Haven’t been writing much lately, but am working on a new collective project with a colleague. Please stay tuned for more details about the upcoming launch.
Thank you for keeping up with my work thus far.
Jason
Regime Shifts: The Occupy Movement and Architecture
regime |riˈ zh ēm; rā-| (also régime)
noun
1 a government, esp. an authoritarian one.
2 a system or planned way of doing things, esp. one imposed from above
• a coordinated program for the promotion or restoration of health; a regimen
• the conditions under which a scientific or industrial process occurs.
Its hard to ignore what is happening all around us now in the twenty-first century. Maybe easy to accept, fear, or oppose, but impossible to ignore.
Everything that has built up the top-down controlled system– the accepted way of doing things is being actively questioned and overturned. Everything, from our governments, economics, social interactions, science, philosophy, ethics, and everyday life as we know it is currently being turned on its side, stamped upon, reversed, tested, re-tested and applied.
For this entry, I want to focus on the remarkable events happening in Occupy Wall Street that have sparked “microstates” exploding all over the world. I’ve been reading a few articles on the matter (see “the economist” links below for the best written ones)¹. I’m using OWS as an example because it can be seen as an effective paradigm shift for other transformations currently in action.
To be honest, I was initially very critical about this movement. Although liberal for the most part, I do have a few red veins that side with conservative economic policies– why should there be a protest of our capitalist system (and the individuals controlling the system) when there are no demands and no organized tactics? Doesn’t this sound like another mindless, pointless liberal gesture to “stick it to the man?” Why should those who are protesting (most of which are unemployed students with overpriced degrees who chose a major with a relatively low earning potential) express such opposition against those who chose the route to financial success?
Upon further investigation, I realized this was not any ordinary protest (like the tea party who sides more with emotional irrational fear and anger), but can be seen as a demonstration of a very effective paradigm shift. OWS is a very similar model to what Guattari describes in 3 Ecologies– specifically the social ecology; a spontaneous, leaderless, heterogenous, organization united by very specific interests to demonstrate a specific effective transformation in the environment.²
What OWS is essentially doing by not demanding anything is demonstrating an alternative to the existing economic regime, and that is what makes it so interesting. It is a micro-state; a fractal model demonstrating its ideal system as outlined on the main NYC General Assembly Website: “New York City General Assemblies are an open, participatory and horizontally organized process through which we are building the capacity to constitute ourselves in public as autonomous collective forces within and against the constant crises of our times.” (http://www.nycga.net/about/)
Although this slightly anarchic/socialist model is riddled with problematic scenarios when applied to a larger model (decision making eventually sliding from the collective whole to the more extroverted and impetuous, while the others in disagreement leave, creating an open opportunity for re-stratification within anarchy) it is a reflection of what is happening all around us with the empowerment of networking and information. If it can happen in Cairo, it can happen anywhere.
These recent events are bringing a lot to consideration: it undermines the Machiavellian “the ends justify the means” attitude prevalent in getting things done for the collective whole. It contradicts the existing economic notion of the “Selfish, evil human” (pardon my momentary lapse of economic history to remember who proposed this) and the Freudian “subconscious pleasure principle.” (For an in-depth overview of all these ideas that are under scrutiny and change, I urge you to read “The Empathic Civilization” by Jeremy Rifkin.)
Looking at all this from an architectural perspective, I can see how these events and attitudes blowing around in the shifting winds of high speed information sharing are totally relevant to the discipline. If the stringent hold on the architectural industry by top-down control was loosened ever-so-slightly, imagine the possibilities for limitless public expression. A new regime created by the collective networked multitudes as opposed to the privileged few. What if the traditional system of architectural development was turned upside-down as an alternative version of what could happen, much like the OWS movement? What if a fractal demonstration was created somehow, physically or virtually as a method to critique the way the entire industry is controlled and run? What if we can go back to being architects instead of just building-makers?
one day my friends, one day we shall rise.
(I wrote this last week, and plan to add to it. I’ve been hanging out at Occupy London in St. Pauls and it is amazing to observe the pop-up tent city there. Stay tuned for more.)
