Design Specs in the Anthropocene
- 1. Design Specs in the Anthropocene: Imagining the Force of 30,000 Years of Geologic Change Phoebe, Lucy, Nicola, Chantell, Jasmine
- 2. Key Points of the Reading ● A documentation of a research trip to the Great Lakes to capture the feeling and sense of geological forces that have and are continuing to shape the lakes. ● Inviting the reader to consider the geological forces that exceed human activity. ● It details the materiality of the Lakes and surrounding areas that document an encounter between the architectural elements of landscapes and the geological forces that made them ● Imagining the impacts on both landscape and it’s materials, emphasising that these forces are active and directly shape the life of the Lakes and their surrounds.
- 3. Argument Put Forward by the Author ● They argue that there are geological changes that are quick enough to allow interaction with humankind, such as floods and fire etc. These are contemporary material forces, and then there are the slow burning changes that can only be seen in the peripheral of Humankind even though its force and attendant material realities are continuously shaping human experiences. ● An interpretation of the chapter could argue it means to imply the world is temporal and that the landscape is the real piece of art, the natural events being the brush strokes that form it.
- 4. Terms and Definitions - Anthropocene: relating to or denoting the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment - Human cognition: is conscious and unconscious, concrete or abstract, as well as intuitive (like knowledge of a language) and conceptual (like a model of a language). - Isostatic: characterized by or involving the equilibrium that exists between parts of the earth's crust. - Geomorphology: the study of the physical features of the surface of the earth and their relation to its geological structures. - Temporal: relating to time
- 5. Fig. 01: Mass/Ice Solid ice extends across the Great Lakes region Fig. 02: Event/Flood Under the Champlain Sea 44°28’35.63”N 73°13’17.63”W Fig. 03: Impact/Isostatic Rebound Shore of Lake Champlain 44°28’35.63”N 73°13’17.63”W Fig. 04: Discontinuity/Unstable Material Deer Run Heights, site of 1999 Jeffersonville landslide 44°38’45.54”N 72°49’27.53”W
- 6. Fig. 05: Fluctuation/Duration Wake of Lake Champlain, fossilized Iapetus Ocean (Burlington, VT) 44°27’38.51”N 73°12’18.87”W Fig. 06: Flow/Geomorphology Great Lakes Freighter, Jones Island, Port of Milwaukee 43°1’13.28”N 87°53’45.90”W Fig. 07: Land Use/Humans Scenic boat tour, Lake Champlain 44°31’47.77”N 73°21’31.79”W Fig. 08: Eternal Return/Advance Wave, Champlain Sea 44°26’43.58”N 73°18’6.79”W
- 7. Relating to Botanica ● It is not site specific but is a celebration of site and history in nature and displaying these pictures would not be to the same effect if it was not displayed in the community of the Lakes. ● Could potentially use the ideas of “the earth is temporal” as a way to influence the quality of our work e.g. creating art that is designed NOT to withstand longevity and ware as the arts festival and natural events e.g rain, wind, etc, occur overtime. ● Inspire investigation on the geological changes that have occurred at the City Botanical Gardens, such as floods, and how the gardens have been built to withstand these.