Biomic Design

BelONGING Biome

6.0 BlOME

ot he r sp ecies, a n d unfortunately w it hin th e sa me spccres.

The state of belonging is a ssisted lry a sta ble envi -

rOI1 I11C nr, thi s o p tima l environ ment is termed a

Biom e indi ca tes t he right set of condi tio ns to

' b io me' , a part fro III issues of speciatio n caused hr

profligate and ex ist:

shifts in enviro n me nta l co nd itions, [Coppen s

and the species will ov er populate and throu gh

( 199 4 )1

;l

species wil l ex pand and p ros pe r it t he

(00

favourab le conditions

exhaustio n of reso urc es, w ill cause a cor rection in

en viro ume ura l condi tions a re favo ura b le.

ba l.mc e a nd d imin ut io n in populations.

Belo nging, in t h is sense is helped by all en viro n-

Th is is th e backbo ne to Darwin ia n t heo ry.

ment tha t is fa mi liar, provides, a nd is no n t h reat As de signers, an understanding of thi s st ructu re is

enm g.

req ui red to be a b le to place objects into t his euviNo rbe rg - Sch ulz ( 1985: 12 ) :

ro nmenr w itho ut (o r wi th minimal ) dist ur ban ce (0

"To dwell in the qualitatii .ÂŤ S(' 11S{' is i1 b.tsic condition of humanity. W/ lJen we iden /i!y

thi s "hiome", thi s pr acti se is not widely under -

stood w ithin t he Ind ust rial Design profess ion, a nd is curre nt ly ref lected in a n o rga nic morp ho logy,

unth a place. we dedica te ourselve s to a way

of being

ill the world. Therefore

w it h in the form given to artefacts.

du-elling dema nds something (rom us, as

well as from our places. \Ve have to haue all

ope n mil/d. and the places haue to offer

rich possibilities {or identification. ,.

Th e East ern p hilosophy of Fe ng Sh u; is a case in poi nt, of an ideology affording a more sym pa rheric bio me for hum a n existence w it hin the built

env iro nme nt .

The term 'biorne', is a term not usually artriburable to the h uman sp ecies , mainly because of the Ro ssbach ( 1987:10 ) : hum an sensibi lity of bein g a bove o r high e r th an other species, t hrough our notion of being su peri-

..Feng sim i seeks to [ind and create a bal-

or. Thi s distraction, w hich ha s been ingrained ,

anced and harmonious home. and thus

p redo mina n tly in Western c ult u res, t hro ug h t he

bring the occupants good health and emo-

use and mas terdo m over domesti cated livestock,

tiona l equilibrium. ..

a nd ha s expanded t hrough th is connection to

50

• fi gu re

•

o • •

••

BJoma

J~ .

lntenor biome of the Chun f,.mlily residing in Reservoir. victoru .

OriKiltati"K from Cambodia. with their bdmlg'ngs.

Interior biome of the }dmd fdnllly residing ill N nrt bcote, V'etor'd .

Origi"d ti" g from Somalia . with th eir belongings.

Figure 16.

Interior biome of the ROllch fllmily residing ill ResenJOir, Victor;..,.

O rigznJtmg from Yicto na. with their belongings.

lIIu..trarions from "The Interior' magazine, t 992.

51

B

e

LO

NGIN6 Biome

Rossbach ( 1987: 10 1continues :

So accord ing to Groves. Westerner society still

has its ritua ls, but th ere meaning or sign ifica nce

" This idea of balan ce is more sophisticated than mer e sym metry. It aligns a home or a

ha s been. la rgely lo st to \X'e ste rn civilisation . T his is a point taken up by M elbo urne Architect. Peter

person u -itb the natural am! mall -made elcCo rriga n in all afte rward to Groves' hook.

mcnts, rim s creat ing a /)c(lcl'(u[, harmo-

nio us /]()Il u-itbin the J

l'1ll ';rOJlJ1U'H! . ..

Co rr iga n ( 19 9 1: I0 5-6 ) : The \\:test is tinkering w ith thi s co nce pt, yet is still

"" If we are to sustain a sense of place in our

sce ptica l, from its domi nant id eo logical po sition,

cities, ur m ore to the point. in the buildings in it is yet to he convinced , paying o nly lip serv ice to the concept. main ly to secu re architecrural

u-hicb we In-c aud work. then tec/molo}.')'

COI1 -

must be allocated its Ino lJC1' role. Architecture both exploits and is sen-iced by teclm ology.

t ract s fro m afflue nt Asian cl ie nt s.

but it also trans cend s it , and in some ver), importan t ways is IJro foli1ui/y anti - tech -

Build ing as we know it in a \X'cste rn env iro n me nt .

nological ill its values. The genera l tmblic is tech no logical. t he q uest io n is. doec th is rechnolo gy serve

LIS

CTdl'es architectu re th.It establishes placÂŤ

in th e creation of cond uc ive biomes,

and satisfies ou r uspirutic ns for permanence and su rviva l. Nowadays, in social

or disser ve us ?

terms. the langu age of patriotism may not be [asbionable, but the appetite for 'roots>-