1.http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-3
http://chronicle.com/article/Intellectual-Roots-of-Wall/129428
2. Guattari, F. 3 Ecologies. (Page number coming later when i get the book again)
Also, check out the Occupied Times (printed within the tent city! amazing publication, loved reading it)
Trading Market Virtual Ecologies
Oct 16, 2011: Post-Masters Degree withdrawal symptoms currently settling in, and I’ve started combing my briefcase for new subjects of research. Let me explain this idea of the briefcase:
I feel that every designer/critical thinker has to have this metaphorical “briefcase” that they carry with them everywhere. Inside this briefcase are all the interests that one has collected over the years: problems, sites, dreams, sketches, books, experiences, speculations, news articles, whatever- So when you start an academic program or personal investigative project, this briefcase is always ready with an abundant supply of ideas to work with and adapt to wherever you are in life and what environmental circumstances surround you. Sometimes ideas aren’t meant to be used at the immediate time of discovery, but ten years down the road. Sometimes ideas need to be paused and resurrected later. Some just die. You never know.
So when I recently opened my metaphorical suitcase I re-discovered my personal fascination with the virtual trading systems implemented in the global financial market (This also was motivated by the recent protests of “occupy wall street”). Throughout this past year, one definition of architecture that I find myself drawn to is the “architecture of ecology”- the analysis of a certain ecological system and inserting one’s own architectural system into this ecology in order to change it. However, this ecology does not have to be based on a physical site- there are plenty of virtual ecological terrains to scrutinize and intervene with.
I want to share two salient ideas that I found in my suitcase- specifically geared towards the global trading markets:
1. Kevin Slavin’s recent TED talk that illustrates the dependencies on algorithms for everyday living. His most memorable example is the use of “algorithmic trading” in the financial sector to optimize profit based on automated transactions. This use of algorithms has taken an extreme effect in not only the virtual trading industry, but also the physical world- Slavin describes how whole Manhattan buildings have been hollowed out to make way for a servers that would optimize the trading algorithm by mere milliseconds (but this in turn has a huge impact on the financial gain). Or how an 800 mile trench was laid out for a fiber optic cable between NY and chicago- merely for speeding up trading algorithms between the cities. Or the current speculations of building servers in the middle of the oceans because the geographical positioning of data sharing nodes is totally irrespective of trading hub locations.
What is really interesting about Slavin’s presentation is the unquestionable impact algorithms have on both nature and culture- a new third force that is literally moving the very surface of the earth. These mathematical scripts are replacing human control and are fast becoming the invisible forces that are shaping culture (not only just facts). It would be interesting to speculate on how exactly new landscapes would be developed in regards to new algorithmic developments…
2. Last May, I attended a symposium called “Data Landscapes.” My favorite presentation was by two artists, Lise Autogena and Josh Portway who spoke about a project called the “Black Shoals Planetarium” . This was a programmed research based project that represented the stockmarket as a series of constellations in a planetarium. The brightness of the various stars depict the financial status of a certain stock, and flickers of light depict the actual trading activities in the current market.
Introduced into this virtual ecology are artificial, programmed creatures who feed off of the trading activities. These creatures are based on algorithms so they are programmed to learn and adapt to the financial ecology as depicted by the stars. The stronger creatures will survive, grow and reproduce, while the weaker creatures eventually die out. Over time, the creatures evolve based on the feedback from the market- eg. stronger markets will create a vastly different ecology than weaker markets. This cybernetic system of feedback and evolution directly parallels natural ecological growth, but presented in a totally virtual method.
Being trained as a designer, I have very minimal knowledge of the financial sector, but a huge fascination on how it functions as a global ecological system of feedback between the algorithms, and environmental financial conditions. So are there places where the architect can insert themselves into this previously isolated system reserved for the traders and financially elite? With this new wave of socialism currently breaking over the major cities of the world, what are the possibilities of how this system can be critiqued and changed?
more to come. check out the links.
-j
NEW TRAJECTORIES
Now that the masters program is finished, and exhibition/publication/competition distractions are over, its time to head into new directions- currently researching on new topics to engage with while simultaneously figuring out my life.
