are two opposite worlds and the library sits right in between them as a threshold. A threshold/seating-area with views onto both worlds, interior and exterior:9 opposite (complimentary) directionalities. These are the worlds perceived by those in the library as they pause their reading and lift their gaze from their books. The dialogue

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Sant Antoni-Joan Oliver Library, RCR Arquitectes. Image © Pep Sau.

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between writers and readers unfolds with the city as a backdrop. One’s perception of the library is permeated by its surrounding cityscape – just as the RCR houses in the Garrotxa countryside are permeated by their surrounding landscapes. Visitors can now re-affirm their presence in the city – Barcelona.10 I feel captured again by the sense that it has been a wise decision to visit these projects with the students in order to enable an understanding of the city and its architecture.

architectural response – a challenge to which the teams responded with a wealth of profound, intelligent and sensible arguments.

As we leave I can’t avoid considering the clear differences in the work of Llinas

and RCR – their different use of spatial language, their dissimilar conceptions of architecture, and their disparate use of formal devices. It seems easy to view them as antagonistic efforts. But such a view is clearly short-sighted: each one of these projects enables a sense of place and becomes indispensable in configuring the character of its surroundings (and the city) as a result of a radical and clear response to a brief for a public building. Sites and programmes with tough constraints propelled the projects forward (as opposed to limiting them) by challenging the design teams to produce a high quality

1 Bohigas, O. “Arquitectura a Ciutat Vella”. In: Del dubte a la revolució. Epistolari públic. (Barcelona: Edicions 62, S.A., 1998) p. 57-60. ISBN 84-297-4493-2. 2 Llinás writes: ‘I’m interested especially in architecture as a practice focussed on the primary conditions of a building (use, construction, etc), where the architect is limited (by choice) to tenaciously dispossess the architecture, as if peeling off the successive layers of an onion made out of complicit similarities and masks. Such an architect proceeds with this un-ending and tedious procedure only because he hopes to discover, at the very end of the process, the true identity of the project.’ Llinás, J. “Respuesta a una solicitud”. In: Saques de esquina. [Girona]: Demarcació de Girona, (Collegi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya – Editorial Pre-Textos, 2002) p. 33-34. ISBN 84-8191-465-7. 3 Juan Antonio Cortes describes the architectural mechanisms by which Llinas proceeds to ‘dispossess the architecture’ in “‘A Permanent Sacrifice.’ Many of these mechanisms are used to resolve the composition of the Gracia Library (de-compose, shatter, stagger, subtract, rupture of profiles, obliteration of frontage, etc). (CORTÉS, J.A. “Una permanente renuncia”. El Croquis

(2005), n. 128. ISSN 0212-5633). 4 In ‘Day and Night’ Llinas refers to one of his projects in the following terms: “The result I’m looking for is closer to the sound of a symphonic orchestra tuning before a concert than to actual music”. (LLinás, J. “Día y noche”. En Josep Llinás. (Madrid: Tanais Ediciones, s.a., 1997) p. 12-15. ISBN 84-496-0022-7) 5 Ibid. 6 This filtering mechanism along with other strategies mentioned in this text are analysed by Juan Antonio Cortés in ‘The Atributes of Nature.’ Los Atributos de la Naturaleza. CORTÉS, J.A. ‘Los Atributos de la Naturaleza.’ El Croquis (2007), n. 138. ISSN 0212-5633. 7 In ‘Test for an architectural exam,’ RCR provide their own answers to a series of questions. For example: ‘Is silence musical? Yes! Are voids built? No, they are staged. First you identify the void, then you articulate it.’ Later, in the same text: ‘To empty or to surround? The sculptural/ architectural space needs both terms to make space evident. Space becomes perceivable when it’s defined just as colours become visible only when they are under light.’ El Croquis [Madrid] (2003), n. 115/116 [III]. ISSN 0212-5633. 8 In the same text (Test for an architectural exam) RCR

explain: ‘Where does it happen? It’s always in between. In between what? In the threshold between things, in between opposites, in between dualities, in between complementary things.’ 9 In ‘The Attributes of Nature.’ Juan Antonio Cortes mentions the idea of ‘architecture as a frame’ that can outline and enclose views onto a given landscape. He elaborates this idea into the concept of a double frame: ‘Many RCR buildings are defined by a double frame: one house, for example, opens up onto two diametrically opposed views so that there is a fluid sense of space that runs through the house. This enables an exterior-interior-exterior continuity. This kind of building is not an obstacle in the landscape, but much rather a device for the circulation of air, light and views.’ This concept of the ‘double frame’ is fully applicable to their Library. 10 In ‘Test for an architectural exam’ (as quoted above) RCR explain: ‘Is anything permissible in a Non-Place? No. One has to try to make it a Place. And in a Place? No. One has to understand it profoundly in order to bring out it’s best features. In regards to Place, would you prefer to conquer or to be conquered? Neither. One should seek a dialogue amongst equals in order to find a new solid unity.’

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The group of students visiting from Wales linger in the threshold and continue chatting for several minutes. It’s raining outside – luckily we are all covered by the building. People start saying their good-byes as the sunset dawns upon us. The library glows – it’s light bathes the surrounding public realm as if it were a lamp. See you later; in catalan we say “a reveure”.

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Time out

View

Counselling

Pause

Office Drink Brochure Art Waiting

Enter SERICC

Stair Lift

Entrance Church Hall Church

relief upset COCOON QUIET CALM PROTECTIVE GLIMPSE not alone DISTRACTIONS INFORMATIVE SECURE escape nervous distressed INSTITUTION WELCOME REFUGE scared anxious RELIGION MORALISTIC

Little Utopias Sarah Featherstone The design of a Rape and Incest Crisis Centre demands a challenging architectural response to an extreme social condition. Sexual violence against women and girls is, even now, an unspoken social taboo and those offering support have to battle for government recognition and funding. For this reason there seems to be little or no historical precedents for buildings or environments that respond to this need. As Sheila Coates, director of The South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre (SERICC), bluntly explained, ‘women had nowhere to go - they blamed themselves’.

and independent centre, which is nonjudgmental and non-religious. For the past two decades they have offered a valuable service to the local community, providing support, advocacy and counseling for women and girls. Many of these centres are located in makeshift premises, struggling to provide the appropriate therapeutic environment in which to support women. SERICC is no exception, itself located in a Church Hall within the grounds of a graveyard - a bleak setting with religious, moralistic overtones that SERICC were keen to disassociate themselves from.

blame. Window pods placed on the outside of the building immediately softened the bleak approach to the centre. Inside the pods serve individual counseling rooms – intimate, cocoon-like spaces – each offering a different atmosphere favoured by different women. Somehow, the pods have a cosy, animalistic quality and have come to be known affectionately, as the ‘listening ears’. ‘… the pods, and their irregular, organic shapes lends the scene an almost fairytalelike sweetness. It is not an attempt to compete with the impact of the graveyard, but rather to remove its sting’.3

Many women would have turned to their When SERICC approached us to extend priest or doctor for help, but to little avail. and review the centre’s facilities it was key Medically, sexual abuse was usually treated that we understood not only the centre’s When considering the kind of space that as a symptom-based condition, with the physical requirements but also its social may be appropriate for a crisis centre, long term depression that characterized status and the psychological mindset of Beatrix Potter is again relevant. As architect, it often being treated by incarceration in the women who used it. Our practice is Alison Smithson suggested in her essay, mental asylums. The Church was often already preoccupied with how people’s ‘Beatrix Potter Spaces’, the imaginary and oppressive and manipulative, applying stories and behaviour can inform the alternative worlds of children’s fiction moralistic views that made it difficult practice of architecture, so with a complex reflect a psychological need for intimate for a woman who wanted to terminate a agenda, a difficult location and few spaces, nooks, crannies and alcoves. An pregnancy caused by rape. Convents and precedents, we focused our initial work introverted need for smaller and safer missionaries were seen as safe-houses but on listening to the women who visited the versions of reality – ‘little utopias’4. even here victims were often made to feel centre. The women’s stories about their dirty and wicked for being raped. No journey for help led us to develop diagrams Recently, Beatrix Potter’s Mrs. Tiggysurprise that young girls and women felt that re-presented their experiences in Winkle character amusingly inspired the unable to vocalise their abuse and found relation to spaces. This was a reciprocal naming of a possible new architectural themselves forced to find other ways of process that evolved in to emotional movement, Tiggy-Winklism5, that was coping, often withdrawing in to their own maps, demonstrating that the physical attributed to practices such as ourselves environment did have a substantial impact who create intimate, unearthly spaces. make-believe worlds. upon the women’s wellbeing and state of Perhaps at SERICC we have created Since the 1970’s the taboo surrounding mind. For example, the unwelcoming an environment which is somewhere sexual violence has begun to lift, largely Churchyard approach and also the shared between reality and fiction. Perhaps Tiggydue to feminist groups lobbying and institutional facilities within the Hall that Winklism is an appropriate architectural raising its profile in the media. Women were reminders of the harsh environments typology for such crisis’ centres. An began to speak out about their abuse, of police cells, hospitals and courtrooms architecture that whilst wholly placed in for example Maya Angelo1 in her book, that women often experienced in relation reality, enables women to rid themselves of which later inspired the film, The Colour to their abuse. This working method their social-self and allow them to embrace Purple. Other authors also sought to raise not only developed a useful design tool the freedom of the animal-self, just like awareness, Bryan Talbot’s ‘The Tale of but also a communication tool both Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle shed her clothes at the One Bad Rat’2 is centered around Beatrix for our dialogues with the women and end of the tale and ran off in to the woods. Potter’s alleged sexual abuse, which she for SERICC to use when explaining to herself never really confronted, (it has funders the fearful journey women and 1 Maya Angelo, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings been suggested her fairytale worlds were a girls took when accessing their services. 2 Bryan Talbot, a 4 issue comic book, ‘The Tale of One reaction to this trauma). Bad Rat’ What we hope we achieved in the new 3 Peter Kelly, Blueprint, May 2006. Charles Holland, Fantastic Journal, ‘Little England’ Refuge centres began to emerge and centre was a balance between reality and 4 blog, November 2008. today SERICC is one of the oldest imaginary - a place where women and girls 5 ‘Pottering about with a new ism’, Building Design running centres in the UK. It is a charity felt safe and free to unburden themselves of January 30, 2009. made

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FogHive©: Fog Collection and Sustainable Architecture in the Atacama Coast Dr. Cristian Suau It seems imperative to integrate renewable energy and climatic design in zero-carbon buildings in arid lands by employing natural and social sciencebased innovations applied in natural or built environs. The aim of this initial study is twofold: on one hand, to establish general climatic design codes for potential fog collection in different scales and, on another hand, to augment the rate and yield of fog collection used for irrigation and also drinking water in natural and urban areas.

implementing appropriate low-passive energy technologies; and combining hydrophobic and shading fabrics. The design upgrades the following aspects:

The purpose is to incorporate zerocarbon design in sustainable landscape and architectural design and thus envision potential inhabitation through autonomous space-frame configurations along the coast of Tarapacá Region in Chile. In a sequential way, this study distinguishes three scales of interventions: territorial, local and domestic.

3. Reducing installation and maintenance of fog collection (material research)

This research integrates climatic, structural and constructional factors by employing agile space-frame fogtraps;

1. Increasing rate and yield of advection fog by taking into account harvesting rate and climatic parameters 2. Structural reinforcement of fog collectors through lightweight, modular and deployable polygonal space-frames

4. Purification of drinking water due to concentrations of pollutants 5. Lowering frame impacts on ground and surrounding mainly in lomas The survey methods consist of a literature review; fieldwork; a comparative analysis of existing fog collection’s techniques; and climatic design simulations.

The Coast Of Atacama Desert: A Hydro-Eolic Lab It is well-known that the phenomenon of desertification is caused by both climate change and the actions of man (United Nations Environment Programme). In the case of Chile, the land degradation of arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas is the result of two main variables: El Niño’s climatic performance and massive mining activities along the Andes Range, which require large amounts of surface and subterranean water resources for extracting, processing and transporting minerals. Parts of Atacama Desert have not reported a drop of rain since recordkeeping began. Somehow, more than a million people squeeze life from this parched land. Stretching 1000 kilometres from Peru’s southern border into northern Chile, the Atacama Desert rises from a thin coastal shelf to the ‘pampas’ 1. There are sterile, intimidating stretches where

(left) Sunset in the Atacama Desert and its ‘Camanchaca’ phenomenon in Alto Patache, Chile. (above) Map of coastal fog oases in the Region of Tarapaca, Chile: Alto Patache and Cerro Guanaco (nearby Alto Hospicio, Iquique). Source: Suau, 2010. made

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The coldest months are from June to September. The highest frequency of fog is during September. The mean month relative humidity is constantly high at over 80%. The highest mean value is 86%.

wind

S-SW

plain

pacific ocean From 700m to 850m altitudes showed the best fog water collection potential. From 650m down slope, fog water collection is negligible during all months of the year. Wind almost always blows from the South. Wind speeds at 1400 are 5.6 m/s. In winter months at 0800 AM windless or light breezes frequently prevail from the East and Northeast.

atacama coastal desert - chile

SUAU©

axo-section options of fog-catchers

Options of three-dimensional fog collector’s arrays in the fog oasis of Alto Patache. Option A: attached; option B: detached; and option C: stacked. Source: Suau.

rain has never been measured. Without moisture, nothing rots. Everything turns into perpetual vastness.

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Settlements are established into coastal cities, mining complexes, fishing villages, and oasis towns. Along much of the coast of northern Chile, rainfall is so scarce that remote communities have long had to import water by trucks, a quite expensive and inefficient supply process, in order to survive. In the Atacama’s coastline, a dense fog known as ‘Camanchaca’ is abundant. Despite its aridity, the Atacama Desert hosts an impressive variety of plant life. The fog feeds flora called ‘ lomas’, isolated islands of vegetation that can contain a wide variety of species, from cactuses to ferns.

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According to environmentalist and activist groups, about 34% of the Atacama’s total land surface is affected by this dehydration process. With no rainfall, the depletion and pollution of freshwater sources, and the existing pressures of urban population densities in the port cities, the current administration seems in weak in the attempt to mitigate and trim down the precious water exploitation caused by the mining sector. Demographic data shows how rural settlements are shrinking, or simply depopulating and immigrating to port cities such as Antofagasta or Iquique. It is urgent to develop a map that shows how this territory is at risk by exposing current water resources and the shrinkage of rural 32

settlements and degradation of fertile hectares used for agriculture. Water scarcity intrudes just as harmfully on communities less accustomed to managing with freshwater shortages, from the high valleys of the mountains to coastal hillside of slums. As a result, this fragile ecological linkage is experiencing the loss of regional biodiversity. Research By Design We have to find new ways to tackle climate into sustainable living by providing a more effective and holistic management of renewable energies like solar, wind and water supplies, particularly when it is reinforced by science-based innovations

in the landscape, urban and domestic scale. This initial study is determined as much by climatic and geographic factors as by any alternative for appropriate technologies. The main aim is stopping desertification by repairing endangered fog oases ecosystems, and harvesting water for drinking and irrigation and fostering potential inhabitation in selfsufficient polyhedral configurations along the coast of the TarapacĂĄ Region, Chile. Due to intermittent winds, we also can obtain regular wind-based electricity. Decades of pioneer applied research developed by University del Norte (1957) and recently continued by the Centro del Desierto de Atacama (CDA) have demonstrated that some of the most influential responses to these scarcities have been mounted at the level of fog oasis, farming fields, local villages and impoverished neighbourhoods. The initial research stage (2010) has critically revised the studies made by the hydrologist Christiaan Gischler2 and three-dimensional fogtrap prototypes (so called macro-diamonds) developed by Carlos Espinosa and Ricardo Zuleta in Camanchaca laboratory. Based on these precedents, this survey updated and collected climatic and geographic data provided by CDA combining meeting

with experts and fieldwork in two fog oases: Alto Patache and Cerro Guanaco. Both are unique natural environments, although the latter is close to an urban settlement and is more vulnerable. The final stage was to elaborate standard design codes for 3D fog catchers and integrate the principles of polyvalence in each design. To achieve the fog collectorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; shape, frame and components, I took into account three main climatic factors: wind (direction and speed), humidity and temperature. Parametric design was used to test various solutions of water collection in different scales, from landscape to domestic. A Glance On Conventional Two-Dimensional Fogtraps The more fog, the more wind. Fog catchers are structurally fragile devices. Nets tear, pipes leak, and wind can blow the whole structure over. Metal frames and tensors normally corrode, and birds attack nets, ruining the process of fog trapping. The conventional fog collectors3 utilised in Chile are twodimensional tensile devices waving delicately on the tops of coastal arid cliffs. These structures use long and light nets mostly made with polypropylene; glistening with moisture, they transform

fog into precious water for reforestation, cultivation fields or small communities on the slopes below. Fog collection deals with horizontal precipitation. It actually imitates the missing link of trees. Once trees grow, they serve as natural fog catchers. A forest in a waterless area can trap and drip as much water into the dry soil as any idyllic rainfall. These nets stand perpendicular to the prevailing wind, which blows fog into the woven plastic mesh. From there, droplets group and then fall into gutters that carry the water to collection tanks. The collector itself is completely passive, and the water is conveyed to the storage system by gravity. If topographic conditions are favourable, the stored water can also be conveyed by gravity to the point of use. The storage and distribution system usually consists of a plastic channel or PVC pipe approximately 110 mm in diameter which can be connected water hose for conveyance to the storage site/point of use. Storage is usually in a closed cistern. Chlorination of storage tanks may be necessary if the water is used for drinking purposes. Nevertheless there are some technical aspects that need to be upgraded: The current technology represents a significant risk investment unless a pilot

The hexagonal footprint seems the most efficient way to response climatically to shading and fog water capture aspects. It secures the best length/height ratio for 3D fog collectors, which is 1:1 or 1:2 (proportional dimensions). Source: Suau. made

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Plans and axonometric models of FogHiveÂŠ - model 4. Source: Suau.

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Climatic parameters, fog water collection and yield applied in 4 FogHiveÂŠ models. Source: Suau.

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FOGHIVEÂŠ: stationary polyhedral fog collector

Across section of FogHiveÂŠ. Source: Suau.

project is first carried out to quantify the potential rate and yield that can be anticipated from the fog harvesting rate and the periodicity of the fog within the area. Community participation in the process of developing and operating these technologies to reduce installation, operating and maintenance costs. If the harvesting area is not close to the points of use, the installation of the pipeline needed can be very pricey, especially in abrupt areas. The technology is very sensitive to changes in climatic conditions, which could affect the water content and frequency of occurrence of

fogs. A backup water supply to be employed during low-harvest periods is recommended. In Chile, fog water has failed to meet drinking water quality standards because of concentrations of chlorine, nitrate, and some minerals derived from mining sector. It is mostly used for horticulture and forestry. Design Factors For Fogtraps In The Atacama Desert It is well-known that the occurrence of fogs can be assessed from reports compiled by climatic stations (i.e.: airports, research units, etc). To be successful, this

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technology should be located in areas where favourable climatic conditions exist such as the fog oases along the Atacama coast. Since fogs are carried to the harvesting site by intermittent winds, the topographic shape and orientation towards prevailing winds, solar position and wind speeds/directions will be prominent in determining the success of fog collectors. In order to increase the yield and harvesting of water collection, we have to augment the size and material properties of nets (colours, patterns, filaments types and hydrophobic features). The study highlights several factors that should be considered in selecting an appropriate site for fog harvesting in Atacama coast:

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Wind speed and velocity The high-pressure area in the eastern part of the South Pacific Ocean produces onshore, southwest winds in northern Chile for most of the year. Prevailing/ secondary winds (S-SW) are ideal for advent fog collection. Wind almost always blows from the South. Wind speeds at 14.00pm rise to 5.6 m/s. In winter months at 08.00am, conditions are windless or with light breezes, below 2m/s in April. Air temperature and fog water content The higher the formation, the lower the air temperature. In the coast of Tarapacá Region, the cooler months are from May to October. Hot seasons are from November to March4. For instance, in Alto Patache the high average temperature reaches 18C and the low temperature reaches roses 9.9C; the daily temperature lap is 7.7 C. The highest frequency of fog condensation occurs during September. There is a relationship between temperature and fog collecting: the cooler the mesh surface, the more water is collected. Relative humidity The higher is the formation the high is the relative humidity. The mean month relative humidity is constantly high at over 80%. The highest mean value is 86% in hot season (July). Topography It is necessary to have sufficient topographic relief to intercept the fogs/ clouds; in terms of continental scale, it includes the coastal cliffs of Atacama Desert, and, in a local scale, isolated high obstacles or coastal lomas. Relief in the surrounding areas It is imperative that there are no major blockages to the wind within a few kilometres upwind of the site (i.e.: Alto Patache and Cerro Guanaco). In arid coastal regions, the presence of an inland depression or basin that heats up during the day can be advantageous, as the localized low pressure area thus created can enhance the sea breeze and increase the wind speed at which marine cloud decks flow over the collection devices.

