A quarry and a zoo: Exposing the distorted view on nature

Abstract

The relationship between humans and nature in the Anthropocene could be described as one of displacement in many ways. Firstly, in the sense that our violence towards the environment is understood, but still neglected and displaced. In this way there is a discrepancy between our image of nature and our actions towards it. At the same time we displace nature in a literal sense with our growing consumption of land. The quarry and the zoo exemplify this in relation to architecture. Both make the often neglected extractive character of architecture tangible. They live on the seizure and appropriation of nature, but are fascinating at the same time. Both make nature to a commodity and put the human in charge of managing nature. Furthermore quarries and zoos are connected in that both displace animals. Quarries by destroying their natural habitats and zoos by holding them captive in a staged version of their natural habitat. In that sense my thesis takes the investigation of a quarry (context) and a zoo (program) as a starting point for a design that questions this paradox correlation between image and reality of nature and how this is embedded in architecture. The role design plays in the exploitation of nature is explored. The quarry is investigated as an example for the dependency of architecture on resource extraction. The scars left by the quarries make this impact clearly visible. The zoo is interesting in that it inherits a history of violence against animals, but inverts Abstract this narrative by transfiguring the connection between humans and animals. The human thereby always remains at the centre of the discussion. How design creates the interaction between humans, animals and the animal enclosure in a zoo is analysed. An emphasis is put on the ways the zoo works with different viewing styles and shapes how we look at animals. Eventually through the clash of context and program a design is developed. The quarry is rehabilitated providing ones again a habitat for flora and fauna. The divers climatic conditions of the quarry allow a variety of species to be introduced. Through a route and buildings a long the route visitors are able to experience the quarry and different views are offered. A place is designed that is neither a zoo nor wild nature, that is neither fully staged nor fully authentic, where humans transition between being part of nature and the man-made, where they are “on the side” of the animal and then spy on it, a place that starts a discussion through such polarities about our paradox relationship with nature and the underlying challenges of nature conservation. In that way humans capability of destroying and saving nature is made tangible and is questioned. The problem of a purely human centred perspective is put forward by revealing our gaze through strategies of caricature. People alternate between being spectator and object. The design follows the idea that we care more about what we are aware of. It engages in that way with the potential of the zoo in making animals visible to promote conservation but also exposes our distorted view on nature.