My website is also updated and now carries the same name as my blog: www.jimmaraju.com
All written research will still be here, and my tumblr will become more of a dumping ground for my references and influences rather than contain personal work.
till later
Precision Cultivation…
I’m currently working out how to re-imagine a vast landscape to be cultivated over the entire oilfield. Previously in my crit, I described the cultivators as being these “mad machines to be driven around by nostalgic visitors yearning for a high on petroleum machinery while also seeding the landscape…”. My tutors described this notion as “rather hedonistic” and I agree looking back, it is a bit crass when compared to the overall poetic idea of a deliberate ruination alongside a re-seeded landscape.
example of a cultivator: a device constructed from disassembled cars, pumpjacks and other leftover bits of infrastructure to negotiate the relationships between oil produced from algae(powering seeding mechanisms) and crude oil from the ground(powering the engine). When the crude oil runs out on the site, the cultivators essentially die and continue to seed using the ongoing algae oil produced on site. These cultivators become dead follies.
I’ve been working on how to create an intentional crafted landscape using these cultivators- the trick is to preserve a level of indeterminacy that gives the landscape evolution its magic while also not losing control of it with these crazy machines driven by mad off-roaders. One reference I’ve found useful is James Corner’s “Taking Measure’s Across the American Landscape”- a publication filled with aerial photographs alongside rich illustrations of Corner’s investigations with both natural and synthetic landscapes- he effectively juxtaposes the richness found in the environment against the stark standards set by USGS maps. This led me to a really interesting blog post on “pruned” called hacking the american agricultural landscape. This post describes the new path of agricultural development: By integrating remote sensing, GPS, RFID tags, satellite imaging and other relatively new technologies empowered by the virtual web, landscapes can be cultivated to a higher degree of precision. Instead of farmers developing a huge expensive irrigation network, nomadic self powered robots guided by sensors can accurately identify and water the crops that need it more than others. The landscape can therefore change and be maintained via a more intelligent, evolving swarm system based on precise virtual control rather than a huge centralized inefficient manual system used currently. This also has huge implications on fertilizing and pesticides- instead of dousing a homogeneous field unit with harmful chemicals, certain problem crops can be precisely identified and treated on a micro level causing less damage to the overall ecology.The very definition of the 21st century farmer is transformed into more of a cyberpunk controlling and choreographing GPS systems rather than a rural individual in overalls driving a tractor.
This is all fascinating stuff, but how can this be applied to this specific project? How can these cultivators be guided on remote technology to print out a new landscape based on virtual parameters? How can the atmospheric beauty of this landscape be extended into the cosmic and virtual realm?
Refining the Narrative
Final Reviews are over and so I feel good to have this “green light” to go ahead with my programmatic narrative which was well-received. A few details still need refinement, but overall, its pretty solid. Here is my opening poster and description (images can be seen on my tumblr):
SCENARIO:
SITE OVERVIEW
Year: 2011
Site: Inglewood Oil Fields
Location: Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles (34°00’N, 118°37W)
Size: 950 Acres (1.5 sq. miles or 3.8 sq. kilometers)
Owned by: PXP (Houston, Texas) – contracted to drill until 2020
PRODUCTION STATISTICS
Drilling began: 1924
Wells drilled: 1600
Total oil produced: 400 million barrels
Production average: 2.5 – 3.1 million barrels per year
Wells to be drilled over the next 20 years: 600
SITE FEATURE AND PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES:
- Drilling rigs (mobile).
- Pump jacks (oil extraction machine).
- Network of utility poles supplying energy to the extraction machines.
- Network of pipelines carrying oil to central processing.
- Processing facility separates oil, water and natural gas.
- “Produced” water stored in open pits.
- Central pipeline sends crude oil to local refinery.
- Silos store crude oil and compressed natural gas.
OTHER FEATURES:
- Higher elevation is ideal site for microwave radio towers.
- Transmission towers carry energy to power the facilities.
- Natural gas extraction facilities (“fracking”).
- Adjacent to Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
(wildlife preserve of native flora and fauna).
ADVERSE EFFECTS:
- Drilling causes “subsidence” or shifting of geological tectonics. This has caused damage to nearby neighborhoods, and the destruction of an adjacent reservoir in 1963.
- Fracking causes harmful chemicals and gas residues to leak into groundwater sources.
- “Produced” contaminated water extracted with oil is left open and eventually evaporates into the air.