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Altitude The breadth of the stratocumulus clouds and the height of their bases vary with location. As a rule of thumb, a desirable altitude is at two-thirds of the cloud thickness above the base. This portion of the cloud will normally have the highest

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liquid water content. In Atacama coast, the best fog water collection potential favourable altitudes range from 700m to 850m above sea level. From 700m to 850m altitudes showed the best fog water collection potential. From 650m down slope, fog water collection is negligible during all months of the year. Orientation of the topographic features: It is vital that the longitudinal axis of the formations be perpendicular to the direction of the dominant winds that convey the clouds from the ocean. The advent clouds flow over the ridge lines and pass through, often dissipating onto the downwind side. Distance from the coastline There are many high-elevated coastal formations with frequent fog covered by transport of upwind advent or orographic clouds. In both cases, the distance to the coastline is irrelevant. However, highlands near the coastline are generally preferred sites for fog harvesting. Length/height ratio and spacing between collectors The best length/height ratio of any fog collectors is 1:1 or 1:2 (as proportional dimensions)5. If we increase the length, it diminishes the relative yield. Ridge lines and the upwind edges of flattopped formations are high-quality fog harvesting zones. When long fog water collectors are installed, these should be placed at intervals of at least 5 meters to allow airflows in-between. Crestline and upwind locations Slightly lower-altitude upwind locations are as acceptable as constant-altitude locations on a flat terrain. Locations behind a front ridge or hill, especially where the wind is flowing down slope, should be avoided. Design Factors For Polyhedral Fogtraps: The Foghive© Prototype The earth sciences have taught us that due to the occurrence of water in three phases - gas, liquid and solid - solar energy keeps the hydrological cycle going, shaping the earth surface while regulating the climate and thus allowing smart technologies to interfere in the natural process by rerouting water and employing its yield for natural and human environments’ subsistence. This is the case of traditional fog collectors implemented along the Atacama coast 36

through vertical tensile mesh or macrodiamonds structures. Nevertheless, these basic prototypes require urgently to be upgraded, mainly through new shapes, fabrics and frameworks’ types by following the principles of lightness, transformability, portability and polyvalence. It is necessary to establish new design alternatives; not just alternative forms but also alternative sites, fabrics, and arrays. This study questions how this varies as we adapt the alternative forms and so on. These alternatives are variables under our control; there are other variables affecting the deposition rate over which we have no control. These include wind speed, air temperature, and humidity. There are several routes to understanding the relationship between the variables. One is based on experience from tradition, which might be able to affirm which materials work well in which specific locations. Another one is through experiments that researchers have done which have yielded empirical relationships, such as wind speed, fog density, and deposition rates. For instance, canvas in a conventional fog collector contains too much stress at each joint, and as a result it becomes vulnerable. So this initial research has explored the relative yield obtained in parallel flat screens of polyhedral systems with hexagonal footprints, by optimizing fabric area and selecting alternative types. In order to increase the yield of collected fog water, this study has searched for suitable natural and semi-urban placements that contain high rates of fog’s accumulation, and has focused on Alto Patache and Cerro Guanaco. As important as the chosen sites is the construction and structural reliability of the collectors that will be installed. Both frames and skins have to provide an optimal shape that can deal with dynamic wind directions and be resistant against high speed and rust. The fabric used necessitates increasing its hydrophobic condition, being elastic and containing lighter colours (high emittance) to ease dripping/drainage and thus avoid ultra-violet deterioration. In addition, structural supports should be well braced and lightweight. FogHive© (Suau) explores climatic design parameters combined with the agile structural principles of Tensegrity and Geodesic principles widely developed

Pallette of hydrophobic skins applied in FogHive©. Source: Suau.

FogHive© harvests 672 l x M2 per day. It means it can irrigate almost 27 times its hexagonal surface average. The cultivating surface varies according to the type of greenery established. Source: Suau.

by the American engineer Buckminster Fuller –geodesic domes (1948-49)- and the German structural engineer Frei Otto, with his lightweight, tensile and membrane structures developed in the late 1950’s. The design methods mainly consisted of a literature review; fieldwork;

a comparative analysis of existing fog collection’s techniques, and climatic design simulations. FogHive© is a lightweight, polyvalent and modular space-frame, fully wrapped with a light hydrophobic mesh, which

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can collect water fog. It also performs like a shading/cooling device and a soil humidifier for greenery and potential inhabitation. Being a transformable construction, it can easily be installed on flatten or uneven grounds. Its footprint is hexagonal.

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Figure 10. Outer view of FogHive© situated in the fog oasis of Alto Patache, Chile. Source: Suau.

Regarding the scale of intervention, FogHive© unit varies its dimensions. The landscape model has a 12m side; the local model a 9m side and the domestic model has a 6m side. A. Territorial scale model: This is a large polyhedral telescopic fog catchers (hexagonal footprint, side equal to 12m) aligned in strategic sides of natural creeks or valleys, which will impede desertification in rural settlement or natural landscapes. Those devices bring micro-agriculture back and repair fragile ecosystems (native flora and fauna) by harvesting and distributing mainly crop water. Study area: Fog oasis in Tarapacá Region. The strategic allocation of fog collectors can not only bring local agriculture back and decrease rural emigration but also repair existing fragile ecosystems in several fog oases by harvesting and distributing mainly crop water. B. Local scale model:

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This is a mid-size polyhedral standing alone fog catcher (hexagonal footprint, side equal 9m) to supply both water and electricity to small communities (sustainable micro-agriculture and rural electrification) in natural and urban environments. Study area: Cerro Guanaco – Alto Hospicio. This space-frame fog collector can be allocated in Cerro Guanaco, a fog oasis nearby Alto Patache, a low-income sprawl. It can provide water and electricity to small communities through forestation, sustainable microagriculture and electrification.

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C. Domestic scale model: This is an autonomous small polyhedral space-frame (hexagonal footprint, side equal 6m) manufactured with timber, galvanised steel or carbon fibre. This inhabitable unit is modular, deployable and lightweight, with an adjustable textile system that performs as a waterrepellent skin when it faces South and SW winds and shading fabrics (mainly roof and North–NE-NW sides), plus blades plugged in the base frame. The water collector, filtering (purification) and irrigation network considers available materials and techniques. Perhaps the most revealing aspect of FogHive© is that it can be also understood as a polyvalent measurement device. Prior to implementing any prototype, a pilot-scale assessment of the water fog collection, humidity, and shading systems should be undertaken. It cannot replace the role of CDA neblinometers6. However it should be equipped with an anemometer to measure wind speed and a vane to measure wind direction. FogHive© can be connected to a data logger.

In addition, it is important to bear in mind that, while the technology has proved satisfactory, its successful implementation depends on the existence of the correct intersection of geographical and meteorological conditions. Thus, a rigorous study of meteorological parameters must precede any further proposed application of polyhedral systems, not only to determine if the correct combination of geographic and climatic conditions exists, but also to contribute to the understanding the complexity of these factors so that their occurrence may be predicted properly. When needed, a sociocultural development project should also be conducted at the same time to ensure that an appropriate organization exists to manage the system in an appropriate and efficient manner.

New Questions

We need to be able to make some quite simple judgements, such as the form of the catchers. The more we know, the more challenging are the possibilities which can be explored. What climatic factors we need to ask for, or what properties of cloth we need to study, cannot be answered confidently until we understand in-depth geographic and climatic parameters.

Despite the fact that the technology currently meets the requirement for small volumes of water, future development work should be directed toward increasing the yield from the harvesters for small, intermediate and large applications. In particular, if this goal is to be achieved, studies need to be aimed at design principles that might increase the flows of fog towards the collection area.

In terms of climatic issues, we need to know more about the timing and nature of the fog events. There are no climatic stations in our chosen sites, and the existing data is primarily averages, either aggregates of several events or averaged over a long period. If it is known that the current fog water efficiency of the two dimensional fogtrap is low, then there is scope for improvement. According to the literature review, we require more dynamic climatic

data to understand the Camanchaca phenomena in order to exploit it. Hence the suggestion of a time lapse film, ideally attached with accurate atmospheric measurement might help as well. This study still has to establish the efficiency of the capture; e.g. of the total latent water in the air, and how much can be extracted. That would give us an idea of how far the FogHive© concept could be pushed. One way to establish this is to measure the total water content of the air during any fog episode so-called total water content (TWC), expressed in g/m3. One simple method to do this is from a measure of visibility: the denser the fog, the greater the water. Based on the initial research of hydrophobic fabrics, we still have to research the size (or range of sizes) of the droplets. It could be useful in deciding on the mechanisms for fog capture, and so inform on the size of net filaments, level of porosity, etc.

endangered local flora and fauna or miniagriculture due to their performance as shading spaces or umbraculos. The modules could also allow the possibility for temporary or transient accommodation at the collection sites; for instance, maintenance workers, water “harvesters”, farmers or even eco-tourists. There is a regional concern over the issue of collecting and concentrating atmospheric pollutants into the soil when untreated water is used for irrigation. There might also be concern over the impact of different net types and its durability due to birds’ intrusion searching for water. What we can play instead? There is a scientific collaborative agreement with CDA where we are searching for international funding to develop the advanced stage of FogHive ©.

(CDA) led by Pilar Cereceda in Chile. They provided the updated climatic and geographic data of my research; and co-ordinated my fieldwork in the fog oases of Alto Patache and Cerro Guanaco, Iquique. This research was possible due to the support of two exceptional researchers: Dr. Pablo Osses and Dr. Horacio Larrain, who make possible my on-site design tests and climatic verifications. Apart from this, I cannot forget the brainstorming sessions, discussion and presentations carried out at the Welsh School of Architecture where Dr. Mike Fedeski and Mr. Don Alexander gave me their expert guidance in the fields of Physics and Sustainable Environments.

Special gratitude is given towards the team of Centro del Desierto de Atacama

Finally I thank the collaboration of Imke Höhler from Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design Kiel, Industrial Design, Technical Design, Germany. Her research on Sustainable Design and new technologies applied in nomadic fogtraps has been very fruitful to orientate my design.

1 Lifeless plains that dip down to river gorges layered with mineral sediments from the Andes. 2 Gischler, C. The Missing Link in a Production Chain. 1991, UNESCO/ROSTLAC, Montevideo 3 The fog catchers are plastic (nylon or polypropylene) nets, measuring 30 M2 average. They catch the water, which condenses and is collected in tanks (with a capacity of about 18000 litres each) or earthen basin with a capacity of about 65000 litres. You require fine mesh netting facing

the prevailing damp wind, so water is condensed on its filaments (1 mm wide and 0.1 mm thick, in a triangular weave); then collect in troughs and drain to where it is needed. 4 Data extracted from Project FONDECYT 1971248, published by Pablo Osses et al., PUC, Chile (1998) 5 Gischler, C. The Missing Link in a Production Chain. 1991, UNESCO/ROSTLAC, Montevideo. Fig 24, p28 6 This tool has been developed at the Catholic University

of Chile (Carvajal, 1982). There are four different types of neblinometers: (a) a pluviograph with a perforated cylinder; (b) a cylinder with a nylon mesh screen; (c) multiple mesh screens made of nylon or polypropylene mesh; and (d) a single mesh screen made of nylon or polypropylene mesh. The devices capture water droplets present in the fog on nylon filaments that are mounted in a metal frame. It is a fixed device only facing prevailing winds and cannot respond dynamically to daily wind changes.

Literature Review Pietro Laureano, Atlas del Agua (Barcelona, UNESCO, LAIA editors: 2001) ‘Water: Our Thirsty World’, National Geographic Magazine (special issue), Volume 210, No. 4, 2010 C. Gischler, The Missing Link in a Production Chain (Montevideo, UNESCO/ROSTLAC, 1991) P. Cereceda, ‘The Climate of the Coast and Fog Zone in the Atacama Desert of Tarapacá Region, Chile’ in Atmospheric Research, Nº 3-4, Volume 67 (2008) pp 301-311 P. Cereceda, H. Larraín, P. Osses, M. Farías, and I. Egaña, ‘The Spatial and Temporal Variability of Fog and Its Relation to Fog Oases in the Atacama Desert, Chile’ Atmospheric Research (2007) P. Cereceda, P.Osses, H. Larraín, P. Lázaro, R. Pinto, and

R.S. Schemenauer, ‘Advective, Orographic and Radiation Fog in the Tarapacá Region, Chile’ Atmospheric Research, Elsevier Science, Volume 64 (2002) pp 261-271 P. Cereceda, ‘Los Atrapanieblas, Tecnología Alternativa para el Desarrollo Rural’, in . Revista Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo, CIPMA, Chile. Nº 4, Vol. XVI (2000) pp 51-56 H. Larraín; P. Cereceda.; R.S. Schemenauer; P. Osses.; P. Lázaro and A. Ugarte ‘Human Occupation and Resources in a Fog-covered Site in Alto Patache (South of Iquique, Northern Chile)’ in Proceedings of the First International Conference on Fog and Fog Collection, (Vancouver, Canada, 1998) pp 217-220 C. Gischler, Camanchaca as a Potential Renewable Water

Resource for Vegetation and Coastal Springs along the Pacific in South America (Cairo, Egypt, UNESCO/ROSTAS, 1977) Links (accessed in 08/10/2010) http://ngm.nationalgeographic. com/ngm/0308/feature3/#know http://www.fogquest.org/ http://www.uc.cl/geografia/cda/ http://www.oas.org/dsd/policy_series/5_eng.pdf http://www.idrc.ca/index_en.html http://www.fogharvesting.com/ http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/04/16/ watair-turning-air-into-water/ http://www.wateraid.org/

The polyhedral structures’ meshes do not just respond to fog catching collection but also allow the potential inhabitation for

Acknowledgements

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Analogue Thoughts on Digital Production Ming Chung and Nick Tyson This paper offers thoughts on recent works made by the Prototype BArch Unit at the Manchester School of Architecture. The teaching unit takes material as a primary resource from which to develop the possibilities of tectonic assembly and architectural space. There is a critical interest in exploring the interface between hand tools (analogue) and contemporary machine tools (digital). The reductive deployment of resources is investigated within a set of design limitations and opportunities are sought within material and organisational economies. This design activity, in turn, raises broader issues with respect to the selection of appropriate modes of production for the making of architecture.

plywood components are precision machined using a CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) Router and are assembled by hand. The project was designed and manufactured in MMU workshops and built by students within a 12-week programme. Material Limitations

Organisational Limitations The limited range of both hand and digital tools encouraged a review of appropriate methods of production. For example, the CNC Router dictated the use of a standard sheet size, which influenced modes of assembly and led to the development of manual cross-lamination methods to achieve larger component sizes.

The structure was characterised by a material economy and limited budget. The construction project provided a Within the parameters set by a single learning framework for individuals with material, an experiential hierarchy was basic construction skills. This knowledge established. The selection of fine grade was cultivated during sequential stages of plywood for the interior skin where the project as it increased in complexity human contact is anticipated was and was shared by collaborative teamwork offset by the use of standard unfinished and informal apprenticeships with skilled plywood for the ‘crude’ structural carcass. technicians. Workspace limitations The fabrication workshop is regarded as By embedding standard ceramic tiles determined a particular sequence of an experimental laboratory, promoting within a CNC cut filigree, the material production that aligned directly with site assembly logics and the construction a connection between thinking and was raised from ordinary to special. programme. The components were making. Investigations begin with the selection of a single primary material, Material and structural economies subsequently batched to follow a strict which is manipulated using hand tools were considered at initial design stages. sequence of prototyping, CAD/CAM, suband determined by rudimentary jigs, Prototypes were tested in parallel to assembly, delivery, and site construction. templates or formwork. A 1:1 scale structural calculations made by Atelier offered by machine replicable component forms a working One Engineers and provided a confidence Efficiencies prototype, which is used to establish a for the reduction of material. Waste was production allowed a tolerance in a spatial system defined by inherent material further minimised through the efficient finite construction programme. Digital characteristics. The jig allows a shift from clustering of component layouts in processes led to economies on production the bespoke to the manufactured and CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/ that were measurable and fixed, in turn affording contingency for unforeseen introduces constraints of quantitative Computer Aided Manufacturing). circumstances during assembly or human measure associated with machine production, whilst allowing unforeseen The combined use of manual assembly factors within a limited time frame. opportunities to occur through the and machine production offered a balance between tolerance and precision. The CNC Constructing an interface between qualitative nature of handwork. machined structure incorporated precise analogue thinking and digital production The prototypes form an archive of setting out templates that allowed for an offers possibilities for an architecture material components and systems, which adjustment by hand to suit site conditions. that may incorporate manual production are subsequently developed within a These distinct components defined by their skills to bring a qualitative material to a quantitative live project brief. This year, a temporary method of production, characterise an understanding structure entitled ‘Reflective Room’ was overall tectonic assembly that accepts the manufacturing logic. Design invention arises out of the limitation of material and built in the Courtyard at The Manchester limits of prefabricated production. organisational circumstances that enable a Museum. It is formed by two interlocking wall elements that incorporate a Material recycling was addressed through reductive re-assessment to take place and continuous bench seat with the intention the use of a limited material palette and to question known solutions. Digitally to offer a space for pause and respite from detail design. The precision of machine linked tools, when integrated into a design the city. Vertical ‘rib’ and horizontal ‘tab’ cut components enabled a dry slot fix process, have the potential to reduce standard grade plywood components detail that could be easily assembled and consumption of material and energy. form an external carcass that support disassembled for re-use, maintaining This reductive deployment of resources a synclastic curved plywood interior primary material separation for recycling provides opportunities in relation to a broader sustainable material culture. skin embedded with ceramic tiles. The at end of life. made

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Complexity and Engagement: Art and Design in the Post-industrial Frances Whitehead and Christine Atha In late summer 2010, Chicago artist Frances Whitehead invited School of the Art Iinstitute of Chicago (SAIC) colleague Christine Atha to join her for a conversation about recent projects and shared interests. A dialogue unfolded concerning forces driving artists and designers to rethink their practice, and innovative ideas about creative practice, community and the future. Why Design? FW: Some of the complexity of the modern world comes from confusion between how things unfold in time and space, temporally, and in the future. We know from polls and surveys on climate change that most people have difficulty comprehending events temporally.1 The inadequate accounting for the temporal dimension-- the aging of infrastructure and the impacts of industrialization that have mounted up – these things were never part of a future that was intended, never envisioned ‘by design’. But these are key features of the condition of the post-industrial that is so widespread in the developed world, and from which has sprung doubts about the mission of many disciplines, including art AND design. Some evidence of this kind of ‘doubt’ is the large number of people who seem to be restless in art and design. Art, which has in the last century, seen itself as a largely autonomous practice, is only recently examining the merits of engaging the long-term future. Design, it seems, cannot fully imagine what the future impacts will be. We see designers who are essentially making art and artists like myself who appear to be doing design. So, whatever this restlessness is, we can see within these disciplines a spirit of redirection, redirecting the habitus2 of these professions. This is restructuring the landscape of creative professions and for practitioners interested in theorizing the leading edge of their disciplines, interested in dealing with the mounting pressures of the post-industrial, these questions have to be answered.

CA: Contemporary design practitioners are thinking very deeply about the consequences of post-industrial design, and what is going to happen as a result of their decisions. When we saw the first explosion of plastics into consumer culture, in the middle part of the last century, we knew we had a problem. We could see that consumer goods were going to go in a difficult direction, and as a result of that, we have now found ourselves in a terribly challenging situation. So, a core question is why design? So many designers, young and well established, are troubled by the contribution that they’re making now and are querying what the design function is, the ripple effect of everything that they’re putting out there. All the more reason then, to talk about the collaborative redesigning of design– to think more precisely about what the design function is. I think this goes exactly to what you said about the art function. More and more artists are working in social contexts and are using their community base and community constituencies as their raw material. If designers seem to gravitate towards the art object it’s because they question what the designed object can do., They are not making objects that are going to contribute to a material culture and mass consumer culture that they no longer have any faith in. So, it’s a difficult dilemma to be a designer now because of the legacy of the industrial and the consequences of social formation based on commodities. FW: The production of material culture, which has always been a big part of artistic production, is questionably ‘meaningful’ when there is the glut of objects all around us from industrial commodity culture. Likewise, I would speculate that designers are interested in understanding the cultural and symbolic economy of their production, and so they have moved towards art as the place where there is the greatest fluency and consciousness, about the symbolic dimension of their production. This is a disciplinary

redirection, not being driven by problem solving, but by deep epistemological and ontological questions of how these worldmaking disciplines have come to function in the complex that is today’s world, and how they will function in the future. The Future FW: As we think about the future, what people understand as realistic can turn out to be quite unrealistic. Is it possible to think about the future ‘realistically?’ Is this always an ironic proposition? CA: It’s not always ironic. The future is essentially just around the corner, and our future selves, the people that we’re going to be, are not that far away. So being realistic about the future is essential to the way in which we construct our physical spaces, and what we imagine, in turn, they may do to us. Re-imagining a space and a life is central to this. The modernist utopia which we imagined was our future never arrived; the modernist project would appear to have failed its most important test, a better life for the less prosperous and those less visible in society. We are only just beginning to respond to the extreme conditions that we find ourselves in and we know that they are pressing and urgent – population growth, mass migration, dissolution of communities, climate change, the petrochemical industry, the food system. All require radical action. So, perhaps we can try to characterize where we think the practices of art and design are instrumental in beginning to formulate ways of addressing those things, rather than simply papering over the cracks. More active involvement of the citizen in the conception of space, the expression of community and the dynamics of change are an attempt to restore people to the center of the discussion about how they will live. The Design Matters Program grew out of a research project called the Urban

(left) Root masses of North American tall grass prairie species. images © Prairie Moon Nursery, www.prairiemoon.com made

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Diagram of North Fulham NDC Project. ÂŠ Christine Atha.

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SLOW Cleanup, Designed Civic Experiments with Phytoremediation, project overview, 2009. © Frances Whitehead for the City of Chicago Department of Environment, Suzanne Malec-McKenna, Commissioner, Richard M. Daley, Mayor.

