A quarry and a zoo: Exposing the distorted view on nature
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Program
Architecture and planning beyond sustainability (MPDSD), MSc
Publicerad
2023
Författare
Trapp, Laurids
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
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.