-Residues from the production process flows into the main watershed for the Ballona Wetlands (preserve for endangered species)
INTERVENTION:
DESTRATIFICATION:
The first action taken by the project is cutting off the site’s connection to the surrounding grid and creates an “island” in the middle of Los Angeles. Cables are cut, pipelines are blocked and drilling is halted indefinitely. Energy companies no longer have jurisdiction over this landscape. The symbols of capitalist dominance over this territory are toppled over and disassembled to create a kit of parts for the new regime about to rise.
The remaining oil extraction process, however, continues at a much slower rate: from a predicted short-term profitable twenty-year extraction period to a two hundred year time frame. This protracted extraction process is set to preserve the oil in the site over the twenty-first century post-oil era. This action transforms the status, use and perception of oil from being a cheap commodity to something of a more precious nature.
SUSTAINABLE INJECTION:
The project is a landscape composed of reassembled infrastructure: self-powered and networked together (using advanced existing communication and renewable energy technologies) to create a more resilient, socialized system; independent from authoritarian control. Electrical energy is produced locally, shared over a network and surplus is stored in hydrogen batteries. This localized, decentralized system makes use of the abundant local solar energy, frequent prevailing winds and geothermal heat from abandoned oil wells.
However, oil production in the form of algae farming will continue at a high rate on the site. Using the reassembled infrastructure as a platform for research labs, bioreactors and sky scrubbers, algae oil production cleans the surrounding grey water runoff and carbon dioxide from the Los Angeles skies thus making the site a carbon-negative zone.
REACTIVATION OF THE EARTH
The project is also a reversal of the found territory; it employs methods of re-igniting the compacted soil colonized for oil extraction. Introduced devices composed of petroleum engines, left over infrastructure and vehicle skeletons) that aerate, irrigate, fertilize and seed roam the territory to accelerate the native biodiversity propagation AND the aging of the native oil infrastructure of the past which melts into the rich landscape of the future. These machines are introduced into the ecology because they play off the rich car culture of Los Angeles and employ a dichotomous relationship between crude oil and algae biodiesel: the found engines run on the remaining drops of oil extracted from the site, while the seeding projectile units are powered by the algae biodiesel produced onsite. these reassembled self-destructive seeding machines eventually die after the petroleum runs out on the site and become dead follies in the new landscape while the seeding process continues.
FINALLY ITS OVER!!!! (not really)
Fracking…
Highly recommend the documentary “Gasland” if you haven’t seen it already…
This film is about the terrifying atrocities happening in our own backyards: the extraction of natural gas via the process of “fracking.” Natural gas companies use this method of injecting chemicals into the ground in order to extract natural gas compounds- however these chemicals find their way into groundwater sources affecting those near gas extraction zones. Throughout the film, people demonstrate the seepage of gas into their drinking water by lighting it on fire.
Really really scary stuff happening all over the United States (which is a huge natural gas resource, watch the film for all the details).
The reason why I posted this is because there are fracking units on the site I’m working with:
I’m currently working on disassembling the industrial infrastructure- in a reverse Ikea manual fashion in order to re-appropriate them in different methods. These fracking units (like the oil pumpjacks, transmission lines and utility poles) represent this industrial dominance over the landscape. Disassembling and performing a detournment on their symbolism can bring a newfound perspective to these structures…
Stalkers and Reflections
I feel compelled right now to write about this film I’ve been obsessed with this entire year – Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky. The film is set in a lush, post industrial landscape (called the zone) where nature has merged with the residues of a past civilization- presumably the result of a mystical meteorite. The navigators, or guides of the zone are called stalkers, individuals who have an intimate, respectful connection with the intelligent landscape, so much so that they need to throw nuts tied to bandages in their intended vector of travel in order to determine if it is safe or not.
It would be remiss to not observe the uncanny link between this film and the site I am currently working with (the Inglewood Oilfields in Los Angeles). Here is a comparison:
Both of these environments communicate this strong feeling of nature and culture being intertwined into inseparable systems, that directors, artists, architects, and countless other disciplines need to realize. A dozen question pop up when viewing this film and visiting the site: what is to be done with post-industrial landscapes? What narratives and mysteries emerge from navigating these spaces? How can the existing infrastructure of the Inglewood oil fields play a part in the design proposals to come?