Regeneration Practice and Theory Project. We were conscious that we were working in urban environments that were undergoing change, both from a political push, but also from the social side. The political side aimed to address the social ills that have been created through outdated urban structures. The practice of social reconstruction in the 20th and 21st centuries in the UK, had been one of ‘make do and mend’, a principle philosophically grounded in the wartime social context of recovery. The Design Matters model of social reconstruction puts community at the centre of everything, as a factor in transforming, maintaining, and holding society together and leads to the proposition of design as resourcefulness and self-reliance. FW: There are some fairly radical, even fringe, dimensions in art that represent what I would call a re-localization of the cultural sphere that is a parallel development to the ‘community’ focus of

recent design. This ‘localism’ is pushing back against a long-held ‘internationalism’ that we’ve seen as the dominant model of success for decades, and which primarily values the international or global artist. In this case, as we factor in the urban challenges we face, design and art, can only be formulated aptly if we take into account conditions on the ground. This is where things become more specific; things reveal themselves to either be business as usual or innovation. Innovation and the Wicked CA: The word innovation has been appropriated too often. It’s become so tired, it’s exhausted its meaning and it is regarded with a degree of suspicion now. But more than anything, it’s been commodified, become part of other systems, and has become synonymous with the ‘corporate’ and superficiality. How do we make innovation meaningful as action, not rhetoric?

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FW: I’ve been thinking a lot about this term innovation and trying to leverage the cachet of the term with the Embedded Artists Project (EAP). The simple concept is that if you could bring the problem-finding capacities of artists to ask new questions, and insert that transgressively and disruptively into, in this case, city government, that perhaps we would find different problems, different questions, and different answers. We know that we cannot get to new solutions for intractable, complex, or as some people call them ‘wicked problems’,3 by the same methods that got us into those problems. I’m interested in the notion of innovation as an extension of the cultural aspiration of the avant-garde, but not a disconnected or elitist avant-garde. So, strategically, as an artist normally outside corporate design, outside civic or private innovation circles, it’s been very handy to point out the long-term, the long-standing value of innovation and originality, even vanguardism, in the art

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Typical abandoned gas station, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2009. © Frances Whitehead .

community. Some may think this is a rather radical experiment in innovation, but innovation as commodified is indeed not enough. CA: This will mean taking new constituencies, bringing them to these problems, and using their insights as a way of evolving new answers, as innovation. Contemporary architectural practice might better assist communities in realizing new ways to live in their environment, faults and all, rather than resorting to remaking it. This is what’s at work in new forms of community design engagement, but also in the work you have done with the Slow Cleanup Program and The Greenhouse Chicago, both of which re-imagine and re-purpose urban brownfields.4

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FW: But problem- solving as an aim is also under examination. Marcel Duchamp said, ‘There is no solution because there is no problem.’5 Perhaps we have arrived at ‘Duchamp in Reverse’6 and are ready for direct engagement, whether you call

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this social sculpture, public practice or relational aesthetics. What is coming into view is a cultural complex, a multivaliant field, with multiple positions that include connections between art, design, urbanism, and both problem solving and problem finding. Although artists have been understood as the stewards of mischief, tricksters, change agents, we’re entering a time when this playful application of our expertise seems out of scale with the challenges facing us. The anomalous discrepancy in scale between what is at stake, and what can be leveraged, has begun to push artists into other fields like design. And this same discrepancy is pushing designers as well. New Demos CA: These demanding urban environments require a truly radical kind of thinking in order to transform them. The ‘process-based’ and ‘planning–led’ approach to regeneration continues to subject our cities and our communities 46

to superficial restructuring through erasure rather than rebuilding the demos from within. Making interconnections and complex connections between design and social functions are the most innovative areas of operation. The real transformation, and the real innovation within this paradigm, resides within the capacity of the individuals who are living in it and their capacity to use design. This has become symbolic of a new demos, a new democratic construction. This demos, a citizenry, if you like, is drawn together around the question of how they might be in the space that they are living in, be in their architecture to achieve a better quality of life. The innovation might have been taking place in some senses in the material world, but I think through your description, it was taking place within those individuals as well. We begin to see that design can be instrumental in changing attitudes and not simply aesthetic attitudes, but at a deeper level. Design can be active as a mechanism for interrogating broader agendas.

Swatchbook of Phytoscapes, Concept drawing for SLOW Cleanup, 2009. © Frances Whitehead.

The result of this is that design became something that was not a commodity; it wasn’t commodify-ing. It was something that was an active and dynamic force within socio-economic, socio-political constructions around a very specific constituency, which then led to other forms of engagement. Design at the outset may have been an instrument to understand the physical nature of the things that were going on around them, but in fact, eventually led to understanding of complex systems within government and within society. Knowledge Transfer and the Transferable Model FW: It seems like ‘transfer’ is such an important idea here. Now we’re not just talking about origination or creation, but of something that’s a bit like recycling. We’re talking about using things that may or may not already exist, and deploying them strategically, artistically, sustainably in a place conscious way that is appropriate to social community

and also to environmental community in the biologic definition of community, which is all living things that occupy a given location. A much bigger sense of community. CA: ‘Transfer’ can also sit very comfortably around sharing as a concept. This is something that we’re still on the

edge of, but we’re beginning to really understand. Sharing is a key moment within any community where it begins to understand that individual ownership is not essential. If we take this principle of individual ownership in terms of intellectual property, or down to the level of transport - or as a broader metaphor for the idea of sharing knowledge on

Christine Atha The Design Matters, and The Urban Regeneration Practice and Theory Project Paradigm: • • • •

Think about the future – in a realistic way, Ask “Why design?” Innovate and explore ways to transfer knowledge Build all capacities

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Concept drawing for The Greenhouse Chicago, derived in part from James & Kutyla Architecture elevations, 2004-6. © Frances Whitehead.

every level, we are now transferring knowledge between communities. So re-contextualizing different forms of knowledge can produce new knowledge and ‘capturing knowledge’, making it work for us, connects it to other sets and streams of knowledge.

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FW: These ideas about sharing are one form of ‘social exchange.’ Some people in innovation theory are talking about the unrecognized value of such exchanges, about intangibles. We are coming to understand how intangibles of all kinds influence a complex adaptive system, influence behaviors and decisionmaking. Yet only recently have these intangibles, very much like externalities of carbon, been on the ledger books. We can see that the social dynamics of sharing, gifting, non-compensation economies, social economies, idea economies, pushing the creative

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commons, as opposed to intellectual property ownership, all of these ideas are moving us to a place where both tangibles and intangibles on the map. Th is creates the complex that we will navigate in, whether the project is land reclamation, neighborhood revitalization, or changing public processes. CA: But to enable knowledge transfer, what we’re going to have to do is to challenge the organizations, as they exist at the moment. In fact, if we can reform community in a fairly small scale, then the logic of that might be expanded to reform government structures, and then expanded to reform socio-economic structures. Institutions at all scales need to adapt to this different complexity, different relationships between individuals and communities, and begin to re-think along the same lines. Th is is part of the 48

EAP, transferring ideas and knowledge into organizational structures. FW: To what extent ‘embedding’ creates organizational learning is still unclear. Or is it rather E.O. Wilson’s idea of consilience 7 bringing different knowledge(s) together on transdisciplinary teams, but in this case constructing those teams with new kinds of members? It is unclear to me if the organization itself will ‘learn’ or if we will see the organization adopt new processes. SLOW Cleanup FW: Perhaps the real value of this kind of cross professional engagement lies in the projects, in how they model new ideas, rather than in the personnel. Perhaps it’s too much to expect career professionals to change their thinking merely by using

The Greenhouse Chicago, hanging tomato experiment, 2010. © Michelle Litvin.

a different process. So, I feel very strongly that the actual project is where the ideas are put to the test. The project that I’ve been doing with the EAP which we call Slow Cleanup, is really about deploying underdeveloped models from exisiting and new bio-remediation technologies, to broaden the toolkit for dealing with the wasted urban land. We are working with soil scientists to identify new plant palettes for petroleum remediation, and then applying those to a variety of urban conditions on abandoned gas stations. This project is, at first glance, not really involved in innovation, because people have been doing phytoremediation for twenty years. Instead, the innovation comes through the systemic ambitions of the project. One ambition is to make multiple systems legible, so by designing sites or creating this ‘swatch book’ of new landscape topologies we demonstrate the social, cultural, environmental and economic8 life of the sites, that is always present but rarely seen. But the other ambition, perhaps this is an aesthetic ambition, is to make comprehensible the temporal timeframes we’ve been discussing, to concretize the potential

for transformation, and to demonstrate the shift from the construction of gray infrastructure to reconstructing green infrastructure. In other words, to revalue slowness, re-value deep work, and help the public understand why this is important, on a site-by-site, neighborhood basis. But, exploring this ‘cultural hypothesis’ for innovation is possible because Chicago is such an entrepreneurial city, and is serious about integrated innovation.9

Although there is one mechanism by which organizational learning may certainly take place, through changes in rules and regulations that come from the projects. We have been expressly asked to keep track of insights and observations on our process, to extrapolate operative principles from the project/process and to reflect back to city employees’ things that we observe about existing methodologies so that new rules can be formulated. Bringing the reflexivity of

Frances Whitehead The Knowledge Lab Mission: • • • • • • •

Contend with Complexity Innovate through Collaboration Inquire, research, exemplify Work at all scales, global and local Re-direct contemporary practice Envision Cultural Futures Make New Knowledge

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Normand Park, North Fulham, before renovation. © Kirsty Morris NFNDC.

standard creative practice to regulation formation is so interesting, as a method to institutionalize new practices, new insights. Already one new rule, a very simple but profound rule, has come from the preliminary phyto work, which is that when you pull out a leaky tank, fill the hole with native soil; don’t fill the hole with gravel. Re-establishing the soil continuum on site maximizes the opportunities for brown field reuse, in numerous ways, including ecological restoration and new emerging remediation technologies. Twenty years ago, when they changed the regulation to fill in holes with gravel, ostensibly for public safety, it was imagined to be ‘best practice’. Now we have learned that this best practice is, perhaps, not best at all.

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CA: Context is key where best practice models are concerned. Making new regulations, especially for local government, putting them into the day-to-day processes, may work well in a few places, but it is a mistake to think that ‘best practice’ can simply be

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transferred between contexts without being conscious of local conditions. FW: Another word that comes up here of course is synthesis, meaning here, a judicious and appropriate mix of practices and of technologies aptly delivered, aptly installed, whether you call that art or design. Extreme Conditions – the Post Industrial Future CA: We could say then that the response to extreme conditions doesn’t have to be extreme to have an effect. What we’re examining is small but very well placed interventions that make a substantial difference. This goes to the notion of the paradigm shift10 that you don’t have to be extreme in order to bring about extreme change. But you must be in the right position in the organizational structure to make sure that you engage the moment of change within those complex structures. FW: A lot of artists have gotten interested in the idea of ‘making sustainability 50

tangible’. So, if you understand art as a communication system, you can see that creating works that demonstrate or make tangible complex models, models of complex systems is crucial, the ‘demonstration project’. We have to expand the imaginative capacity, the envisioning capacity of everyone from businesses, city officials, and communities. This is something people in art/design take for granted, but it is very important that people be able to envision a different future and find themselves in it. CA: But once envisioned, we must have the capacity to implement, so capacity building is a key element. One of the things that the Design Matters program tapped into was that everybody has inbuilt capacities that they’re not able to use without access to the right context to use them. I do think capacity building, but also exploring and exposing hidden capacities, is going to be one of the major pieces of work that we’re going to have to do. It’s creating a new citizenry effectively. This is the (re)construction

Normand Park, North Fulham, after renovation.

of the demos, where we expose what we are capable of doing, making knowledge transfer really work. Over the last century we have been disempowering people, which has completely undermined many social structures. Where does the acquisition of social capital begin? We encourage a certain type of citizen through design within regeneration projects. Is it possible to raise social cohesion and integrity through design? Th rough art? FW: But to take that same phenomena that you’ve described and to cast it in the language of energy and efficiencies, we could say that if we look at resources, capitals, and capacities, that the industrial model in the name of efficiency was actually incredibly inefficient because it wasted human capital and we can no longer continue to carry the cost of any wasted resources. So, capturing that social capital, that human capital, that imagination capital, is imperative because in place of those intangible capitals we have been spending material, tangible capitals we

1 Klinkenborg, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/23/opinion/23tue3.html 2 Bourdieu, Pierre. Outline of a Theory of Practice. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977) 3 Rittel, Horst, and Melvin Webber, ‘Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning’ pp. 155–169, Policy Sciences, Vol. 4, (Amsterdam: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Inc., 1973) [Reprinted in N. Cross (ed.), Developments in Design Methodology (Chichester: J. Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 1984) pp. 135–144.], Retreived 9.1.2010 from: http://www.uctc.net/mwebber/ Rittel+Webber+Dilemmas+General_Theory_of_ Planning.pdf

cannot afford. By foregrounding the intangible dimensions, the social, the aesthetic, the socio-cultural, we’re fully utilizing underutilized resources that have been discarded as a waste product. I think that that’s another kind of capture that we have to do, in social terms, and it allows people to participate in the public sphere, in the demos. CA: In other words, the complex connection between layers is really what we’re trying to contend with. Th is networking together across these ecologies and communities is the way in which you can expand the understanding, and identify exactly where the change point will come. Th is is not then about merely encouraging ‘participation’ or ‘community action’ but rather about understanding systems and putting them to work.

Acknowledgements Creation of The Embedded Artist Project has been facilitated by Paul Coffey, Associate Dean of Academic Administration, SAIC, and Matthew Guillford, Director of Digital Excellence, Chicago Department of Innovation and Technology, along with representatives from the Chicago Departments Environment, Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning, and Department of Cultural Affairs.

FW: I think that calls for us to envision a complex, fully systemic world, which we have not been able to collectively imagine in the last hundred years. And that’s really the challenge.

The SLOW Cleanup project team includes David S. Graham, P.G., Environmental Engineer III, Chicago Department of Environment, Urban Management and Brownfields Redevelopment Division, and Dr. A. Paul Schwab, Professor/Director, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, along with many community partners and organizations. The project has been made possible through the support of Suzanne Malec-McKenna, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Environment.

4 http://www.embeddedartistproject.com, and http:// ww.thegreenhousechicago.com 5 Th is comment seems to have been quoted for the fi rst time in Harriet and Sidney Janis, ‘Marcel Duchamp: Anti-Artist’ View, series V, no. 1 (March 1945), p. 24; it is repeated again in Winthrop Sargeant, “Dada’s Daddy,” Life, vol. 32, no. 17 (April 28, 1952), p. 111. Retrieved on 9.1.2010 from: http://www.toutfait.com/online_journal_ details.php?postid=47066 6 F. Whitehead from ‘In Chicago, an Art Project Tinted Green’ Mimi Read for the New York Times, 3.13.2008. Retreived on 9.3.2010 from http://www. nytimes.com/2008/03/13/garden/13chicago.html?_

r=1&ref=garden 7 Edward.O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, (New York: Knopf, 1998) 8 Th is rubric is based on Jon Hawkes 4 pillar model of sustainability, Australia, 2001. Retrieved from: http:// burgosciudad21.org/adftp/Jon%20Hawkes%20-%20 Fourth%20Pillar%20of%20Sustainability.pdf. 9 Term used by Chicago Department of Environment Commissioner, Suzanne Malec-McKenna, supported by Mayor Richard M. Daley’s environmental ambitions. From conversation with SMM, throughout 2009, 2010. 10 Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962)

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Glare; Bring It On M J Long In the late 60’s and early 70’s, we found ourselves with a national library to design. We were, of course, determined to create the best possible conditions for reading, and given the shambling politics of the job, there was time to explore all sorts of precedents, standards, and assumptions . “Good light” is of course an essential condition for reading. We were told by the standards available that two conditions were essential: sufficient light (for even the oldest, tiredest eyes) This was translated into a requirement for 500 lux on the table top. And,

by CIBSE and others was the elimination of the reader. The da Massina painting of of glare in the reading room by ensuring St. Jerome has been adopted by library that no surface was more than ten times designers everywhere because it seems as bright as any other surface in the room. to represent the image of the ideal reader. This sounded sensible until we got out our Sitting in his aedicular timber carrel, he is light meters and found that a perfectly reading in the perfect conditions of open comfortable domestic interior is likely to shade, with the comfort of timber under contain surfaces whose reflectance (the foot and hand. Just to his left, though, are light coming from them) is 1000 times as some sun drenched tiles, showing that he bright as the darkest surfaces in the room has a long and exhilarating view out to without causing the least visual discomfort. the landscape that lies behind us. It is an environment full of zephyrs of fresh air, We went to see a library that announced the refreshing delight of a long view, and proudly that it had been designed to meet huge contrasts of light level just outside the CIBSE code in every respect: the circle of his focus on the printed page.

The source of light was pretty uniform; produced by evenly spaced fluorescent luminaires. The surfaces in the room were the absence of glare (excessive carefully selected to have very similar contrast) reflectances; the pale hardwood tables It was also generally accepted that daylight were inset with panels of pale green leather was both uncontrollable and unnecessary, of about the same tone, and the oatmeal and that Permanent Supplementary carpet followed suit. The materials were Artificial Lighting (PSALI) was the way individually of good quality. But the to achieve the consistent conditions that overall effect was disorienting. With so little contrast, it was like a strange were assumed to be reading heaven. underwater world in which up and down We could see by experiment that became ambiguous. certain conditions made reading very uncomfortableI don’t mean that. Better The problem here, of course, is that say . . . that certain conditions made the designer based everything on one reading very uncomfort. ableA reading requirement, rather than the rough light positioned directly ahead of the and tumble interrelationship between reader could produce “veiling glare” on competing needs that makes design such the page of the book, making it literally a challenge and a delight. For instance: impossible to read. Or if a shaft of sunlight were to hit the table next to the page, the We seem to need some stimulation in our huge contrast in light level would again environment in order to stay awake and make the eye close down to deal with the alert. And it seems particularly important brighter light source, making it difficult that when looking up from a reading task, the reader is refreshed by a longer view to pick out the detail on the page. that contains some visual interest. It seems So far so good – a practical problem to that contrast is not a problem as long as be addressed. But the solution proposed it is not immediately in the field of vision

We made conscious use of this fact in the British Library. The sun never gets down to table level, but it can roam in mischievous chinks around the upper level ceilings, giving reassurance that there is a real world out there, and causing the space of the room to “breathe” when a cloud passes in front of the sun. The variations in light level are at least 1000 to 1. The general reflected light generally puts 200 lux onto the readers’ desks. This is plenty for casual reading over short periods, and it can be raised to 500 lux by switching on a desk lamp and creating a private pool of concentration. Contrast is life. Glare is to be used and enjoyed.

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There is some interesting research that shows that we tolerate much higher light levels high up in our field of vision than on the horizon line. This perhaps reflects our expectation of light distribution in the natural world. It seems that at a forty five degree angle, we are comfortable with a luminance level which is more than four times the level that would be acceptable at zero degrees (eye level).

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Objects & Places: The Work of the Architect Eduard Bru Enric Llorach Introduction The work of Eduard Bru does not have a continuous need for novelty. Artistic vanguards, tradition or banality can be found intertwined in his architecture. After all, perception still determines the experience of architecture, and the city still seems to belong to its citizens. The architecture of Eduard Bru is not afraid of contingency. On the contrary, it prefers to invite the participation of urban elements. The architecture critic Neil Leach has recently re-defined the term camouflage1. For Leach, camouflage designates the capacity to modify an appearance according to the environment. Camouflage does not require that things go unnoticed; it might also call for extroverted attitudes, like flirting, or defensiveness. Camouflage is simply attentive to it’s surroundings. Translated to architecture, this definition of camouflage liberates style or restrictive languages for architectural form. In this sense, the context is not necessarily

beautiful: it is merely there. With this definition, architecture can now take for granted any aspect of its context. Eduard Bru - Escola De Barcelona The figure of Eduard Bru (born 1950) can be approached through his masters, Oriol Bohigas (born 1925), Albert Viaplana (born 1933) and Manuel de Solà-Morales (born 1939), three key figures from Barcelona’s 20th Century architecture. Oriol Bohigas is a prominent theorist and a prolific architect, and was the head architect of the significant urban transformation of Barcelona which took place over the period from 1986 to 1992 and during the 1992 Olympic Games: Albert Viaplana is an architect with an abstract capacity for evocation and a surrealist intuition; whereas Manuel de Solà-Morales is an urban planner and theorist with an attentive understanding of the city’s phenomenology and memory. Politics, poetry and city on one hand, as well as theory and practice on the other: a prolonged lesson of architecture.

The inheritance of the Modern Movement was transformed in the hands of this group of architects into what they called Realism. Escola de Barcelona was the name given to a certain state of culture at the time in the city of Barcelona, especially for the disciplines of architecture, cinema and literature. The group established an atmosphere of political engagement in defence of an absent democracy. Realism also determined a formal approach to architecture. There was, in the architecture produced by the group, an emphasis on context. Aldo Rossi’s influence, along with Team X criticisms of the Modern Movement, motivated architecture towards a complex comprehension of place. Kenneth Frampton’s Critical Regionalism can be considered the international frame for L’Escola de Barcelona, where architectural form was especially engaged with construction techniques, and Modernity was forced to meet tradition at some point. Economical

(above) Aerial view of the Olympic Area of the Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, 1986-1992. Photographer: Manolo Laguillo. (left) Masterplan for a new district of the city of Balaguer, Lleida, 2008. made

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Aerial view of the Olympic Area of the Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, 1986-1992. Photographer: Manolo Laguillo.

aspects determined the materiality of the architecture, whereas form defined a dialogical position in respect of the context. Two architectural reviews -Arquitecturas Bis (1974-1985) and El Carrer de la Ciutat (1977-1980)- helped to define the ideological body of Realism. 1992 Olympic Games The impulse given to architecture and urbanism by this generation of architects had its epitome in the urban transformation of the city of Barcelona as a result of the 1992 Olympic Games. A peripheral circulation belt, the retrieval of Barcelona’s seafront, a whole new neighborhood - the Olympic Village and the Olympic Ring, amongst others, provided a great step for the city’s urban renewal. Vall D’Hebron Eduard Bru had the occasion to design and build an urban park for the Olympic Area in Vall d’Hebron, northern Barcelona, a project which already seemed to contain the conceptual core of his architectural work.

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The size of the park - around 220 acres -, its nature of terrain-vague, and its hybrid state of city and urban outskirts demanded new project principles that could not be drawn from traditional procedures.

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The slopes of Barcelona and its scarce watercourses heading towards the Mediterranean Sea created a steep topography within the site. Placed over an abstract grid laid out in a north-south orientation according to sports facilities’ norms, a topographical layer followed the logic of streets as watercourses, functioning as an urban trope for hydrological accidents. The close relationship between these artificial watercourses and topography, as well as its mutual effect and interaction, defined a new kind of public space for the city of Barcelona. Traditional spaces like the square, the garden or the boulevard simply did not fit in this project. In the Olympic Area at Vall d’Hebron, public space is typologically unstable in its intricacy of size and topography. The Vall d’Hebron project implied a new city and nature quid pro quo. Minimalist Objects In the title of this article, there is an explicit reference to a dialogical relationship between objects and places. Eduard Bru has theorized this relationship along his written works, where he has considered the factual presence of architecture. The term object appeared in the title of a wellknown article published by Donald Judd in Art Yearbook 8 (1965). The title was Specific Objects. The title itself already indicated a rejection of traditional 56

painting and sculpture. In Judd’s work, objects were non-representational artifacts that existed in the perceptual experience, which nevertheless created in the spectator a certain sense of place. Urban Voids In the late nineties, Eduard Bru spoke of Urban Voids in order to define the spatial tensions within the city, where empty space was seen as a device for design. A conceptual displacement from architecture to landscape would transform architecture from meaningful masses to neutral objects orchestrating a new sense of place. Modern monumentality would be here disregarded in favor of the potentiality of the empty space. An activation of the urban voids would immediately affect its public character in one sense or another. Ultimately, the work of architecture is always imagined in the context of the city and its public nature. Precisely because of their public orientation, the retrieval and activation of urban voids can be seen as the formalization of the School of Barcelona’s ideological body. The lack of meaning that characterizes urban voids makes them work as semiotic hubs, where the city - as liquid medium - negotiates personal affections and emotions2. Eduard Bru’s architecture might make us think of images from a

Model for a new district in the city of Balaguer, Lleida, 2008.

shipwreck, where, following a wreck, objects will remain floating on the surface of the water, half submerged, half emerged, following the rhythm of the waves. Like a snapshot, Eduard’s architecture freezes a specific state of things which tends to activate a further sense of landscape. If we return to Judd’s article now, we cannot help but find some similarities. If Judd intended to activate the whole exhibiting space in the gallery, Eduard’s ‘wrecked’ objects tend to activate landscape itself. The shift produced from the gallery to the city is perceivable in the work of many artists after Minimalism. Art as an expanded field of operation is present in people like Robert Smithson or Dan Graham, whose work naturally tends towards landscape and architecture. Wreckage images might recall a fragmented reality, where traces of History have faded away. All that remains seems to be a dichotomy of nostalgia and pastiche. Although post-modernist architecture had relied on both concepts to construct a simulated sense of History, late-capitalist architecture is, beyond Debordian Spectacle, somehow generic. All along the city, buildings mutely repeat their faces. And it is only through contingency that we perceive difference or error3. In his book Coming from the South, published in Actar, Barcelona (2001),

Eduard Bru identified his work with southern European architecture, which must deal with a limited amount of resources and techniques. The challenge of re-inventing architecture at every new step is simply too expensive in the South of Europe. Architecture must then come from daily urban life, from the unavoidable character of the generic city. The spine of the book Coming from the South worked almost as a manifesto for Eduard Bru’s architecture, where he wrote: I defend, for poor and middling countries, a structuring of space by means of nonephemeral objects which are exceedingly neutral, even atemporal, and located in areas that are highly significant, given the presence and the action of landscape, and with the aid of passing time. Inside / Outside This vision of the city, composed of silent architectural masses, might retain the after-wreckage atmosphere from Giorgio de Chirico’s paintings, where fragments of the city’s architecture, bodies and machines created a sense of the uncanny. Surrealism, in its out-fashioned admiration of Art Nouveau, had defended an intrauterine atmosphere for architecture in frank opposition to the more selfcensured aesthetics that characterized the Modern Style. Surrealism had

Since the 18th century Enlightenment, transparency has worked as an architectural metaphor to describe scientific and social progress. The modernist search for transparency had dissolved the difference between the inside and the outside. Under this point of view, Le Corbusier’s Ville Radieuse could not have had a more metaphorical name. In opposition, the philosopher Michel Foucault felt the trace of surveillance as the dark face of rationalist transparency. Eduard Bru’s architecture endows his interior spaces with a sense of comfort that does not imply a purely transparent relationship with the city. There is no fusion of public and intimate qualities of space, but a gradient which otherwise characterized Spanish and Catalan vernacular architecture4, as well as Gaudí’s post-romantic architecture. In an after-wreckage world, natural light hardly stems reified images of progress. In the end, there might exist in Eduard Bru’s architecture a Loosian vision, where the public image is always moderate and civic-minded, whereas interior spaces are comfortable and homely. We might dislike Adolf Loos’ writings in his reactionary position towards made

perceived the difference between Gaudí’s organic-like architecture and the modern machine-like architecture as a discussion on the notion of transparency.

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Dwellings for PhD students and professors, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, 2004-2010. View of the “natural” side. Photographer: Jordi Bernadó.

ornament, but his architecture seems to be discretely public-spirited, and his interiors, in fact, seem homely and not necessarily bourgeois. Specificity and Banality In the sixties, muteness had been characteristic from minimalist objects. Muteness avoided the sense of authorship that had become exhausted within Abstract Expressionism. From an urban point of view, this silence favors the perception of the landscape before the architecture, where landscape appears as something highly significant, according to Eduard’s words.

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Dwellings for PhD students and professors, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, 2004-2010. View of the terrace connecting both sides: “urban” and “natural”. Photographer: Jordi Bernadó.

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This silent architecture might take different profiles in Eduard Bru’s architecture. As we’ve seen before, some of them are somehow close to minimalist objects, but others recall Pop Art in the conscious use of appropriated operations. In their urban generic abstraction, Eduard Bru’s objects manage to absorb their surroundings. The appropriation of

28 dwellings, Sabadell, Barcelona, 2006-2010. View of the street façade. Photographer: Jordi Bernadó.

architectural elements or characteristics from the immediate environment participates in the elaboration of place. Camouflage operations incorporate the entourage, acquiring a new range of banality. Repetition and difference, as part of a Pop Art strategy, reinforce a new sense of place. Paradoxically, generic architecture - and its banal resolution - is able to return meaning back to the landscape. Once the nature of objects are observed, the notion of place is referred to specificity, where again, we are back to Judd’s title for his 1965 article: Specific Objects. In a museum room, a minimalist object would immediately activate the whole exhibiting space as an artwork. The interaction of both object and space in the spectator’s experience generates specificity. In the context of the generic city – our cities - Eduard Bru’s objects try to create places because of their urban specificity. An attentive work between these different urban scales helps landscape to acquire specificity.

A.R.E. De Ponent, Balaguer, Lleida In 2008, the Catalan Government had planned a series of new residential areas for middle-sized cities in Catalonia. All of these areas were expected to combine public and private promoters, and the new areas had to be contiguous with the existent city fabric. Moreover, social mixture was guaranteed by different housing typologies and new community facilities. These conditions were to engage the new area with the city. Another condition determined the urban configuration: the Catalan Government was asking for what we know in Catalonia as Eixamples. These urban expansions were born in new towns that were developed in Spain in the 18th century by The Enlightenment thinkers. Already in the 19th century, Eixamples were commonly used for the extension of cities in Catalonia. The structure of the Eixample emphasizes the street as the city scenario. Very

Balaguer is one of these new strategic residential areas. Its peripheral situation gives on the one hand a cultivated landscape and on the other the city of Balaguer. The proposal was structured according to the urban voids that the project created. Inspired by images from the Palais Royal in Paris, Il Prato della Valle in Padova, and Edward Hopper’s paintings, the new dwellings are expected to admire a gentle landscape of fields and architecture. As vegetation represented in a valley section, built masses determine height according to its topographical situation. In the lower parts, in contact with the made

differently from Le Corbusier’s dispersed urbanism, and closer to Team X’s ideas, Eixamples pursued the Mediterranean tradition of density and lively streets. Under a contemporary perspective, Eixamples also vividly differ from New Urbanism and its Edge Cities, where social groups appear segregated all throughout the territory.

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28 dwellings, Sabadell, Barcelona, 2006-2010. View of the Lubitsch-like window in one of the apartments. Photographer: Jordi Bernadó.

city, architecture is fully urban and consequently tall. In its displacement towards the hills, architecture gradually looses mass and height, pretending not to overpass the almost imperceptible summits of the rounded hills. As an appropriation, the new area mirrors the principal square in the city. The masterplan redoubles an existent terrainvague creating a big new square. The centrality of this public space is expected to articulate the connection to the city of Balaguer and the proposal.

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A second mirrored operation replicates the cathedral tower into a dwelling and office tower that will constitute a new urban landmark. The cathedral tower can be seen when approaching the city from the old road; this new tower is going to be perceived from the toll motorway - a new landmark for a new infrastructure.

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Vila Universitària, Cerdanyola Del Vallès. 243 Dwellings for Phd Students and Professors This project is a university residence with two-hundred and forty-three dwellings for PhD students and professors. Situated in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, the UAB Campus has a strong presence of nature. The residence is placed, as per the previous project, in the urban limits. The building responds to two different contexts. One of them is urban, where the building, heading north, creates a plaza that is in fact in continuity with an already existing public space. The other side –the southern façade - faces the natural landscape of a forested stream bed and the backside of Barcelona: the Collserola range. The two contexts are connected by a terrace that plays the role of a viewpoint and entrance. 60

On the urban side, the building only takes the height of three floors, whereas the complete accommodation of the residence in the site has nine floors articulated through different architectural bodies. Like Eduard Bru’s beloved Napolitan houses, the residence continuously adapts its shape to topography. Here, the hotel-like typology is conventional in its central corridor and two-side room configuration. Its serialized diagram led to the choice of prefabricated panels for the façades. Under different circumstances - in a more tabula rasa context for example - the project would have taken a linear prismatic volume. Here, the site’s steepness imploded and fragmented the body of architecture into different pieces. And at every single rupture, accidental elements took place in order to progressively achieve specificity.

Repetition vs. difference, typology vs. topography, and city vs. nature are several couples of contraries that we find intertwined in the search of specificity. And as if the dissolution of conceptual contraries had not been enough, the project unfolds several appropriated operations. In the urban side, the rose color from the prefabricated panels of a neighboring residence is absorbed by walls, curtains and the locksmith work. The atmosphere of chromatic reverberation between the two buildings increases the sense of place: here, the banality of the neighboring architecture is integrated in the landscape creation process. In the “natural” side, new actions of appropriation produce new forms of specificity. The green color from trees invades the façade on interior walls and curtains. In addition, the wood from trees also enters the project as façade paneling, appearing whenever the body of the architecture suffers topographical dislocations. Sabadell, Barcelona. 28 Dwellings Eduard Bru was trying to explain a recent dwelling project, Sabadell, to the Catalan photographer Jordi Bernadó as an extract from a movie scene. In the project, apartments were small enough to re-think the domestic space in terms of its psychological reception. In Ernst Lubitsch’s Ninotchka (1939), three

characters ended up living in Moscow, enclosed in a small and uncomfortable room. However, the spatial quality of the room was somehow relieved by the presence of a great palace-like window. Eduard Bru gave no description of the outside world, but instead a description of the psychological effect of the palacelike window onto the tiny space where they lived. The window in Moscow acted, in the film, as a contrast with the glamour lifestyle that the main characters had previously enjoyed in the city of Paris. The window represented the sole remain of the beautiful past that they could never return to. Nonetheless, in its noble relationship with the public realm, the window entailed some kind of comfort that stemmed from its urban vocation. In Sabadell, independently of whatever happens to the floor plan, windows maintain rhythm and size. Consequently, a building composed of small apartments acquired the scale of the public space in front. This huge square in the city of Sabadell was even more exaggerated in its disproportion in regards to the existing architecture: traditional row houses on the site were far smaller than our building. The building scale was intermediate between the public space and the traditional row houses, in which the rhythm and size of the Lubitsch-like windows tried to achieve an urban scale. Nevertheless, a dialog with the small row houses was not evident.

In response, the street façade of Sabadell has bass-reliefs which fragment the whole into separated planes. These subtle fragments of the façade already relate the building to its neighbors. Contiguous to one of these old houses - in fact already demolished -, the color of the brick changes into a darker and brighter red. The visual effect is that of a house inside a house: an architectural phagocytosis. This operation would constitute a new appropriation: a weakened sense of authorship for architecture and the implementation of a renewed sense of urban landscape. House in Sant Andreu De Llavaneres, Barcelona North of Barcelona, this house is placed on top of a hill belonging to a mountain range which faces the Mediterranean Sea. The site contains enormous rocks that give, in addition to extraordinary views, a substantial definition of place. Only a few miles away from the house, the sea is somehow invasive as landscape. Added to the natural environment and its huge rocks, the landscape seems to require certain consistency for the architecture. Natural mimicry did not seem to be the proper way to approach the project because the presence of nature seemed strong enough. A visible piece of architecture appeared to be more adequate. Architecture, in this project,

House in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, Barcelona, 2006-2008. View of the garden. Photographer: Enric Llorach. made

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House in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, Barcelona, 2006-2008. View of the main house. Photographer: Enric Llorach.

House in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, Barcelona, 2006-2008. View of the guest house. Photographer: Enric Llorach.

entered the site with care, like a cat on a table full of wineglasses, searching for sunlight or shadow according to temperature and mood.

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In the house, the central empty space, devoted to the main stairway and the elevator, is encircled by rooms. A simple initial diagram may be developed by contingency; in a similar fashion as the residences at UAB, a pure typological diagram was here transformed and articulated by accidents coming from topography and context.

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The main façade is articulated in the house by the presence of the sea. Its invasive character backs down the façade into a curve that protects the garden from the sea’s rugged presence. The first floor is even more retreated, producing a generous terrace for the main rooms. On one hand, the East and North façades are very complex in their intricate arrangements with topography, rock formations and program. A guest pavilion surrounded by a pool, open-air dining-room and bar-b-q, and a buried gym and garage, are intertwined with 62

topographical levels; only the guest house finally stands up as a detached volume. Literally, the guest house is a cut in the house that has been moved away. If we were to recall previous metaphors, the guest house would be like a fragment floating in the sea soon after a shipwreck. On the other hand, the West façade welcomes the visitors, and offers its main entrance. It is again a curve that here receives and leads us to the garden, where a bower and its pond become the sightseeing point for both the house and the sea.

In fact, it all finally works as shipwreck scenery, where waves toss about the ship, and eventually transform it into a fragmented body. In the house in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, rock formations retain their potential power within the attentive cohabitation of architecture. Late 20th Century’s Art drifted towards architecture. The emphasis on perception in the work of the Minimalist artists indicated the way off the gallery: the street and, a little bit further, the countryside. In the seventies, Post-

minimalism tried to enter the daily life and its urban landscape. All of a sudden, the job of the architect coincided with some of the most preeminent artistic practices. Once outside the gallery, some of the artistic projects shared some issues with architecture: they both needed a place. Some of these artists worked on this disciplinary border between art and architecture. For example, Robert Smithson non-sites questioned an idea of place through displacement, representation and the physical transformation of the environment.

However, early 21st Century architecture, in its iconic vocation, seems to have forgotten the qualities of the urban space. I do think the work of Eduard Bru is attached to context, trying to elaborate a sense of place. Given a state of empty space and architectural solids, his work tries to give consistency to the empty space as public space. New Urbanism, Edge Cities or low-density Suburbia do not stand for the quality of the public space in the compact city: this former approach, on the contrary, is rather European and ultimately Mediterranean.

1 Neil Leach, Camouflage, The MIT Press, Cambridge MA, 2006. 2 Situationism had also described the city through Psycho-geography, where plates of affects moved around the city, suffered transformations in the size, shape and topography, were occasionally submerged and eventually emerged somewhere else: The unities of ambiance were constituted by many things, especially the “soft”, mutable elements of the city scene:

the play of presence and absence, of light and sound, of human activity, even of time, and the association of ideas. The “hard” elements, like the shape, size, and placement of masonry, gently articulated the softnesses in between. Simon Sadler, The Situationist City, (Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 1999) p. 70. 3 The serial repetition would imply a certain muteness and indifference that can be perceived, for example, in the famous Andy Warhol’s silk screens, were images

stubbornly remain detached from reality. The technical mistakes from the reproduction become the contingency of the work, as urban accidents in the city scene. 4 The profuse presence of lattices in mudéjar architecture –Arabic architecture built in the Iberian peninsula- is a traditional example of the inside-outside gradient in the southern context. In the same way, the Catalan rural house -the masia- endowed the inside atmosphere a play of light and darkness.

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In Praise of Pebbledash Niall Maxwell The Welsh comedian Rhod Gilbert once described the weather in Wales as of a Biblical scale “…God made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights. That’s a pretty good summer for us in Wales. That’s a hosepipe ban waiting to happen.” 1 Anyone remembering camping holidays to Wales in the 1970s, before the boom in foreign package holidays, will probably share Rhod Gilbert’s light-hearted knock of his beloved homeland. Being among the wettest places in Europe it is no surprise that the weather dominates conversation in these parts. With an above average rainfall, the west is cloudier, wetter and milder in winter, with cooler summers than the east.2 Statistics don’t often state the levels of recorded humidity, but it’s worth mentioning that such a climate should be described as damp.

This reminded me of another joke from Rhod Gilbert ‘s routine where he goes on to state that he “…was 8 before [he] realised that you could take a cagoule off.”5 A similar fate befell the cagoule, the invention of Noel Bibby who established the Peter Storm company in 1954. It may have been designed to keep the rain out, but its impermeable membrane worked both ways; take a short walk and things became a bit damp under your monk’s hood.6 Progress may have done away with the wool overcoat that weighed you down in the rain, but at least it was breathable; so it wasn’t until the development of breathable fabrics that Noel Bibby would see the potential of his simple idea.

Cast your mind back a century, and you will find a very different picture. The Arts and Crafts movement, in particular C.F.A. Voysey, pioneered the use of pebbledash. Deliberately designing buildings that celebrated the non-modular nature of the surface finish, with fenestration and massing elegantly composed to maximise the potential of the material. The ‘dash’ became the design feature, providing emphasis to detail, hierarchy and proportion, picking out complimentary materials for window mullions, eaves and quoins. I think of Voysey’s Moorcrag or Broad Leys in Cumbria, but also of Hill House by Charles Rennie Mactintosh and Goddards by Edwin Lutyens. All fine expressive examples of how a material can be used to its full potential when in the right hands.