I don’t want to go too much into analyzing the details of the film’s themes, plot, cinematography or its other impressive merits, but I highly recommend it to everyone as a beautiful art piece. However, going beyond the surface level comparisons of the film and the LA site, I want to draw focus on to a relevant technique Tarkovsky uses that I find particularly fascinating in communicating the longing and desire of the film.
At certain moments, at water-specific locations, Tarkovsky slowly pans over the reflections in the water– revealing various submerged artifacts of the previous culture juxtaposed with reflections of the environment above. These long takes are usually accompanied by a deeply haunting soundscape or a beautiful poem creating a brilliant overall composition. The most poignant parts are when the stalker is shown half-immersed in the water, merging himself with the landscape. Here are a few screenshots (you could take hundreds of similar frames).
As one can observe, the reflections play a huge part in the film in how they play a mediatory role between the viewer and the surrounding landscape. Like old vintage photographs, these mirage-esque reflections sometime distort the image through ripples or movements by the fish and effectively blend in with what is below.
How does this mirror-like phenomenon play a part in this specific project, and how can this effect be demonstrated through architectural systems? A specific ingredient inherent to the site is oil– the valuable substance typically used for transportation, asphalt, chemicals, plastics, and everyday products in general. However, once we enter the peak oil era, this substance will become increasingly scarce, expensive, and thus less relevant to everyday usage. It will take on an entirely different meaning altogether in the way its consumed, valued, produced and perceived.
The perception of oil is a principal component to this project as it is still possible to economically extract this substance from the site using the existing infrastructure (the pump jack) powered by a basic electric motor. What possibilities exist to how it is used?
I had the opportunity to visit this fascinating exhibit at the Saatchi Gallery (Chelsea, London) called 20:50 by Richard Wilson (using steel and recycled sump oil). Check out these photos I took:
This installation has been demonstrated in various locations showing the remarkable reflecting quality of used oil. When you look at it it is extremely still and acts as a large scale mirror for the entire space. It envelopes you, the space, the smell, the uncanny feeling of it all. Occasionally a cross breeze may blow gently across the surface revealing the viscosity of the mirror.
This installation revealed a myriad of possibilities of how oil can be used in a more aesthetic purpose- reflecting the surrounding environment in a similar way Tarkovsky’s long pans reveal the beautiful qualities of the zone. In this landscape where oil is no longer used to power engines, can it be used as a lens to see the city, the architecture, humanity?
Shaking Off Preconceived Rationality.
Recently I’ve been struggling with the planning aspect of my project in regards to forming a system that will generate new configurations depending on each topological constraint. The last master plan that was presented was completely static and was clearly based on an orthodox architectural education background that was holding me back. The ideas were wild and free, yet were constrained to a graphically formal site plan. How does one give birth to a system, the diagram that is able to evolve into numerous spatial configurations?
Too often we as designers define rational geometry as right angles, straight lights, circles and other Euclidean forms. We often impulsively create a grid of points to act as a reference plane to impose a “formal logic.” But what really is logical about that? How is architecture based off of understandable geometry superior?
A useful reference in describing this reductive impulse is William Blake’s print NEWTON (can be seen at the Tate Britain).
The print shows Newton crouched on an algae covered rock inscribing simple diagrams on a scroll spilling from his mouth. Newton’s entire point of focus is on the diagram while ignoring the natural growth behind. The color in the print moves in a gradient from rich and full in the left organic section to bleak and almost monochromatic on the right. Blake’s portrayal of Newton shows his opposition to what he sees as the reductive nature of science and reason; by omitting emotion and spirituality, the world is reduced to bleak logic.
This print is a useful metaphor when applied to current practice. Traditional architectural education usually leans towards this “Newtonian” approach to design—by abstracting the rich complexity of the world into preconceived “logical” solutions. We often sketch exactly what we see while missing the emotion and drama of the moment. We often overlay what has been done before or what exists around us to solve a potentially exciting problem. We often lean towards the comfort of the straight line when sometimes it may not fully illustrate what we are thinking.
I for one am fully guilty of this crime—of always thinking of the right angle as rational when sometimes it is the least rational thing to do. After speaking with my tutor about this issue, I looked deeper into my site to try and find a more hidden and relevant geometry that would help in generating the plan.