1 Rhod Gilbert and The Award Winning Mince Pie, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 21 August 2008 2 BBC Weather Centre Country Guide: www.bbc. co.uk/weather 3 Also referred to as harling or spar, roughcast is an surface applied mix of lime, sand and stone, allowing the wall to breath (both in and out) complimenting the process of evaporation from the wall by increasing the external surface area. 4 Pebbledash is a type of roughcasting using a cement based plaster mix with a surface applied coating of small stones or chips. Pebbledash forms an impermeable barrier to moisture trapping it within the depth of the walls. When the inevitable cracking occurs during cold weather, water is trapped behind the surface and penetrates inside the softer stone, leading to frost damage. 5 ibid 1. 6 Cagoule is French for ‘a monk’s hood’, cowl or balaclava. It may refer to Cagoule (raincoat), a type of raincoat. The Chambers Dictionary, 1994, ISBN 0-55010255-8 7 Bwthyn is Welsh for cottage. 8 The Daily Mail book of Bungalow Plans was first published in 1958 offering plans and kits for purchase. This was followed in 1971 by Jack Fitzsimmons’ book Bungalow Bliss – a manual of architectural plans and contracts for affordable bungalows. This proved to be hugely popular in Ireland, and was recently featured in an touring exhibition entitled Bungalow Blitz curated by Aoife MacNamara 9 Pebble-dashing: A new front for politics, BBC E-Cyclopedia, Thursday, 1 February, 2001, 03:46 GMT

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With pebbledash however, the only perceived solution was to rebuild, and over time countryside settlements were transformed from the ‘bwythn’7, to bungalows to detached suburban homes; pebbledash But climate also defines the beauty of the being the one constant that charts the landscape, the agriculture and architecture. evolution of this rural dweller through the In the wilds of west Wales where I live past century. It is a material synonymous and work, topography and climate govern with the new architecture of the west, be the land use and define the appearance of it in Wales, Ireland, or Western Scotland. settlements and their genius loci. On one With a less regulated planning system and hand the weather saturates and corrodes the arrival of house building manuals8, whilst on the other provides luscious pasture the post war years saw the emergence of and vibrant year round colour to sustain low cost single storey housing typologies generations of close knit rural dwellers replacing many traditional agricultural dwellings. As development policy became wedded to the land and its relentless toil. more restrictive, village plots have become The traditional building stock was built less generous, and the dwellings have grown and rebuilt over time by the same hands to reflect housing trends. that worked this land; the quality was variable, but they all shared the same Take out the word ‘pebbledash’ from this defining features. The development of the description and we could be describing Welsh vernacular is well documented, with UK housing in general. What is the its earth filled solid masonry construction difference between this prescriptive house which were later coated with roughcast3 to style and that of many commuter estates built in the past few decades using other keep out the prevailing wind and rain. face materials? The confusion is in the These surfaces required regular maintenance understanding of a vernacular. to retain the lime coating, so over time contemporary pebbledash finishes provided Poor old pebbledash; maligned since a more permanent weathering solution. the post war era as the material used by Pebbledash could be finished with different unskilled bricklayers to cover up poor aggregates, required no decoration and little brickwork in new or existing housing; maintenance.4 But this impermeable coating “Slapdash Pebbledash” - synonymous with made the buildings sweat, exacerbating the large-scale housing estates, cheaply built and poorly maintained. It even made an damp problem rather than solving it.

appearance in 2001 at election time with William Hague using the term “Pebbledash People” to describe the Tories’ paradigm target voter, numbering 2.5 million in 178 target seats.9

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The Uncertain Centre of the Mary Celeste Spencer’s Island, Nova Scotia, Canada Roger Mullin Since 2007, community members and students of architecture at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada have been designing and building the ‘Uncertain Centre of the Mary Celeste’, a roadside infrastructure and contemporary community amenity that celebrates aspects of the historic shipbuilding period known as the ‘Age of Sail’. The program emerges out of an iterative building process and includes a new public space, an outdoor cinema, a gallery, a classroom and an artist’s residence. Film festivals and workshops are drawing interest from communities all along the magnificent coast of the Bay of Fundy. Background Context Nova Scotia | the Bay of Fundy | Age of Sail | Shipbuilding, Forestry, Merchant Industries | culture | relationship to the world. In 1861 a brigantine christened the ‘Amazon’ and later and more infamously known as the Mary Celeste was the first ship built on the beach in Spencer’s Island, Nova Scotia. Several misfortunes eventually led her to be picked up as salvage by an American, Captain Benjamin Briggs in 1872. Briggs, his crew and family departed New York City for Genoa carrying a cargo of alcohol. Days later the ship was discovered abandoned east of the Azores, marking the start of a variety of speculations about exactly what may have led to her demise. In 1884, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote “J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement”. This interpretation of the events marks a phenomenon by which the Mary Celeste is continually reborn in pop culture and media. In 1935, Bela Lugosi starred in the film, Phantom Ship that helped define a whole genre of films based on the concept of the ghost ship.1 To this day on this same beach, the remains of the shipyard lurk in and out

Painting, Mary Celeste (originally christened Amazon).

view of cribwork for historic wharf and new concrete slip.

of the tide and remind us of the robust shipbuilding period known as the ‘Age of Sail’, a time when merchant shipping and lumbering was at its’ peak. This

place of work and socializing was a platform for shipbuilding activities and a stage to the world. Spencer’s Island is one of many communities that form an

(top left) Spencer´s Island Shipard, 19th century. (bottom left) Advocate Harbour at low tide. made

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diagram showing current site (upper) and historic site (lower) with estuary and proposed boardwalk.

view of 108 foot long rockwall formed from hull profile and projection tower (2007).

open necklace along a 280 km arm of the North Atlantic wedged between the Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The tides of the Bay of Fundy are host to the highest in the world and the remarkable hydrographic phenomenon of the tidal bore (from the Old Norse word bára, meaning a wave or swell). Fundy’s waters ebb and flow within a 200-million-year-old rift valley, splayed at its head to form two major embayments. In shape, it closely resembles another rift valley, the Red Sea, with the Minas Basin as the counterpart of the Gulf of Aqaba and Chignecto Bay mirroring the Gulf of Suez. The extreme tide in this region is a product of the funnel shape above and below the surface of the water and the Bay of Fundy and the Bay and Gulf of Maine acting as a large body of water oscillating in a big bathtub. This resonance is often called the bathtub effect. The tides reach a height of 16 metres during the spring tides and are fed by 100 billion tonnes of water, a flow equal in volume to that of the Gulf Stream, or 2000 times the discharge of the St. Lawrence River. How a one-metre-high tide on the ocean is amplified by a factor of 12 or more on its six-hour journey to the head of the Bay has been a matter of speculation for most of this century.2 Much of the coastline of the Bay of Fundy is as the French navigator, Samuel de Champlain, found it 400 years ago. This story of the arrival of Europeans is intermingled with the first inhabitants of Canada, the First Nations. In this region the Algonquian tribe, the Mi´kmaq lived and traded extensively on these shores. The fascinating story of the ‘sober, grave and good’ Mi´kmaq figure Glooscap, according to some histories parallels the English Knight Templar, Henry Sinclair and his alleged voyage to Nova Scotia in 1398. ‘The Uncertain Centre of the Mary Celeste’. This project broadly engages this history by making a place for a variety of programs to develop and take place. The primary vehicles to date have been the annual design/build modules and the creation of an annual outdoor film festival. More specifically, the physical shape and structure of the projects are analogous interpretations of the space and dimension of the shipyard where the famed brigantine ship was built.

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easterly view showing windbreak, stage, screen and classroom (2008).

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public space defined by hull shaped rockwall

view down into circulation alley adjacent to classroom at south wall.

plan view of current structures (drawing by author).

Begun in 2006, the work continues each summer with a module recently completed during July 15-31, 2010. The ‘centre’ is a collaborative effort between Dalhousie University School of Architecture students and members of the community. As a new amenity, it aims to link into a developing coastal tourism route by showcasing a rich cultural history through media projection, material artifact display, workshops, meanders and sound-scapes.

part of seafaring history. This openendedness is embraced and this spirit is the namesake of the current project. To date, this is also reflected in the pedagogical approach, where the results of each design/build module are not determined a-priori and are the result of decisions made on site, factoring in available means and methods, skill levels, limited budgets, and materials found and or donated, all within a compressed 2-week working period. With a substantial amount of the groundwork in place through several hard-won design/builds a ‘masterplan’

The saga of the Mary Celeste is, of course, a mysterious and unsolved

Time and Structure There exists two timeframes for the project, historical time, late 19th century when the original shipyard was in full swing during the ‘Age of Sail’ and present time. At the scale of the community, the built works are loosely a symmetrical ‘reflection’ of the historical shipyard. Aspects of the spatial and material characteristics are mirrored and transformed to perform in new and familiar ways, programmatically, made

for the site is beginning to emerge, from the ground up.

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Work crew 2009.

View from highway (2007) and signage.

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Raising a mast as screen support.

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Retaining wall under construction (2008).

View from south (2009).

View of accommodation pods (2010).

South westerly night time view from highway.

spatially and experientially. The structures built on site to date negotiate the landscape at a variety of scales as well as the immediate and longer term desire to develop programs that facilitate public gathering, making and the sharing of cultural experiences. Finally, with a place to work and play established, our task was to build an accommodation on site: a minimal dwelling that provides a temporary resident with a place to rest at an arms length distance from the public buildings.

this project employ landscape, program and history in literal and metaphorical ways to represent this point of reflection between the historical site and the present site. Visitors are invited to meander a series of ‘desire lines’ in the field (along the highway), south to the ‘photographers perch’, through a forested area and alongside the estuary to the remaining ruins and beach in the heart of the small community. The estuary is then a place where things meet and mix, salt water and fresh water – past and present.

SITE scales, horizons

The former shipyard opens to the east and was connected to the world via the passage of seafaring ships. This project faces west and acknowledges the prevalence of the automobile as the primary means of travel and the highway as it takes on the role of

The project exists on a sloping 10-acre field between a highway, a rural road and a forested area leading to a marsh (estuary). The narrative and spatial phenomena of

Historic spaces and structures such as the wharf, lighthouse, the open ocean and a sheltered harbor have been transposed onto the field site with programmatic shifts that cater to public gathering, work, interpretation and rest. A string of analogous buildings and places set up a series of experiences along a 3-part path that traverses the distance between historic time and present time. The project aims to bring people off the ‘road’ of the highway onto a pedestrian path, slowing the experience down to speed of a walk. At the scale of the site, the south facing public space looks down and onto an east west traversing 160-foot bar structure. made

the ocean as a physical connection to the rest of the world.

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Here, a long outdoor gallery and a lowerlevel classroom act as a windbreak and bookend the stage and projection screen area. Higher on the slope and to the north, the small tower stands proudly projecting historic images onto the double masted projection screen located at the stage and the intersection of the north-south, eastwest axis. Between these structures exists the sheltered main outdoor public space that is largely defined by the 108-foot long rock wall that carves into the slope in the shape of the hull of the infamous ghost ship. Adjacent to the south wall of the primary structure is a narrow circulation space that connects the main sheltered room at the low westerly part of the site and the stage, new accommodation structures and gallery at the easterly part of the site. This line also creates a spine that both separates and joins the public and private realms. Sloping away from the public spaces and toward the open field, 3 structures accommodate the dwelling program that this year’s module aimed to define. The 3 modest rooms plug into the stations of the wharf buildings, as would the local fishing ships at the nearby wharf in Advocate Harbor. Although separate, these structures are conceptually 3 rooms in a house.

View of accommodation nearing completion (2010).

Drawing In / Drawing Out In 2006, I first visited Spencer’s Island after meeting several community members at a shipbuilding museum in the nearby village of Port Greville. Following this and as part of ongoing research of coastal conditions in the Northern Atlantic, I organized a drawing excursion in the area, and hosted a variety of research partners and students from the countries of Iceland, Ireland and Norway. Among these partners were the reputed Canadian / Norwegian architects Carmen and Elin Corneil. It is from Carmen and Elin that I, and by extension many of my students, have learned the value of ‘drawing big’ (42cm x 59.5 cm) on A2-Sennelier ‘LE MAXI’ in HB conte. This method infuses the process with a open and public quality that welcomes critique and encourages collaboration. Drawing is a large part of the discursive aspect of the design/build modules held in Spencer’s Island. The variety of perspectives come together (sometimes reluctantly!) through a shared paper format, media and the viewpoints of the architectural conventions of plan, section and elevation. We use drawing boards and

Approaching view from Spencer´s Island Road.

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Framed view from within classroom looking north.

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Elevation of frames for classroom. Drawing by author. (rubbing of models, conte).

we take them with us. The drawing subject matter ranges from regional structures and landscapes to onsite assemblies to speculative ideas and proofs, drawing information in and drawing information out. A garage currently houses our studio space where drawings and models speak of ideas of architecture that respond to the previous modules work and cast out the possibilities of exactly what and how we might add each year. It is here where each workday begins and ends. Characters â&#x20AC;&#x153;...build whatever you want.â&#x20AC;? Any description of this work would be lacking without framing a constellation of

community partners that are responsible for this satellite classroom to the Dalhousie University School of Architecture. A motley crew made up of a retired physics professor, a sawyer who lives on a nearby mountain and a talented jack-of-all-trades constitute the spirited crew whom has generously given their knowledge, humor, equipment and materials. Without these people this project would not exist. For my part I am an architect, a professor and maker of things. I have the pleasure of bringing students of architecture here to this beautiful and peripheral part of Nova Scotia for 2-weeks in July each summer. To these colleagues I extend my deep gratitude and admiration. We have all benefited from the making of architecture from sticks and stones with

a currency that is not one of dollars and cents but of landscape, place and culture. It is here that some 50 people have over 4 years worked collaboratively on a project that subscribes to rhythm rather than schedule and to the physical rather than the shifting and clicking dimension of a mouse pad. Structure of Work 2-week design/build modules with budgets of less than $1000 dollars. Module 1 (Public Room, Outdoor Cinema) - 2007 (projection screen / sail + projection booth / light tower + rock wall / hull) - Bridging the site | Images of the past.

View of outdoor gallery, windbreak, pods, stage, screen and classroom. made

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Community partners: Laurie Currie (left) and Paul Callison (right).

Work crew 2007.

Advocate Harbor at low tide.

Work crew 2008.

Paul Zylstra, graduate student and collaborator.

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Roger Mullin

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Interior view of accommodation pod showing framing and window openings at corner and floor.

Module 2 (Classroom, Outdoor Gallery) (wharf bar building frame + retaining wall) Creating a wall to shelter the public space. Module 3 (Enclosure, Stage, Screen modification) - 2009 (Cladding the classroom, establishing the platform stage) Closing in | Film Festival | Live music.

Afternoon view, classroom exterior.

Framed view towards south end of path (see plan).

Module 4 (Shelter) – 2010 Creating 3 rooms that add up to an accommodation for an artist in residence. Moving in.

1 Paul Zylstra, “Spencer´s Island is Not a Ghost Town: A Cultural Institution in a Post-Industrial Community” (MArch thesis, Dalhousie University, 2009). 2 Harry Thurston, A Natural History of the Bay of Fundy, (Camden East, Ont., Camden House Publishing, 1990).

View of rockwall defining public area and tower in background.

View from north with tower in foreground.

Acknowledgements Students: Alice Fudge Chris Barrie Chad Manley Peter Braithwaite Jordan Rice Matthew Jarvis Naryn Davar Sarita Mann

Amanda Wingenbach Olena Chorny Dan Wojcik Ryan Nelson Alex Bogusat Owen McSweeney Paul Zylstra Ayon Ibrahim

Julien Daigle Kim Fuller Owen McSweeney Graeme Verhulst Dalton Kaun Zhe Wang Mark Erickson Matthew Kennedy Benedict Murray

Marta Vadet Richard Gilles Paul Zylstra Paul Chafe Justin Sylvestre Kim Fuller Ryan Beecroft Brad Pickard Sarah Zollinger

others: Currie Family Paul Callison Wild Caraway

Kerr Canning Christina Felderhof Tom Evans Josh Lunn Al Tuck Erin Costelo Center for Art Tapes made

Mark Aseltine Liz Lau Lori Colucci Josh Collins

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One man, few tools, a Renault Clio and a Waterbug Sam Clark During the credit-crunch recession of This particular Springer narrowboat 2009 I bought ‘Waterbug’ (formerly features a V-shaped hull; a direct response ‘Voyager’), speculating that she could be to the problem of under-managed, silted an affordable part-time home. Waterbug waterways. An effective response for its measures 2000mm wide by 9750mm time, though less applicable to today’s long. Her cabin has a total floor area of better maintained waterways. For an 14sqm, accessed via 610mm wide door architect it presents a spatial challenge, and hatch openings, and offers an internal in section and in plan; how do you clear width of 1710mm and 1830mm configure the floor? Does one set it high head-height (unlined and unfurnished). I and therefore wide, or low and narrow? am 1710mm tall and like to play the cello. A project of this scale deserves a certain Together, we are spatially challenged. economy of design; one, maybe two key Waterbug is a narrowboat manufactured ideas. As an architect it is all too easy by Springer Engineering in Market to get carried away and dream up big Harborough near Leicester. Springers are ideas of ‘building’, but a second hand infamously cheap and cheerful, having Springer narrowboat is only ever going been built for one purpose: leisure. East- to be a refurbishment project, involving ender Sam Springer is said to have simple improvement and/or replacement provided an affordable and popular of the existing fabric. In reality the boat narrowboat in much the same spirit determines the project scope, much like Adolf Hitler championed the Volkswagen when opening up a listed building that is ‘People’s Car’. His budget vessels answered in need of conservation. a rising demand in leisure watercraft, following the renaissance of British canals The key move in this (architectural) during the 1960s and 70s 1. After decades project is to improve the internal head of neglect and post-industrial decline, height, by means of vertical extension. It public interest in the canals was growing is a simple enough proposition – a static and local communities were galvanised version of the classic Volkswagen camper into action, often digging out the relics by van’s elevating roof – though not without hand. New industries were beginning to difficulties and compromises. The boat’s emerge, meeting an expanding amount of roof structure needs to be reconfigured leisure time available to the average person. from one that is predominantly a tensile skin with stiffening bars, to one that is According to boating hearsay Sam Springer predominantly ‘open’, framed and braced. built his first narrowboats after buying The framing is not straightforward either, an excess of decommissioned gasometer since the roof is arched – and not wholly steel2. A visitor to Sam’s factory recalls uniform – demanding bespoke, radial him saying “we used to manufacture steel bars (further bent in place, using an steel tanks, a narrowboat is a bit like that, acro-prop, to suit localised variation). To but it works the other way round!”3 Of maximise on head height the steel should course, Sam’s supply line of gasometer be no greater than the existing 32mm steel could not be sustained and post T-sections. The specified finish is 3mm 1985 Springer Engineering had to start white washed marine ply. Electric lighting purchasing lower quality, thinner steel. will be wall mounted, thus keeping the This prolific company is widely thought low ceiling areas free of obstacles. The to be one the largest providers of low additional roof volume is determined by a cost vessels of its time. Many of its boats myriad of concerns: cost and buildability; still survive today4, in spite of scorn from aesthetics in creating an extension that traditional narrowboaters. Unfortunately looks purposeful, not accidental or Springer Engineering went into Voluntary crude; maintaining clearance under and Liquidation in January 1991 and little through bridges and tunnels, and the future usability of the roof – will it accept recorded information remains.

The means available to realise this project are limited to say the least: one man (me), a few tools, a delivery van in the shape of an aging Renault Clio, two months of British summertime, and one steep learning curve in both practical construction and boat technology. The most basic tasks, such as shopping for, selecting and delivering materials require careful consideration and time. 490kg is the maximum loading capacity of a Renault Clio and 2480mm its maximum internal diagonal. One standard sheet of ply does not fit, and is not easy to carry in any case. 900x 1500mm fits, so long as you are prepared to drive with the boot tied down and the front passenger seat folded in suspension. Machined steel beams make a greasy mess of your upholstery. Of course is it not always possible to manage economies. Despite carefully calculated plans – calculated to save time, money, space and head height – it is not possible to know all the unknowns. As with every construction project, contingencies are useful and often used. But can one really anticipate a one week delay on a two week lead-time for windows, coinciding with a week of heavy wind and rain? A simple interior fit-out can also become a wholly different project once a leak is discovered below the waterline. The project continues. Readers can follow the boat project at: http://adhocarchitects.blogspot.com/

1 Conversation with Dave, Phoenix Marine, Keynsham, August 2010. Dave used to drive the crane at Phoenix Boatyard, and now owns and manages the moorings. Dave has refurbished 174 narrowboats. 2 Conversation with Gez, Phoenix Marine, Keynsham, September 2009. Previous owner of ‘Waterbug’ (formerly ‘Voyager’). 3 A boat owners’ blog: http://www.tuesdaynightclub. co.uk/beatty.html 4 Albeit adapted, and over-plated, as is the case with Waterbug’s hull

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picnicking boaters, their sun-bathing friends, pot plants and bikes?

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The Unspoken City Abigail Lockey The snaking road ascends the steep hillside, passing through the crowded centre of the favela on its climb. Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Sunday 21st October, 2007, market day: the main road passing through the centre of Rocinha is lined with the brightly coloured awnings of countless market stalls, the road packed with a frenetic mix of traders and shoppers. Below, the central hairpin bend in the road, known locally as Curva do S (S-Bend), cuts a twisting path up the hillside in three constricted turns; on the second curve a reversal occurs. Almost silently, drivers and pedestrians switch sides of the road, right to left, only to switch effortlessly, left to right, on the third bend in the twisting road. In itself the confusion of movement and transportation on the narrow road defies belief: motorbikes, moto-taxis, vans, cars, trucks, buses, articulated lorries carrying building materials to one of the ever present construction sites in the favela, cyclists and pedestrians deprived of a pavement; four wheels, two wheels, two feet. For a moment it appears that every form of available transport seems to be jostling for space to negotiate the Curva do S. It is the ease, however, with which the reversal takes place which is incredible to observe; everyone using the road appears to know where and how the change occurs. No signs of warning or caution precede this orchestrated reversal. The knowledge is inherent to the community; an uninitiated outsider would be lost in the unwritten rules of the Curva do S.

spread out to the poorer periphery of the city. The hillsides, appropriated for inhabitation by informal communities, are the only alternative to a lack of affordable housing, on land considered unsuitable for formal occupation. For more than a century the steep hillsides and marshlands of Rio have formed a contested landscape from which the national culture has emanated. Exported for mass consumption, the culture of marginality descended the hillsides to form an image of Brazil which the world now recognises - carnival, samba, capoeira and baile funk, are but a few of the best known examples of Brazilian culture consumed abroad. Each share a history of challenging the social hierarchies of the formal society. Despite the cultural vibrancy, the favelas continue to be the unwanted neighbour; wealthier Cariocas fear the insecurity and property devaluation associated with living alongside the poor communities. Claude Levi-Strauss1 observed the social stratification of the city in the 1930’s, a tangible legacy of colonialism that still broadly continues to define Rio’s urban fabric,

Perhaps the problem has now been solved but in 1935 the altimeter unfailingly indicated the place each individual occupied in the social scale: the higher you lived the lower your status.2 For one fifth of Rio de Janeiro’s population, daily life continues on the notional edges of the city, physically, socially and economically isolated, in a place of conflict between the Military Police units and the paramilitary drug factions. These urban squatters have no choice but to occupy the no-mans land between the neo-colonial hierarchies of the formal city, and the inverted social code of the informal favela communities, where the socially inverted condition of marginality is expressed in the socio-spatial performance of every day existence. Rio embodies these social and physical extremes. It’s beauty contrasts sharply with the sense of danger that permeates the city. Carnival fireworks illuminate the skies over downtown Rio every February in a sharp contrast to the fireworks which explode above the favelas all year round: an incongruous beauty,

The tacit informality of the urban slum, or favela, Rocinha was demonstrated to me in that moment, as I stood, transfixed by this segment of road inside the chaotic core of the favela, a city within the city. Rocinha is estimated to be the largest urban slum in Latin America, sitting alongside one of the wealthiest districts in Rio de Janeiro. Rocinha is not alone, being one of more than 1000 favelas in the city today which weave through the wealthy districts of central Rio and (left) Street Market, Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro.

The ‘Curva do S’ in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, taken at 6am, before the main traffic of the day. made

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The favela Santo Amaro in Catete, Rio de Janeiro, with views to the famous form of Sugar Loaf, in the background.

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Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro. The growth of the favela on the hillside contrasts with the wealthy neighbouring district, Sao Conrado, centre image.

which signals territorial incursions in the drug traffickers’ war for control of the hills. Rio’s urban fabric still recalls the days when the slave quarters and grand mansions existed side by side, reflecting the contradictions that produced the binary social and spatial realities of the city, and the culture which reproduced the inverted social-physical-spatial interplay of Brazilian society, embodied particularly by the fight-dance-game capoeira. By 2020 it is anticipated that one in four cariocas will be forced to live outside the law and the benefits of formal citizenship, and the daily existence of one quarter of the city will be defined by illegality and the socio-spatial contradictions illegality creates. The increasing informalization of Rio has generated a dual cityscape, in which the socio-spatial responses to illegality and exclusion form increasingly complex barriers to the integration of the formal and the informal. As Brazil’s second largest city and former Capital and centre of Imperial rule, Rio has long been an emblem of exoticism to the world; think Rio, think Carnival, samba,

football, beaches, passionate people, the impossible beauty of the landscape and of its surgically enhanced population. But the reality is of a city divided and socially broken; wealth from poverty, white from black, formal from informal, legal from illegal. The relationship between formal and informal, legal and illegal, expressed and oppressed has been central to the cultural development of Brazil, since the Atlantic trade in slaves brought more Africans to the shores of Brazil than any other destination. The culture the slaves brought with them expressed the social hierarchies and worldview that had been displaced by the Atlantic crossing, and provided the subjugated population with a commonality, in the context of the dehumanizing system of colonial slavery. Brazil is no longer a colonial satellite. Independent since 1822, the Federal Republic of Brazil has passed through decolonization, but unlike the majority of post-colonial nations Brazil was unable to restore the cultural territories of it’s past. Once the centre of the Portuguese Empire, Brazil experienced a form of colonialism

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which sculpted an entirely ‘New World’ for those brought to Brazilian shores from Africa and Europe. Nor did Brazil retain its original population in majority numbers: Brazilian Indians today number as few as 350,0003 in a nation of 185 million people. After decolonisation, Brazil was unable to reconstitute the ‘shattered community, to save or restore the sense and fact of community against all the pressures of the colonial system’4 because the majority population had been so violently dislocated. In 1849 Rio held the largest captive population in the Americas; with a non-white population in two-thirds majority, ‘many likened Rio to an African City.’5 The ensuing identity crisis transformed the city into a landscape of displacement; slaves formed anew the social hierarchies and practices that had been lost to them, and the performative practices of this culturally divergent population coalesced to form new modalities that better reflected their shared experience. The pressures of subjugation therefore formed social worlds in binary opposition: formal and informal, legal and illegal, expressed and oppressed.

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has earned the practice an international profile. Exported in the 1970’s to America and Europe, capoeira quickly spread across the globe; capoeiristas regularly feature in advertising campaigns, music videos and the media as a symbol of the diversity and vitality of Brazilian culture. Memorably featured on UK screens as part of the BBC Cool Britannia i-dent series: type ‘Capoeira’ in to Google UK and 7,350,000 hits result, more than the 7,260,000 offered by Google Brazil, demonstrating the rapid growth and appeal of the practice outside Brazil.

Capoeira roda, the physical conversation unfolds inside the circular arena, formed by players and spectators.

Capoeira Roda in Rocinha. Mestre King. 2008.

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Brazil’s historic economic and social dependence on slavery has left an indelible mark on the culture and social discourse of its people. In this context the fight-dance-game capoeira evolved as a subculture rooted in the systematic marginalisation of the Afro-Brazilian and Creole population. The practice long remained part of the clandestine, unspoken culture of Rio, hidden from the authorities who sought to extinguish the practice of all rituals involving African drumming and dancing, illegal in the Catholic colonies. The anxiety of displacement is therefore part of the capoeira game, where the restraints of social hierarchy were temporarily

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reversed, and the frustrations of life forgotten in the process of play. The social reversal in which the game is rooted is not obvious at first sight; in physical terms, capoeira is a corporeal conversation between two players, whose acrobatic and energetic movements never fail to draw attention. The conversation unfolds inside a circular arena, or roda, formed of spectator-participants traditionally formed on the streets, back alleys and docklands of the city. Capoeira evolved through slavery, persecution and illegality as a multilayered cultural manifestation with a complex history. Its exotic, edgy image outside Brazil 82

But what has capoeira got to do with the favelas? The relationship between capoeira and the favelas goes beyond the literal connection between the original capoeiristas, who were associated with slavery and urban poverty and criminality, to encompass the spatial language that developed in response to a shared history of illegality and exclusion. The participants and slum dwellers were very often one in the same group; a culture of inversion and deception shaped the spatial practice of capoeira and the favela communities in parallel, as a spatial and cultural adaptation to the violent social control systems of the ruling elite. The resultant malicia, or deception, inherent6 to this spatial performance therefore represents the displacement of the shackles of everyday existence, and offers a unique insight into the unwritten rules generated by the exclusion, cultural oppression and social isolation underlying the formalinformality of the favelas and capoeira. Capoeira has provided a system of cultural preservation, capturing the formal-informality of the communities in which it evolved; simultaneously a fight, a dance and a game, capoeira defies categorisation. The participants engage in a form of fighting, delivering kicks of sufficient force and distance to strike the opponent. The opponent is trained to avoid the kick and deliver an attack in response: question and answer. This conversation can last for any length of time, from thirty seconds to ten or twenty minutes. The rhythm of three to eight instruments dictate the pace of the game; when the music ceases, play comes to a halt, lending the interplay the appearance of a dance. To an uninitiated spectator the game itself can appear to have no defined end point and no clear winner, but the purpose of the interplay is more complex than winning or losing: after all, not every conversation is an argument.

So capoeira is a just game? ‘I play capoeira’, ‘Are you going to play in the roda today?’ These common phrases reflect the historic description of capoeira discourse as vadiar, to play, laze around, waste time implies the function of capoeira as a diversion amongst the slaves in moments of freedom from work. This is the point at which capoeira becomes conceptually elusive; to occidental eyes, play offers little social value beyond childhood, in opposition to the concept of play in African culture, in which play forms an essential part of social discourse and a training for life. Play strengthens and prepares the body, mind and emotions for the challenges inherent to urban poverty; likewise, capoeira provided a temporal release from the bounds of a social system that restricted both physical and psychological liberty.7 The subsequent legalisation of capoeira in the late 1930’s formed part of the Estado Novo policy, which advocated a unified nation where racial differences would be replaced by the greater notion of Brazilian identity. However the process was perceived by many practitioners to be the start of a whitening of the art, removing the element of ‘vadiar’ from the game to lend capoeira the acceptability of a genuine competitive sport. Despite the newfound acceptance legalisation brought, the origins of capoeira in Rio remained tied to the context of urban marginality. This was due to the complex relationship between capoeira and the state; capoeira had elaborated on the streets and throughout the public squares of Rio, adapting to the urban context players formed territorial gangs, or maltas, across the city. Although considered officially a violent subculture and a threat to Portuguese law and order, players were regularly co-opted by the state to quell riots or corral elections. Known as the ‘Black Guard’ their skills as unarmed fighters conveyed many to battlefields in the Northern states of Brazil. Capoeira therefore constituted an inverted form of control in the city, akin to the contemporary subculture of Rio’s territorial drug trafficking gangs, occupying the favelas. Despite this relationship, the response of the state to the practice was routinely brutal; those who played the game suffered imprisonment, deportation and violence at the hands of the authorities. Officially legalised in 1938, playing capoeira on the street remained an offence: the game was to be strictly controlled within authorised academies. In a climate of oppression,

Urbanisation team member surveying Rochinha. 2007.

the game adopted a culture of duplicity to escape detection, continuing under prohibition in the clandestine shelter of the slums. The outlawed rodas created an alternative ‘black space’ of resistance, in which the established social hierarchy could be challenged and inverted, albeit temporarily. Another road, another market day, this time on the other side of the Atlantic, August 2005, where the concealed and unspoken nature of Capoeira was illustrated to me for the first time. The group with which I was training decided to hold a street roda in Portobello Market, London, to draw the attention,

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and donations, of Portobello’s shoppers. Street space was naturally tight as traders filled the pavements while shoppers crowded in the roads; the Brazilian Master of the group decided that the prime location for our performance, in terms of footfall and surface quality, was the road junction where the game would attract the most attention. The group followed his instruction without hesitation; the circle of capoeiristas, their music and the crowd rapidly transformed the road into a performance space. Fifteen minutes passed before the intervention of a policeman, who suggested we move on, ended the appropriation of the junction and reinstated the use of the road, as the

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the urbanization survey teams in 2007 as to what they were doing in the favela, suspicious of their official appearance, he was informed that they were surveying the density of the community, counting buildings and the number of floors per building. The resident laughed: ‘add another floor to the count’, he shouted down to the team in the street below his window, for he would be building another floor to his apartment block over the weekend. This constant inconsistency is part of the favelas and the psyche of the favelados: a flexibility that has permitted their survival but presents a layer of complexity, which directly undermines integration. The lack of official land tenure compounds this unspoken complexity; informal street names and house numbers originate from an absence of official recognition, the form of the favela changes rapidly, as do the multiplicity of street names illustrating the concealed qualities that define the structure, fabric and society of communities like Rocinha.

Construction and sunbathing side by side in Rocinha.

Comparing the spatial appropriation of capoeira Regional, left, and Angola, right, in elevation and plan. The divergent experiences of marginality shaped the spatial appropriation of each style.

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cars and vans of the market stallholders returned. The fluid like occupation, and the attitude of deference exhibited by the group of mainly young British students towards the Brazilian Master displayed the inverted condition of capoeira in which social norms became secondary to the unspoken hierarchy of the group. The insidious ability of the game to appropriate available space, irrespective of formal restrictions, exposed the character that has facilitated its continuance; displaying a disregard for official boundaries the practice shares much with the favelas, which have similarly elaborated in complexity in response to opposition and illegality.

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The flexibility and mobility of the capoeira roda is a reflection of the intrinsically changeful and unpredictable favela communities, which elaborate over extraordinarily short periods of time. Construction takes place over a weekend, a public holiday, an afternoon when the materials are available, the occupant has time, or as and when the weather permits. Recent attempts to record the existing accommodation distribution and density in communities such as Rocinha, as part of government run urbanisation programmes, have struggled to capture this aspect of favela life; when a resident of Rocinha questioned one of 84

The relentlessly flexible nature of the favelados is a response to the criminalisation of poverty. They have been forced to adapt their homes in form, material and location to survive successive elimination programmes, recalling the responsive nature of capoeira which adapted to the clandestine conditions of prohibition, a shared survival strategy of the urban poor. The movements of capoeira embody this characteristic; notoriously practised within the space of a threshold8 at the height of its prohibition, spatially restricted, small, slow, deceptive movements have become synonymous with the ‘old’ style of Capoeira know as Angola. The motion of the game and the space it occupies can therefore be said to embody the oppression which influenced it’s development, the effect of which can be analysed in spatial terms by comparing an Angola roda to a Regional roda, the ‘new’ style which developed in response to the process of legalisation, which many consider a ‘whitened’ form of the game. Angola capoeira visibly appropriates less space than a Regional game, the kicks and flourishes associated with the latter form express the recognition that Regional was given within academies, and the place that the roots of capoeira were long denied. Historically, capoeira and the favelas were forced to project an appearance of conformity to survive successive regimes of persecution; an unspoken deception became central to the practice of Capoeira,

known as malicia, a perfomative response to illegality. In the English language the word malicia has a negative ring, reminiscent of malice or malicious. However, the common usage in Brazil is far from as one-dimensional. The term embodies an alternative form of intelligence; to have malicia is to be a street smart, cunning and deceitful, aware of the surroundings and how to manipulate them in your favour using creativity and spontaneity. Central to the practice of capoeira, malicia developed as an adaptation to dominance in the context of urban slavery, the practice of malicia in the capoeira roda denotes an adept, described by Andre Lace Lopez as the ‘secret, experiential knowledge that distinguishes those who simply play capoeira from those who truly embody it’.9 Malicia captures the experiences of the urban poor within a spatial performance. The circular arena of the roda provides a frame for the practice of malicia, and constitutes the unit of space in various Afro-Brazilian performances: samba, jongo, capoeira, maculele to name but a few. The roda represents a physical and conceptual place in Afro-Brazilian culture; the sense of place engendered by the roda replaces the loss of place suffered by the dislocated slave population, and the lack of place historically experienced

by the favelados in Brazilian society. The roda provides a dynamic connection to the history and experiences of the marginalised, the arena in which their stories are re-enacted. Their legacy is not framed by the monumental histories of the colonial era, or by the walls of the Churches the slaves built, but within the communal memory reproduced inside the roda and on the streets of the city. The favelas are unceasingly transformative. The original traces of community vanish under the structures of those that followed; the history of the favela communities has consequently gone largely unrecorded, and illegality and informality has barred them from the official records and collective consciousness of the city. The roda’s dynamic connection to the past and to the legacy of their urban experience is therefore embodied in the transient practices and rhythms which have been harder for time and the formal systems of the city to erase. The roda is both place and event in this context, a re-enactment of the systems that facilitated survival on the fringes of formal society. The population forced to live on the fringes of official Carioca society is growing. In the period 1991-2000 the informal population increased at a rate of 24%, whilst the city overall grew at a rate of 7%10. Most official citizens fear the crime, violence and uncontrolled

informality associated with the favelas and their rapid spread across the city. In response, the city recently committed US$18,000,000 to construct a system of 3.5m high concrete walls to contain the favelas’ growth on Rio’s hillsides. The walls stand in direct opposition to the official policy of integration, enforcing division and framing fear;11 they speak of governance woefully ill equipped and unable to cope with an informal population perceived to be out of control. The City Statute legislation of 2001 required the integration of the favelas and the city: the informal and the formal, but the success of this policy arguably relies on the acceptance of the favelas as a part of the city fabric. Recent approaches in urbanism focus on the acceptance of the favelas as part of the city, and are arguably the first step towards a functional integration of the communities with the urban fabric of Rio, but the official rhetoric does not appear to translate in to everyday life in the city, where walls, screens and barriers form the language of authority. Reality is hidden from eyes that do not wish to see; visitors leaving the international airport by taxi or bus are greeted by a snaking wall of barriers flanking the road, dividing the favelas from the Linha Vermelha (red line) and Linha Amarela (yellow line) expressways, the

The spread of Rocinha reaches the physical limit of the road side. made

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principle express routes of the city. The ‘acoustic barriers’ cost US$11,000,000 and stand 3m high, they are intended to shield the communities from the noise of heavy traffic; in affect the once visible communities have disappeared from the view of tourists, in preparation for the global attention that the Olympic Games in 2016, and the World Cup in 2014, will inevitably deliver. It is no surprise then that amongst those who live in the favelas the ‘sense of exclusion and discrimination based on race… on residing in a favela, on the style of dressing, on place of origin, and on gender’ rose from 53% in 1969 to 89% in 200112. These figures perhaps reflect a shift in aspirations amongst the favelados as the living standards and affluence of the city around them rises; the economic migrants who moved from rural poverty to Rio in search of employment and a better existence had inherently different expectations when they invaded and settled on the hills and marshlands of Rio, their children and grandchildren have aspirations drawn from the thriving city in which they were born and consequently suffer a greater degree of dissatisfaction with the isolation of their communities, and the lack of access to the opportunities provided by employment and education.

For sale: the informal property market flourishes inside Rocinha. 2007.

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Selaron’s Street art in Gloria, Rio de Janeiro, comments in on the social code of the favelas.

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The favelas of Rio provided an immediate solution to the need for high density, low cost housing in central Rio in the absence of state support, and the growth of Rio has depended on this cheap labour supply. The historic attitude of politicians and planners illustrates that aggressive public policy, in an effort to eradicate poverty by targeting those suffering from its effects, can only continue to compound the segregation and insecurity of an entire city13. The favelas provide a perverse reflection of such policies; the economic and social systems of Rio have constructed an unspoken interdependency between the wealthy citizens and the cheap supply of labour provided by the proximity of the unwanted informal population. The physical walls and barriers constructed by the city authorities are reinforced by the notional barriers of criminality and informality in the communities, the majority of which are governed by an inverted system of rules and illicit hierarchies. Before I visited Rocinha for the first time the local community association had to be made aware of who I was, and what I wanted to do in the favela. I was never to enter unannounced,

City divided: Rocinha meets Sao Conrado. Rio de Janeiro.

reinforcing the notion of an unspoken network of control which limits the freedom of people to move through the community. The inverted systems of control dislocate Rocinha from the city, whilst the hostility and corruption of the State agents push the community further towards the known security of the drug gang. The security offered by the state provides no support to the citizens of the favelas, and in this way the reliance on the informal and unspoken is strengthened. The favelas, and the vibrant culture which emanates from the communities, has long been forced into a relationship with illegality. In response, those forced to live under illegal conditions developed necessary informal networks and unspoken codes of behaviour, which have

shaped the spatial practice of everyday life inside the communities. The unwritten systems underlying the socio-spatial aspects of urban marginality are manifest through the practice of malicia in the illegal settlements and marginalised spaces of the city; memorably enacted in the performance of the Curva do S. Perhaps the importance of malicia as a spatialised response to illegality is as misunderstood as the importance of vadiar, or play, in the capoeira roda. The formal-informality of malicia continues to dominate the favelas, isolating them from the formal city; the City Statute legislation of 2001 called for the integration of the informal and the formal, but the success of this initiative relies on an understanding of malicia, the philosophy of informality, gained only

through the ‘practice’ of that philosophy: an outsider would have been lost in the spatial performance on the snaking road inside Rocinha. Similarly the deceptive nature of the Capoeira game can only be understood through its’ practice; the rules and systems of play passed from teacher to initiate implicitly, through time and experience; the deceptive nature of the game is central to the practice, and the most elusive skill to learn. The malicia, or deception14, inherent to capoeira and urban informality underlies the complex rules and unwritten social systems generated by exclusion, cultural oppression and social isolation in Rio de Janeiro; the process of integration should primarily engage these rules and systems to reduce the physical and psychological barriers, which currently divide the city.

1 Claude Levi-Strauss, Triestes Tropiques (Penguin: New York, 1992), p.87. 2 Levi-Strauss, p.87. 3 Survival, The Movement for Tribal Peoples. (WWW) <URLhttp://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/brazilian> (Accessed November 2009) 4 Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griggiths, Helen Tiffin (eds), The Post-Colonial Studies Reader, 2nd Edition (London: Routledge, 2006), p.95. 5 Matthias Röhrig Assunção, Capoeira: The History of an AfroBrazilian Martial Arts (Sport in the Global Society) (London: Routledge, 2005), p.71 6 The value of deception as adaption to domination is

discussed in John Lowell Lewis, Ring of Liberation: Deceptive discourse’ in Brazilian Capoeira (Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press, 1992), p.40. 7 Maya Talmon Chvaicer, The Hidden History of Capoeira: A Collision of Cultures in the Brazilian Battle Dance (University of Texas Press, 2007), p.172 8 Deadly Arts: A Quest for Invincibility. [videorecording]: Produced, written and starring Josette D. Normandeau. [S.I.] Stax Entertainment Limited, 2006. 9 Chvaicer, p.172. 10 Sergio Besserman Vianna, Presidente Do Instituto Municipal De Urbanismo Pereira Passos – IPP Favelas Cariocas http://www.rio.rj.gov.br/ipp/download/ata_25jun08.pdf

[accessed April 2009] 11 As discussed in Teresa P.R. Caldeira, City of Walls: Crime, Segregation and Citizenship in Sao Paolo, (Berkley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press Ltd, 2000) 12 Janice E. Perlman, ‘The Metamorphosis of Marginality: The Favelas of Rio de Janeiro <URLhttp://www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu-projects/drivers_urb_change/ urb_society/pdf_liveli_vulnera/Perlman_Metamorphosis_ Marginality.pdf> (Accessed February 2009) 13 D.M. Goldstein, Laughter Out of Place: Race, Class, Violence and Sexuality in a Rio Shantytown (London: University of California Press, 2003) 14 See Footnote 6 on the value of deception.