The locations of the oil wells in the site are the initial clue—they form a network of points that reveal the hidden geological history of the oil reserves. All the work done by the engineers, geologists, seismologists and other consultants has resulted in this network of points that tell a story of the oil concealed below. They form the diagram.
The resulting landscape that emerged from this diagram was not shaped into a “logical” grid, but a cacophony of swirling turbulent terraces that entirely differ from the surrounding Los Angeles neighborhoods. By using this diagram of invisible oil fields as a template of nodes, a specific methodology can be created that is unique to this site.
(Piece of the Inglewood Oil Field Map- Locations of various wells, active & abandoned)
The Transition from Oil to Free Energy…
Peak oil is defined as the point at which maximum oil production has been reached. This particular point is the center of controversial discussions: optimists affiliated with the industry predict that global peak oil will occur between 2030 and 2035, while other experts in the field claim that it has already peaked in 2006¹. While the official data is yet to be established, it is clear that the world is heading into the post-oil era. This issue is currently generating a multitude of discussions regarding changing the consumption attitudes of the developed and developing countries whose lives depend on the seemingly endless oil supply streaming from the invisible spigot.
Crude oil is not only the basis for transportation uses but also the integral ingredient for plastics, building materials, fertilizers, synthetic textiles and countless others. This commodity is completely integrated in our contemporary lifestyle, and petroleum-based products will inevitably become more expensive and scarce due to rising oil prices and slower rates of production.
Furthermore, oil is the source of the historical geopolitical tension that has gripped the global community. Modern warfare and threats of mass destruction all hinge on the control of oil resources. Only the elite civilizations can compete in this deadly battle, as it requires massive amounts of capital and military force to secure, develop, maintain and distribute the black gold. In addition, larger developing nations are experiencing a higher demand rate to support a growing infrastructure and transportation industries.
Locating the project on an oilfield presents a strategic opportunity to address the changing nature and attitude towards oil in the twenty-first century. The juxtaposition of a landscape full of “free energy” derived from the immediate surroundings with the precious crude oil still in the rocks below forms a speculative testing ground for shifting lifestyles. One mediator in this shift is the relatively new process of algae biofuel extraction.
Crude oil is nothing more than ancient algae remains that have been subjected to intense heat and pressure in anoxic subterranean conditions over a long period of time. Since this process is exclusive to certain parts of the planet and not broadly distributed, access is restricted and therefore gives crude oil its value. Algae biofuel, on the other hand, presents exciting opportunities to not only produce a cleaner resource unconstrained by geographical location, but also to fit into a closed loop cycle.
Michael Pawlyn, architectural expert on sustainable environments, explains the benefits of shifting our lifestyles and spaces in a recent TED talk². He explains nature as a “catalogue of products” where the waste of one organism in an ecosystem becomes the nutrient for another. This process of “biomimicry” gives value to the waste that we would usually discard and effectively motivates a more resilient and sustainable system. This shift is what Pawlyn describes as moving from a linear to a closed loop process and presents a massive opportunity in design.
The algae biofuel extraction process fits perfectly into the closed loop model as it requires simple abundant resources (usually in the form of byproducts or waste) found anywhere on the planet to operate: algae, sunlight, carbon dioxide and water infused with nutrients. This simple process can form a cyclical bond with a human and can foster a multiplicity of other connections that can form a stable alternative ecology.
Developing this symbiotic relationship between a human and algae forms the basic architectural proposition for the project: a living lab composed of various closed-loop cycles that form a resilient self-powered ecology in the midst of oil crisis. This system would invariably change the way the occupants live as well as individual subjective attitudes towards energy and the surrounding landscape.
However, the status of the crude oil still present under the oil field needs to be addressed. How does its value change and can it play a part in the new ecology developed above the wells? What do we do with this volatile compound capable of generating large amounts of energy? How will this design decision fit into the transition period from oil to renewable energy?
1. Zittel, Werner and Jorg Schindler. “Crude Oil: the Supply Outlook.” Report to the Energy Watch Group. 2007. See Page 12.
2. Pawlyn, Michael. “Using Nature’s Genius.” TED talk. http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_pawlyn_using_nature_s_genius_in_architecture.html, November 2010