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The Hemplime Vault Sylvia Harris and David Lea In 2009 students of the Welsh School of Architecture, as part of the Vertical Studio programme, constructed a section of a vaulted building using one material, a mixture of hemp and lime, to provide structure, insulation, and enclosure. As far as we know this is the first time this material has been used without a supporting structure. The students were divided into two groups mixing both years who worked in shifts on construction, research, and design. Students had to research for and write a short report on the nature and use of hemp/lime. They also had to design a gardener’s hut sited in one of Cardiff’s parks to demonstrate their understanding of the material.

carbon than is produced in the lime production, and is thus ‘carbon-negative’. Organization of the studio The students were briefed on site management, so that tools were cared for and the site left clean and tidy at the end of each day. The two teams of students switched duties at mid-day, one building while the other researched. Site work started with a demonstration by Ian Pritchett of Limetec who donated the hemplime to the project. The students then carried out the work with the support of the tutors. Construction

A slice of a room 3.0m across the widest part was constructed. The space available Funding and construction site limited the dimensions. The vault was A number of local firms were approached supported on piers 0.6m x 1.2m on plan, for the donation of essential materials, 1.8m high to the springing. Recesses in tools and scaffolding. The response the piers were spanned by a beam. During was truly generous, confirming a structural tests afterwards, it became wide interest in and support for the clear that this beam was unnecessary and project. A small quantity of wood for in fact introduced a line of failure. the shuttering was the only substantial item that had to be purchased Cardiff The vault followed the curve of a University’s Estates Division provided suspended chain, the catenary falling a suitable space for construction at the roughly in the middle third of the vault rear of the Bute Building in which the thickness. The catenary line hit the ground just within the wall thickness, so School is located. that the structure was in compression and no tension members were required. Material

Structural tests Seven months after completion, Professor Abutair and Dr. Kinuthia of the University of Glamorgan Engineering Department supervised the testing of the vault. Using 25Kg sandbags the vault was loaded to 1.6Kn/sq.m, very close to the service load. At this point the structure began to spread slightly and a crack appeared at the junction of pier and vault. This showed the limit of the structural form rather than the material. As Professor Abutair stated ‘It is our professional judgement that the structure would have withstood much more load before stability became a serious issue’. Building Form The inspiration for the hemplime vault is the earth brick architecture of the Middle East, where the need to cover space using small units of material produced forms of construction where all these units are in compression. The material determines the form. The fewer the materials, the more direct the connection to the form. Reduction of the number of materials and layers emphasizes the essential nature of what remains. Seeing into the essential nature of things communicates simplicity, directness and integrity. Conclusion

David Lea, the visiting tutor, used The hemplime mixture was lightly tamped It is hoped that, by constructing a small Hemplime extensively in the WISE into plywood shuttering. Finishes could piece of architecture where material, project at the Centre for Alternative be simple using lime render or paint. The structure, geometry and form are brought Technology where all the external walls upper surface of the vault formed a 30 together with clarity of intention, students are constructed of this material cast or deg. pitched roof, and cedar shingles were would absorb some of the issues presented blown around a structural timberframe screwed directly into the hemcrete; no other above, not just intellectually, but through 500mm thick. (U=0.14). Hemp is grown structure or membranes were required. their hands and backs as well, so that, in in Britain and can be fitted into crop Other finishes could be simple using lime the future they will find more interest in rotations. The part of the plant used render or paint. Hemcrete can also be used linking mental to manual labour. The project was successful and enjoyable for in hemplime is the ‘shiv’ from inside for insulated ground floor slabs. all involved. the stem. Lime is virtually inexhaustable. This appears to be a genuinely sustainable Hemplime has many advantages: It is and very simple way of building offering It is our hope that the hemp/lime project durable, vapour permeable, hygroscopic extreme reduction of complexity as could contribute to a viable mainstream and at the same time offers excellent very few materials and components approach to design that is both truly sustainable and innovative. air-tightness. Hemplime locks up more are necessary. made

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Learning from Discovery Owen Francis For centuries Terra Australis Nondum Cognita has served as a magnet for explorers from many nations. The potential of scientific discovery and greater understanding of the natural world brought explorers to this barren, frozen and windiest continent; but the lure of the South Pole was irresistible.1 Following a number of previously successful voyages to the continent, the determined Royal Geographic Society organised the National Antarctic Expedition in 1901, famously led by Commander Robert Falcon Scott RN and financed to the princely sum of £90,000 (£5,135,400 in 20042) by the President of the Royal Geographical Society, Sir Clements Markham. Part of the supplies on board was an 11.3 metre-square prefabricated hut known to all as Discovery Hut, intended to house a small landing party. It was built by James Moore of Sydney at a cost of £360.14½ and designed by Professor Gregory, the leader of the expedition’s scientific staff.3 It was discovered that the hut did not perform well as living quarters and was described by Shackleton as ‘draughty and cold ... [and] the discomfort of the hut was byword for the Expedition.’ 4

The hut was subsequently used as a storehouse and an emergency shelter, and as a base from which to begin expeditions. Occasional ceremonies were held in the hut, but no permanent sleeping quarters were erected.5 Upon his return to England, Scott wrote an account of his expedition, The Voyage of the Discovery, before retiring from the Royal Navy to concentrate on planning his British Antarctic Expedition of 19101913. This later expedition would carry several prefabricated huts which had been developed in London. The main building, known on this voyage as Scott’s Hut was designed to be the expedition’s winter quarters, 15 metres by 8 in plan, (left) Discovery Hut South Elevation ©Pip Cheshire / New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust.

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with a gabled roof rising to a central ridge 4.3 metres high. This hut had the significant benefit of hindsight, and had evolved from the unsuitable Discovery Hut, about which Scott wrote: ‘On looking back, I am only astonished that we bought experience so cheaply, for clearly there were elements of catastrophe

as well as the discomfort in the disorganised condition...’6 to a hut which he proudly stated: ‘... The hut is becoming the most comfortable dwelling-place imaginable. We have made ourselves a truly seductive home, within the walls of which peace, quiet and comfort remain supreme.’ 7

thermal performance of Discovery Hut in order to understand why the hut did not perform successfully as living quarters.

Secondly, it compares the thermal performance of Scott’s Hut to understand and affirm why it performed more effectively than Discovery Hut, The aims of this study were, therefore, in an environment where the lowest to develop a greater understanding of recorded temperature reached -89.5°C8, Discovery Hut, firstly by assessing the and whose mean temperatures9 are so low

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of the Primitive. Primitive, as discussed William Chambers and Sir John Soane. by Marc-Antoine Laugier, Joseph When Soane spoke of ‘the primitive Rykwert, Le Corbusier and Adrian model’, or ‘the progressive state of Forty, is an adjective which provokes primitive buildings’, it is understood that the imagination; depicting chronology, it implied nothing more than the original ‘Friday July 7 ... The temperature fell technology, superiority, fantasy and buildings of mankind.14 The Oxford to -49 last night - our record so far, and intuition. The study considers how the English Dictionary offers a similar likely to remain so, one would think. This hut relates to these theoretical stances, definition of ‘primitive’: ‘from which morning it was fine and calm, temperature to develop an understanding of whether another is derived.’15 -45 ... Monday July 10 ...We have had the Discovery Hut genuinely is a Primitive hut. worst gale I have ever known in these regions In this circumstance, it can be understood and have not yet done with it ... at this time Chronology that Discovery Hut was Scott’s ‘primitive exceeding 70 mph. ... Needless to say no-one model’. It was his original, and one can has been far from the hut 11... Tuesday, July These huts are chronologically the first subsequently understand from studying 4, [1911] ... This forenoon it was blowing structures built on Antarctica and the changes and improvements made to 40 to 45 mph with a temperature -25°C to represent man’s earliest colonisation of his later hut, that which is meant by ‘the -28°C. No weather to be out in the open12 ... the continent, so it can be claimed that progressive state of primitive buildings’. Wednesday August 2 [1911] ... Meanwhile the huts are the ‘primitive’ constructions For example, his hut building progressed the temperature had been falling, and now in Antarctica. This classification would through the addition of more successful for more than a week the thermometer fell associate itself with the theorists who materials, such as Gibson Quilting below -60. On one night the minimum considered the ‘primitive’ within the insulation; and he applied progressive contexts of the ‘original’. showed -71, on the next -77...’ 13 buildings techniques, such as rejecting the need to dig foundations into the Finally, the study discusses where Particularly, these would include permafrost and utilising the knowledge Discovery Hut belongs in the classification Eighteenth Century thinkers such as gained from the previous expedition. that ‘fuel turns to jelly and boiling water thrown into the air will spontaneously ‘explode’ into ice crystals before reaching the ground.’10

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(top left) Screenshot of Discovery Hut model showing coloured zoning. (top right) Screenshot of Scott’s Hut showing coloured zoning. (bottom left) Discovery Hut with zones highlighted. (bottom right) Scott’s Hut with zones highlighted. Note: The zone colours correspond to the zone colours plotted on the graphs / Author / Ecotect v5.5©.

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In terms of human and architectural chronology, however, the huts would not be associated with the primitive. These prefabricated huts were built in Antarctica in 1901, a bold period in architecture which saw luminaries such as Viollet-Le-Duc in France, Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago, and Gaudi in Barcelona.16 Thermal Performance Analysis As well as considering the theoretical definition of the huts, this study aimed to scientifically quantify the progression of the design of the huts through a Thermal Performance analysis, using thermal analysis models of both Discovery Hut and Scott’s Hut and applying suitable Dialogue Box showing material library for Discovery Hut model. weather data for the Ross Island site... The data from these models was analysed using Ecotect v5.5©, a computer-aided design package by Square One17 which performs environmental performance analyses on buildings to aid the design process, to find out how and why Discovery Hut performed so poorly and also why Scott’s Hut was more suitable. In this circumstance, Ecotect v5.5© was used to perform thermal analysis calculations on Scott’s Antarctic huts. Using scaled drawings of the huts and construction information provided by New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust,18 digital three-dimensional models of each hut were created. To perform a thermal analysis calculation accurate to the huts and to Scott’s records, Dialogue Box showing compound of materials in Discovery_Hut_Wall material element / Author / it was necessary to divide the main areas Ecotect v5.5©. of the huts into zones. This provides localised readings for each area of the hut, as opposed to an average for the whole internal area. These zones are highlighted in the diagrams below. For example, in Scott’s Hut, the galley and sleeping quarters (the main area of the hut) is coloured red, and the thermal analysis results for this zone appears on the graph as a red line. To make the results between Discovery Hut and Scott’s Hut comparable, the main area of Discovery Hut was coloured the same as Scott’s Hut: red. Ecotect v5.5© allows the designer to apply material and climatic data to the model to obtain an accurate understanding of

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the performance of the building within its meteorological context. It allows the designer to alter the levels of occupancy and manage the conditions within the zones to obtain an accurate understanding of the climate within the building. To apply accurate materials to the models of the huts it was necessary to add new building elements to the material library as shown previous page, top and middle. This method was applied to each construction element of both huts. Hourly temperatures in Discovery Hut, 6 August 1901. Author / Weather Tool V2©.

Where there was a material unavailable in the layer properties index, a suitable material was added. For instance a fibre quilt was used instead of ‘Gibson Quilting’. Scott’s levels of occupancy were taken into account. The sensible and latent heat gains from the stoves were calculated according to from details of the stoves provided by New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust and manufacturers details.19

Previous page, bottom, is the weather file data for 16 February - a date noted by Scott for its lunchtime temperature of 6.1°C.20 Taking the thermal analysis results for 6 August 1901, it is possible to quantify and appreciate the levels of thermal discomfort in Discovery Hut. This was when a performance by ‘Dishcover Minstrel Troupe’21 took place to motivate the crew during Midwinter and to maintain usage of the hut.

On the day of the performance, the external temperature fell below -40°C but the play went ahead.22 From the thermal analysis model, one can see the internal temperatures at this date fell to approximately -34°C. When applying the same weather data to a thermal analysis model of the Scott’s Hut, one can see a marked improvement in thermal performance. As the external temperature falls to -40°C, the internal temperature of Scott’s Hut reaches approximately -17°C, around 17°C warmer than Discovery Hut. Temperature differences between the huts are also notable when warmer temperatures are analysed.

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On 16 February 1912, Scott records a lunchtime temperature of 6.1°C23.

When applying this date to the thermal analysis models, the results show that the temperature in the main zones of activity in Discovery Hut (zones 1 and 2) barely rises above the temperature outside the hut, as can be seen in the graph previous page. Results from Scott’s Hut from the same date show that the internal temperature of the hut reaches above +25°C. Scott enthusiastically commented how the ‘warm, dry Cape Evans [Scott’s Hut] home ... throws into sharpest contrast the hardships of the past and the comforts of the present’24

Diagram of floor construction of Discovery Hut. This would fit between structural foundation posts. Author.

So why did Discovery Hut perform so poorly? Technology ‘There is no such thing as Primitive man; there are primitive resources.’25 Sub-arctic dwellers, such as the Baffin Land Eskimos in north-eastern Canada,26 have developed a pure understanding of their climate conditions, and as such have developed constructions which perform well in these harsh climates. From studying the Antarctic Huts of the Heroic Era, and Discovery Hut in particular, it can be understood that they did not perform as efficiently as the traditional dwellings in similar climates. It would be wrong, however, to suggest that Discovery Hut was more ‘primitive’ than igloos on account of its performance, as igloos have existed longer in human history in such climates and use simpler construction techniques in their fabrication. It can be suggested that when designing Discovery Hut as a wintering station on Antarctica, the knowledge of such a climate may be described as ‘primitive’, whereby lack of knowledge of the adverse winter conditions was such that an insufficient building was developed. Had the designer understood the ferocity of the Antarctic winter, a more appropriate shelter may have been conceived. From analysing the results of the study and subsequently the specifics of the hut’s design, one can highlight significant faults in its global and detail design.

Diagram of floor construction of Scott’s Hut. There is no requirement for structural posts. Author.

Site, Design and Location

This highlights a basic failure in the relationship between site and design. Furthermore, the polar climate affected the quality of the timbers. Scott commented that:

For all the benefits of Professor Gregory’s prefabricated design, these gains are achieved at the expense of flexibility on site.27 When Discovery Hut was designed, no site measurements or climate details ‘... there would have been no great of Ross Island had been recorded. difficulty in putting them together had it not been that the wood was badly This meant that a suitable location for the warped, so that none of the joints would hut would have to be found on arrival fit without a great deal of persuasion at Ross Island. Although this provided from the carpenter.’32 room for variation in site location,28 it would have to be determined that a site It is of value to note here that the design is suitable on landing. The expedition incorporates two species of timber: chose a convenient site on a small bare Scot’s pine and Douglas fir.33 This may plateau of volcanic rubble,29 however site also have given rise to inaccuracies in measurements taken in 1981 showed that construction, as the two species may the hut had been built (or had settled) acclimatise at different rates. Although out of level30. An uneven site would it was correct to employ a prefabricated affect the build, and Scott recorded structure, the combination of an uneven the difficulties of setting the frame into site, warped timbers and a polar climate the ground: gave rise to an inaccurate construction. This led to basic problems such as poorly ‘We found, however, that it’s erection fitted joints, windows or door-linings. A was no light task, as all the main and survey by the Antarctic Heritage Trust verandah supports were designed to be in December 2002 recorded assembly some three of four feet into the ground discrepancies, such as non-vertical ... but an inch or two below the surface, perimeter walls and gaps between the soil was frozen hard, and many adjacent building elements.34 an hour was spent with pick, shovel and crowbar before the solid supports Furthermore, the floor construction were erected...’31 suffered as a result of these issues. The

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composition of level ground. Furthermore, it makes the construction of the walls and roof simpler as the structural frame has more scope to be built in plumb, and the inclusion of a damp proof membrane would have made the hut more weatherproof than Discovery Hut. No insulation had been included in the wall construction of Discovery Hut, but one can assume that the expedition recognised the freezing potential of the polar climate, as the crew were supplied with well-insulated winter clothing.The condition of the building , however, highlights naiveties in its design. The heat flow analysis diagram left shows the effectiveness of the hut walls at insulating the interior from the chill air temperature outside. Temperature gradient through Discovery Hut wall on 6 August 1901. Author / HEATWIN v2.5©.

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floor construction consists of two layers of panels which fit within the structural frame in a similar fashion to the walls. This complex construction technique is successful in that it raises the floor away from the ground, with the intention of reducing the heat loss through ground contact. However, as discussed earlier, the difficulty lies with the suitability of the ground to receive the foundations. Furthermore, the floor lacks both a damp proof membrane and insulation, which does not help to support the levels of comfort in the hut.

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Instead of building foundations into the permafrost, Scott’s Hut utilises a much less complex construction technique whereby bearers are placed directly onto levelled ground. Timber joists then rest on these bearers, which support two layers of tongue and groove boarding separated by a layer of rubberoid, included as a damp proof membrane. This is highlighted in the diagram previous page, bottom.

One can see that the only effective insulating element is the timber. The double layer of Douglas fir boarding increases the temperature by approximately 2°C, whereas the 75mm air gap barely performs as an insulating zone at all, increasing the temperature by less than 1°C. Similarly to Discovery Hut, the walls of Scott’s Hut are constructed of prefabricated panels on either side of a timber stud. The total wall thickness is approximately 180mm. Significantly, in retrospect to his previous expedition, Scott added two layers of 12mm insulation to the wall construction. Known as Gibson Quilting, this insulation was made of dried and shredded seaweed which was sewn into quilted sacking in rolls, 600mm in width. The addition of this insulation significantly improved the thermal performance, and thus improved the levels of comfort in the hut. The heat flow analysis diagram left shows the effectiveness of this improved wall composition. One can see the improvement the insulation has on the internal temperatures of Scott’s Hut. In this circumstance, the temperature gradient rises by approximately 8°C on the exterior of the timber stud, and by approximately 10°C on the interior.

This situation, however successful, could still have been improved. Blanchette et al’s study35 also highlighted the ingress of moisture into Scott’s Hut, meaning This more efficient technique provides that the damp proof membrane and greater flexibility during construction, insulation were not effective enough at as it permits the hut to be built on any weatherproofing the hut. 98

Section through Discovery Hut facing north. NTS. Author / JASMAX.

Sketch of speculative design for the improvement of Discovery hut. Author.

The peak of the pyramidal roof of its effect was not as successful as the Discovery Hut is supported by a central insulation in the walls as there is only post and each roof plane slopes at an one layer of insulation on the external incline of 20° to encompass the whole edge of the roof truss. footprint of the hut. It is constructed similarly to the walls, of two layers of The truss design in Scott’s Hut allows for a tongue-and-groove boarding of the same stronger roof construction, more materials thickness as the walls, but these are to reinforce the thermal performance and separated by a layer of felt. A ceiling of greater structural integrity. one layer of boarding encloses an air space for insulation. The lack of insulation, bar Superiority the air space above the ceiling, means that much of the heat generated in the ‘On looking back, I am only astonished hut is lost through the large surface area that we bought experience so cheaply, of the roof. for clearly there were elements of catastrophe as well as the discomfort in Furthermore, as the roof rests on only the disorganised condition...’36 the perimeter structural frame and the single central post, any discrepancies Assuming a stance of superiority whereby in the construction of the frame would ‘primitive’ is used to describe ‘naivety’, have meant an ill-fitting roof. This gives ‘primitive’ is a suitable description of rise to the potential for poorer thermal Discovery Hut. It can be described in performance. In addition, if there are this way to account for the naivety on strong cross-winds striking the hut, its behalf of the explorers, and for the hut’s structural integrity may be forfeited. inability to provide successful levels of comfort for its inhabitants. Gibson Quilting, added between layers of tongue-and-groove boarding and In retrospect to the improvements Scott rubberoid to the roof of Scott’s Hut, made to his 1911 hut, and the results provided greater insulation for the mess of the thermal analysis in the previous deck and sleeping quarters. However section, it is clear to see that the design

When associating this with Adolf Loos’ Ornament and Crime (1908), the hut would not be one of Loos’ subjects, as it is a Western construction in a nonWestern continent, and as it was so far away, it would not degenerate Western culture. Arguably, it would have improved the knowledge of Western society, as much scientific research was carried out by British researchers in the expedition team. Improving the design In hindsight, Discovery Hut’s thermal performance could have been more successful in terms of environmental performance if it had incorporated some of the improvements seen in Scott’s Hut. However, to merely suggest the inclusion of more insulation, thicker wall construction, or more heating stoves, as one assumes these would be effective improvements, might be too simple. made

for Discovery Hut was ‘primitive’ (naive) in its success. This means that it was able to provide shelter from the weather, but that comfort levels were too poor to allow any permanent use other than as a storeroom or a performance space.

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‘First’ Architecture In Vers Une Architecture, Le Corbusier expresses the ‘primitive’ in a narration of colonisation, as a ‘first’ architecture:38 ‘Primitive man has brought his chariot to a stop, he decides that here shall be his native soil,’39 and he builds a tent. This process is echoed by Scott’s account;

‘After piercing a small fringe of thin ice at the edge of the fast floe the ship’s stem struck heavily on hard bay ice about a mile and a half from the shore. Here was a road to the cape and a solid wharf on which to land our stores. We made fast with ice anchors ... A glance at the land showed, as we expected, ideal spots for our wintering station.’40 Both Laugier and Le Corbusier established speculative concepts concerning the ‘primitive’. Laugier’s ‘rustic little hut’ and Le Corbusier’s ‘first’ architecture through colonisation are fantastical descriptions of man and architecture in a primitive state. After Holm in The Primitive Hut: Fantasies in an all-white world,41 it is possible to associate Scott’s narration of exploration and construction of Antarctic huts and Le Corbusier’s narration of colonisation.

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It is not possible, however, to associate Laugier with Scott; or Laugier with Discovery Hut, as Laugier discussed Hourly temperatures in speculative Discovery Hut, 26 February 1912. Author / Ecotect v5.5©. man in his “primitive state” (the noble savage42) as opposed to explorers placing A speculative improved design is proposed envelope of the hut from strong cross- themselves in a “primitive state” (of here, using materials which would have winds, similar to the sub-arctic igloo. survival43).Le Corbusier also suggested been generally available on the National that successful architecture is instinctive A speculative model of this scheme was and suits units derived from man’s body.44 Antarctic Expedition of 1901-1904. created in Ecotect v5.5©, to which the As described in the sketch section same weather file for Ross Island was Here there is a connection to Discovery previous page, top, the primary alteration added. The graphs for 6 August 1901 and Hut and Scott’s Hut, whereby the huts made would be to redirect the stove outlet 26 February 1912 respectively do show an were designed to be constructed by hand, piping beneath the uppermost level of improvement in the thermal performance and their scale suited this construction tongue-and-groove boarding of the floor of the hut, whereby the temperatures in technique. The wall panels for example, construction. This could spread the heat Zone 1 (the living quarters) are higher by are generally 4'6" (1,460mm) wide, generated from the stove throughout the approximately 6.5°C. to a maximum of 5'1" (1,563mm): a hut as opposed to the heat rising directly comfortable scale at which to construct by A sceptical view of these results should be hand. In Timber Construction Manual, G through the existing flue. assumed, taking into account the success of Hauser wrote: ‘The thermal performance Furthermore, to create a buffer zone modelling the under-floor heating system. of a building describes the interaction from cross-winds, storage boxes and In an attempt to distribute evenly the heat between the building envelope and the hay (used for pony fodder) could fill the source across the floor area, the model used building services, taking into account voids of the veranda, and snow could be three extra heat sources in the room. This the behaviour of the users and the packed against the exterior of the hay may have produced anomalous results, and prevailing meteorological conditions. (see sketch of speculative design for the so these proposed improvements should be The goal in doing this must be to secure improvement of Discovery Hut, previous understood as purely speculative.3 However, the maximum level of comfort with the page, bottom.). The benefit of this would it does demonstrate the possibilities for minimum amount of energy.’45 Discovery be through creating a more aerodynamic improving performance with relatively Hut was not used as a permanent residence shell which would protect the existing simple revisions. during the Discovery Expedition of 1901

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as a result of its failure to secure a suitable level of comfort due to a naive design, a poorly performing building envelope, and poor knowledge of the site and climate conditions. Scott confirmed this, writing; ‘The main hut ... has not been available for some of the purposes for which we had hoped to use it.’46

Western man may have ‘impressive knowledge and technical apparatus, [he] often builds comparatively less well than did his primitive predecessor.’48 Their explanation for this is Western man’s underestimation of environmental forces, and an overestimation of his technological capabilities. This statement also aptly suits Discovery Hut’s situation within the ‘primitive’. One can agree from a consideration of the design proposal that the hut shows impressive knowledge and technical apparatus in the prefabricated structure, but it significantly underestimates the environmental forces which ultimately deny its successful use as Antarctic living quarters.

as living quarters by studying the thermal performance of Discovery Hut and comparing the results with the more effective Scott’s Hut. also In addition to scientific analysis, the study also aimed to find where the hut belongs in the classification of ‘the Primitive’.

18 Please see Appendix 10.3, or Antarctic Heritage Trust. 2004. Conservation Plan Discovery Hut, Hut Point. Wellington: Daphne Brasell Associates Ltd, pp. 100-111. And: Antarctic Heritage Trust. 2004. Conservation Plan Scott’s Hut, Cape Evans. Wellington: Daphne Brasell Associates Ltd, pp. 123-136. 19 Manufacturers details of Primus stoves can be found at http://www.primus.se/Primus/Products. 20 Cpt. Scott, R.F. 1983. Scott’s Last Expedition. 3rd ed. (London: Meuthen London Ltd, 1983) p. 415. 21 Cpt. Scott, R.F. The Voyage of the Discovery Volume One. (Stroud: Nonsuch Publishing Ltd, 2005) p. 287 22 Cpt. Scott, R.F. (2005) p. 286 23 Cpt. Scott, R.F.. Scott’s Last Expedition. 3rd ed. (London: Meuthen London Ltd, 1983) p. 415. 24 Cpt. Scott, R.F.Scott’s Last Expedition. 3rd ed. (London: Meuthen London Ltd, 1983) p. 171. 25 Le Corbusier. Towards a new Architecture. (Oxford: Architectural Press, 1989) p. 70. 26 Marston Fitch, J. and Branch, D. 1955. Primitive Architecture and Climate. Scientific American. p. 137. 27 Winter, W. Prefabrication and erection. In: Zeitler, F. eds. Timber Construction Manual. 4th ed. (Basel: Birkhäuser, 2004) p. 74. 28 i.e. if it was not possible to reach a predetermined site. The 1911 expedition intended to land at Cape Crozier but it was discovered that the water was too deep to make a safe landing. See: Cpt. Scott, R.F. 1983. Scott’s Last Expedition. 3rd ed. London: Meuthen London Ltd, p.61. 29 Cpt. Scott, R.F. 2005. The Voyage of the Discovery Volume One. (Stroud: Nonsuch Publishing Ltd, 2005) p. 169. 30 Antarctic Heritage Trust. Conservation Plan Discovery Hut, Hut Point. (Wellington: Daphne Brasell Associates Ltd, 2004) p. 33. 31 Cpt. Scott, R.F. The Voyage of the Discovery Volume One. (Stroud: Nonsuch Publishing Ltd, 2005) p. 169. 32 Cpt. Scott, R.F. (2005) p. 170. 33 Antarctic Heritage Trust, Conservation Plan

Discovery Hut, Hut Point. (Wellington: Daphne Brasell Associates Ltd, 2004) p. 44. 34 Antarctic Heritage Trust (2004) p. 46. 35 Blanchette, R.A. et al. Environmental factors influencing microbial growth inside the historic expedition huts of Ross Island, Antarctica. In: Held, B.W. et al. International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation 55. (Minnesota: Elsevier Ltd, 2005) p. 47. 36 Cpt. Scott, R.F. The Voyage of the Discovery Volume One. (Stroud: Nonsuch Publishing Ltd, 2005) p. 178. 38 Holm, L. ‘The Primitive Hut, fantasies of survival in an all-white world’ In: Odgers, J. et al. eds. Primitive. Original matters in Architecture. (Abingdon: Routledge, 2006) p. 49. 39 Le Corbusier,. Towards a new Architecture. (Oxford: Architectural Press, 1989) p. 69. 40 Cpt. Scott, R.F. 1983. Scott’s Last Expedition. 3rd ed. (London: Meuthen London Ltd, 1983) p. 67. 41 Holm, L. The Primitive Hut, fantasies of survival in an all-white world. In: Odgers, J. et al. eds. Primitive. Original matters in Architecture. (Abingdon: Routledge, 2006) p. 49. 42 Rykwert, J. On Adam’s House in Paradise: The Idea of the Primitive Hut in Architectural History (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1972) p. 16. 43 Holm, L. p. 44. 44 Le Corbusier. Towards a new Architecture. (Oxford: Architectural Press, 1989) p. 72. 45 Hauser, G. Thermal performance of buildings. In: Zeitler, F. Timber Construction Manual. 4th ed. (Basel: Birkhäuser, 2004) p. 64. 46 Cpt. Scott, R.F. The Voyage of the Discovery. (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1905) p. 306. 47 Cpt. Scott, R.F. Scott’s Last Expedition. 3rd ed. (London: Meuthen London Ltd, 1983) p. 72. 48 Marston Fitch, J. and Branch, D. Primitive Architecture and Climate. Scientific American. (1955) p. 134. 49 Marston Fitch, J. and Branch, D. p. 134.

For the hut to be considered genuinely ‘primitive’, the hut would typically be expected to suit the chronology of man and architecture. This is a category which Discovery Hut eludes on a technicality. Arguably, however, the Discovery Hut can be still be categorised ‘primitive’ on ‘It’s splendid to see at last the effort of all the account of it’s situation in the chronology months of preparation and organisation of Antarctic history. It can also be ... the hut is ... the most comfortable considered ‘primitive’ on account of the design failures highlighted by measuring dwelling-place imaginable. We have made Defining a ‘Primitive’ Hut the hut’s thermal performance, and unto ourselves a truly seductive home, within the walls of which peace, quiet and ‘The worst he faces [the Western architect] furthermore, on account of the narrative comfort reign supreme.’47 is a dissatisfied client. When the primitive of the design and construction of the hut, architect errs, he faces a harsh and which emulates Le Corbusier’s narrative of colonisation and first architecture. Scott’s Hut is by no means a perfect unforgiving Nature’.49 solution, but it was far more effective than Discovery Hut at providing comfort in a This study aimed to develop a greater As a result of this, the author believes harsh Antarctic climate. Fitch and Branch, understanding of Discovery Hut and to that Discovery Hut is genuinely a in American Scientist suggest that although find why it did not perform successfully ‘primitive’ hut. The results of the thermal analysis of Scott’s Hut show how and to what extent the hut was more successful than the Discovery Hut, based on evolutions of design, again summarised by Scott;

1 Hannesian, J. Jr, ‘National Interests in Antarctica’, in Antarctica ed. by T. Hatherton et al, 1st ed. (Frome and London: Butler & Tanner Ltd, 1965) p. 3. 2 Kaiser, B, Educational Resource for the Development of a Play [online]. Youth Steering Committee, New Zealand, 2004. Available at: http://www. ipyyouthnz.org/downloads/Educ.%2520Resource_ History%2520Drama_Discovery [Accessed: 14 December 2007] p 3. 3 Antarctic Heritage Trust, Conservation Plan The Historic Huts at Cape Adare (Wellington: Daphne Brasell Associates Ltd, 2004) p. 20. 4 Shackleton C.V.O, Sir E. H. South. 2nd ed. (Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd) p. 275 5 Shackleton C.V.O, Sir E. H. South. 2nd ed. (Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd) p. 275 6 Cpt. Scott, R.F. The Voyage of the Discovery Volume One. (Stroud: Nonsuch Publishing Ltd, 2005) p. 178. 7 Cpt. Scott, R.F. Scott’s Last Expedition. 3rd ed. (London: Meuthen London Ltd, 1983) p. 67. 8 Dudeney, J. 1982. ‘The Antarctic atmosphere’ in Walton, DWH. Antarctic Science (Cambridge: University Press, 1987) p. 210. 9 Sugden, D. Arctic and Antarctic. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell Publisher Ltd, 1982) p. 12. 10 Dudeney, J. p. 193. 11 Scott, R.F. Scott’s Last Expedition. 3rd ed. (London: Meuthen London Ltd, 1983) pp. 248-254 12 Scott, R.F.(1983) p. 249. 13 Scott, R.F.(1983) p. 265. 14 Forty, A. ‘Primitive: The word and concept’ in Odgers, J. et al. eds. Primitive. Original matters in Architecture. (Abingdon: Routledge, 2006) p. 10. 15 Oxford University Press, Shorter Oxford English Dictionary Volume 2. 5th ed. (Oxford: University Press, 2005) p. 2345. 16 Colquhoun, A. Modern Architecture. (Oxford: University Press, 2002) pp. 15-51. 17 For more information, please visit http://www.sq1.com.

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The Fall of Man by Ed Green - Book Review Kristian Alexander Hyde This is the first Novel by Ed Green, a practising architect, teacher and writer with a PhD from the Welsh School of Architecture. The prologue to the book opens with one of the most eloquent quotes from Charles Darwin, defining one of the greatest scientific discoveries of our species. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”.

we all hold most dear. We witness Arnold grappling with the existentialist angst associated with the 21st century post-industrialised machine, hinting intentionally or not to Kierkegaard’ or perhaps Sartre’s classic novel ‘Nausea’... We feel for Arnold as he negates specific emotional obstacles such as despair, absurdity, alienation, and even boredom.

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As we delve deeper into the pages of the book we feel almost comfortable with its apparent direction, until we are suddenly Bacteria have been around for at least 3.5 and violently thrust five decades into billion years, devoid of any intelligence the future and wake up with the new and much longer than our mere 250,000 protagonist Noah. No longer a child, years of existence. Its success is based on its but equally as innocent, only to find a ability to adapt to specific circumstances. world that is hardly recognisable. Noah’s In reference to Darwin’s findings in the wanderings produce an undertone of Origin of Species, the novel plays witness to Kafkaesque anguish, portraying a man a series of fatal assumptions and questions unable to fit into society. our dependence on oil, science, technology and our assumed collective wisdom. It With its utopian undertones and the feeling asks a fundamental question whether we of change all around, we bear witness to the can ourselves as a species adapt to the inevitable ‘downfall of man’ and a society circumstances that are the inevitable result confronting the possibility that there may of climate change. As Stephen Hawking be no technological fix for the actions reminds us ‘it is not clear that intelligence of humanity. Finally and with equal has any long-term survival value’. Only conviction we are transferred to an all too time will tell whether Intelligence is a familiar city with a ‘post-apocalypse’ feel curse or a gift... and alas we join Eve, the third Generation of this family unit. What we experience Enter the pertinently titled novel ‘The Fall here is probably the most unnerving of of Man’ by Ed Green, a title that seems all possible futures played out in two well chosen in light of current world locations, one of natural isolation, peace events, and yet it simultaneously courts and harmony; The other in an all too through analogy theological references familiar yet deeply unnerving dystopia. and Christian doctrine...Specifically the transition of our species from a condition As the story draws to a close with such of innocence to a state of guilt and cataclysmic events taking hold, the human shame. All of which could be seen as a dimension is never abandoned. Carrying beguiling metaphor for what can only with it many undertones of the postbe termed as humanities current state of apocalyptic tale of a man and son, trying ‘environmental arrogance’. to survive by any means possible, similar in tone to ‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy, After a brief introduction of abstract prose or Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’. that attempts to construct the ‘framework’ for the journey ahead the book happily In summary and upon reflection, the settles into a confident and mature rhythm story comes with a stark warning written in a plain English prose style. A of “A” possible future and confidently few pages in and we find ourselves on confronts the consequences of a late the edge of suburbia, in a typically kitsch capitalist ideology of infinite economic bourgeoisie estate in middle England. growth and an unlimited appetite for It is here we are introduced to Arnold consumption. While at the same time in and his son Noah as they contemplate stark juxtaposition we sense the haunting the inevitable collapse of those things presence of nature, gracefully undeterred

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to casually reclaim all that is manmade. I am reminded of Martin Rees, Professor of Astrophysics at Cambridge, who reminds us of the numerous obstacles facing humanity in his titled book ‘our final century’. Green’s novel if anything adds a human dimension to these possible futures. Outside of the novel in our real world, as knowledge quickly becomes the latest commodity, we enter a new century overloaded with information. Yet what makes the work accessible is that it is portrayed simply and from the perspective of a small nuclear family. It humanizes the world of mathematical statics and probabilities that surround the possibility of an environmental catastrophe and creates a timeline of the human consequence of these events in terms we can process. As distinguished Writer Salman Rushdie reminds us “we tell stories to understand ourselves, our families, and our society”. This novel could be seen then as contributing in a small way to the public awareness of not only climate change, but of our own behaviour and the future implications of our actions. Conveniently and in closing it happens to be the twentieth anniversary of the famous ‘pale blue dot’, a photograph taken in 1990 - of Earth as seen from Voyager 1, while on the edge of our solar system (approximately 3,762,136,324 miles from home). Cosmologist Carl Sagan’s words are eternal, enduring and ultimately worth considering in light of what has been covered - in a novel that is without doubt, timely, relevant and impressively universal. “Our posturing, our imagined selfimportance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves”. The Fall of Man by Ed Green is provided by Authorhouse (www.authorhouse. co.uk), (2010) ISBN #9781452032153.

Contributors Christine Atha is a lecturer, researcher and curator in the fields of contemporary art and design,cultural theory, practice and aesthetics. The Design Matters Project was part of her research collaboration with the North Fulham New Deal for Communities initiative. Her current research is an examination of the discourses of value and improvement in British design culture, and of the relationship between politics, class and taste. She is an Associate Professor of Design History at SAIC. Ignasi Bonet (1971) studied architecture in Barcelona and Copehaguen and got his. Master’s degree in 1999. Since 2001 he has been an architect of Diputació de Barcelona, where he has supervised more than 85 projects of library buildings (120.000 m2). He works also as a free-lance architect. He has presented at several conferences and written numerous articles about architecture and libraries, and has also taken part in juries for several library architecture competitions. Hugh Broughton founded his practice Hugh Broughton Architects in 1996. In 2005, working with AECOM, Hugh’s practice won the international RIBA competition for the design of a new British research station in Antarctica, Halley VI. This project subsequently led to other commissions in Antarctica, most notably winning the international competition to design an Antarctic research station for Spain in the South Shetland Islands. Sam Clark is a Professional Tutor at wsa and founding collaborator within ad:HOC architects. Within wsa Sam co-chairs first year, co-ordinates the Vertical Studio programme, and contributes lectures various modules. Sam previously taught at Kingston University and Chelsea College of Art & Design. He has practised within five London-based architecture offices; on projects ranging from private homes and social housing schemes to school refurbishments and commercial fit-outs. His narrowboat project began during summer 2010.

Sarah Featherstone is an architect and co-Director of London based practice, Featherstone Young. She is interested in the way people shape their environment and how architecture can stimulate, rather than dictate, activity and social interaction. Sarah teaches on a multidisciplinary MA course at Central St Martins and is a CABE Design Panel Member, an External Examiner at London Met and Oxford Brookes Universities, and a reviewer at wsa. Owen Francis graduated from the wsa with BSc (Hons) and MArch in 2008, and worked for Ptolemy Dean Architects before setting up A+O Studio in spring 2009. He is now working as a Design Consultant for Capland Property and Investment Group Ltd in Qingdao, P. R. China Ed Green graduated from the wsa in 1997. He completed an MPhil with Dean Hawkes and a PhD under head of school Phil Jones. For the last eight years he has practiced at Pentan, with a focus on residential and healthcare sectors. He has tutored at the wsa throughout the last decade. He wrote The Fall of Man with environmental concerns as the backdrop to a ‘human’ story, with the aim of broadening awareness of key issues and likely consequences amongst the general public. www.visions-of-britain.com Kristian Alexander Hyde, co-founder of Hyde + Hyde Architects, graduated from the University of Portsmouth and went on to study Philosophy and Art at the University of Cincinnati. Returning to the UK, he was nominated for the RIBA Silver Medal in 2002. His work has been published in various journals and exhibited at the RIBA. His passion for philosophy and poetics divides his time between practice, research and teaching. He is a tutor at wsa. Enric Llorach (Barcelona, 1974), Architect (ETSA Barcelona 2000), PhD architect (ETSA Barcelona 2007). He studied Architecture at ETSA Barcelona, ETSA Madrid and Université Paris-La Villette. He is professor at ETSA Barcelona and University of New Haven in Barcelona.

Abigail Lockey holds a BSc in Architecture and an M.Arch from the wsa. She is currently an MPhil/PhD research student at The Bartlett, UCL. Abigail’s research in Rio de Janeiro is concerned with unspoken manifestations of urban informality, in relation to the success of slum-city integration programmes. Her research is supported by the Leverhulme Trust. M.J. Long OBE was born in the US and received her architectural education at Yale, but has spent her professional life in England as a partner in two awardwinning practices: Colin St.John Wilson and Partners, and Long & Kentish. She is a CABE Commissioner. She teaches an annual studio at Yale and is a Visiting Professor at the wsa. Niall Maxwell is principal of Rural Office for Architecture. Niall lives with his family in west Wales, where he runs his practice from a remote farmstead overlooking the Cambrian Mountains. In 2007 he started apprenticing local people to work in his practice, providing local employment opportunities whilst developing an in-house skill base. www.ruralofficeforarchitecture.co.uke He has visited wsa as a reviewer and vertical studio tutor. Roger Mullin is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada. His research in landscape and coastal industries is bracketed by methodologies of construction and representation as they pertain to material and climatic phenomena. Roger has practiced in Berlin and New York City. He has been jointly awarded the Governor General Masterwork Art Award, Best Collaborative Practice Award and was recently selected as one of 8 critical architects in Canada for “The Roadshow: Architectural Landscapes of Canada”. made

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He has published in different architectural reviews and has lectured in Spain, France, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Turkey, including at the wsa in 2009. He loves photography and has published his work in different architectural reviews.

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Contributors continued Sergio Pineda is an architect with interests in pioneering forms of practice in regards to computation, fabrication and spatial phenomena. After obtaining his Diploma from the Architectural Association he worked in London with practices such as Adjaye Associates and Foster + Partners on a variety of award winning commissions in Barcelona, New York, Milan, and Dubai. In parallel to his engagement in practice he is a professional tutor at wsa.

External Editorial Board: Hilde Heynen (Katholieke Universitaet Leuven) Marc Treib (University of California, Berkeley) Simon Unwin (Emeritus Professor, Dundee School of Architecture) Pierre Von Meiss (EPFL Lausanne) Adam Sharr (Newcastle University)

Dr Cristian Suau holds a Ph.D. in Architecture and Master in Urban Design (ETSAB). Before joining wsa, he worked as senior architect in the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. He has obtained several design awards such as EUROPAN. His research interests are Reuse; Water and Sustainable Living. He leads an NGO called RECICLARQ: www.reciclarq.org

Internal Editorial Board: Wayne Forster Richard Weston Art Director: Janice Coyle

Nick Tyson AA (Dipl) Hons is a Principal Lecturer and Ming Chung Dip (Arch) UCL RIBA is a Senior Lecturer at Manchester School of Architecture. They lead the BArch Unit ‘Prototype’ which explores contemporary making practices in architecture. A reflective record of the studio work in BA (Hons) Architecture Year 3 Unit 5 ‘Manual - Thoughts on workshop teaching in architecture’ was published by CEBE in September 2010. A complementary connection with practice is maintained through Chung Tyson Architects who undertake small self-built works.

Editors: Allison Dutoit Mhairi McVicar made is published annually Printed on FSC approved paper made from sustainable forests in Europe.

Views expressed in made are those of the author alone, and not necessarily of the editors, editorial board, Welsh School of Architecture or Cardiff University. All illustrations by author unless noted otherwise. Every possible effort has been made to trace copyright holders of images and photographs used. made welcomes any information concerning copyright holders that viewers may provide.

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Frances Whitehead, Professor, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is an artist working from a multifaceted position that aims to contribute to a sustainable future. The recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the US National Endowment for the Arts, and the Tiffany Foundation Award, as ARTetal Studio, she combines artistic practice with other forms of social practice.

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Call for Papers

We invite papers for made 7, 2011. We are happy to consider papers relating to architecture and its making, within or beyond the orthodox ‘fields’ of design, history, theory, science or professional practice. We invite submissions in one of two possible categories: first, papers of 800 words with one A4 image, for which expressions of interest should be sent to the editor; second, full papers of 3000-5000 words, for which abstracts of 300500 words are invited, to include a full title and the author’s name, contact details and affiliation. These should be submitted by April 30th 2011.

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