Groves ( 19 9 1: 10 31 :

albeit often make - believe ones - is unappeasable. .. " Feng-shui is [ascin ating - to West ern ers

especially - because it is dy nami c in charac-

6.1

ENVIRONMENTALISM

ter. a liuing. tradi tion which is taken very seriously by man)' Chinese peop le. Some

J. E. Brown from

may sa)' that, cu rrently; there is nothing

Ca rre r ( 19 87:2 5 3) quotes

lik e (eng - sbui in \VesteTn culture. I hope

'Practical Treati se on Tree Culture in South

this book has show n that this is net the

Austra lia (188 1:14) :

his

case. \'f/estern building ceremonies relating to turning the sod. laying a [oundation stone. com pleting the roof - [taming and upening a new bu ilding arc quite similar to (eng - shui in form and {un ction. .,

" In an ornamental point of view, then, trees are a necessity of our life; they instruct the mimi in the work of the Creator, ami they elevate the soul to things

52

SeLONG

NG

Biome

noble and cnltiuatcd ...trees bauc a umnder-

displa ced by th e reality, of th e recognition of th e

fully refinin g influence up on human nature, rea sons for th eir departing th e 'old co unt ry' in th e

to such an ex tent tha t b), ollr cultiva tio n of trees. so I think . m1.1)' our socia l standard be estimated. "

first place. That is, th at Austral ia affo rde d th em a bett er existence tha n th eir nat ive land.

I trust th at Brown 's in rerp ret.mon of th e wo rd 'cul-

Envi ron me nta lism, is two fold. It is th e main re-

ti vate" would me,1I1 pl.mt .uion fo restry, hil t t he dat e

n.mcc o f a sustai na ble eco logy, and th e cre at ion o f ~1

of his wo rk. being I N81, would mean th e 'clea r fell'

luuu.m hio me.

va riety o f fo rest ry.

The c rea tio n of \X'estern style en vironment s within

Desmond Morris (1967:24 1) :

this island co nt ine nt, resound from the cultural baggage o f rhe Europea n intlux. Fro m th e ea rly settlemenr of ea sy co unt ry, to th e wh ol esale dest ru ction

"This docs no t imply a nairc 'return to nature'. It simply means that

UN

should

tailor our intelligent opportunist aduances to of vast tr acts of forest . by th e lat e co mers, to open lip th e co unt ry. to support \'<'estern agra rianism.

our basic bcbarinu ral requirements. \Vl' mu st SOlllc/m u' irnprsn -c in 'lu. rlity rather than

l]fhl11tit)', If toe do this, Sma ll po ckets o f 'o ld gro wt h' for est a reas . a rc beco min g t he 'exotics ' wi thi n th e Australian ph ysi-

U IÂŁ, (a N

continue to

progress techno logically ill a dram atic and exciting way without del1ying our evolutionary inheritance, If we do not, then our suppressed

ca l en vironment. As th e farming secto r lays claim to

biological urges will build ttll and up until

urea in its expansion o ver this continent. Yet it is

the dam bursts and the whole of our elabo-

thi s stim ulus, th at creat es th e 'othe rness ', a nd th e

rate ex istence is swep t au'a)' in the [lood. "

sense of place. Th e mark o f the visual stimulus, cr eat ed by th e indi genous en viro n ment is o nly

Technology is viewed w ithin th e Western co nte xt,

recognised by the new co mer, upon bis return to

as a means to an end. T his is tr ue to an ex tent , the

his roots.

sca ry bit a bo ut techno logy is that, th e technologist's

don't know what the end will be. The ethical Man y people, have expressed the sentiment, as did

de bate about 'genetic engineering' is a case in po int.

Albert Tucker, that a n appreciation of the distinct Australian ph ysical environment, was only realised when th e romant ic notion of th e 'old co untry' wa s

53

BeLONGIN6 Biome

Marrin Heide ggcr (1977:4 ) :

The development of a n a wa reness o f th e values of an indi gen ous vegeta tion is gra d ually being enc ul-

.. n'l' ask

the question concerning tcclnto io-

gy when we ask what it is. EI'l'ryf}(Jd)'

knows the qu estion.

tu so

Gill'

statements tbat

tlnSll 'l'r

says : Techn olog y is a

turat ed with in th e wid er co mmuni ty. More hy stea lth, th an by pop ula r dema nd ; mo st stat uto ry

our aut horities ac ro ss Austra lia have reco gni sed the

"'ÂŁ0,1115

to .w em f. th e other says : TeclJJ1o[ogy is a

economies of indigeno us vegetation, suited ro th e

lnn n.m artiviry. T he two de(iuitiol1S o(

arid cli matic co nditio ns. Wit h the introduction of

tee/urolo gy belong togeth er. ..

ind igen ou s gra sses to th e spora dic oa ses .n u o ngs t th e as pha lt o f o ur la rge urban centre s, ill a hid for susta ina ble folia tion and a so ftening of th e int er-

he co ntin ues ( 197 7:5) :

face.

"But this much rema ins correct. m odern techn ology to o is a

111 e(1n 5

to an end. T hat

Steven Bourassa ( 199 1:67 )

is wh y th e instrumental conceptioÂť o( technol ogy conditions euery attemp t to bring man inf o the right relatio n to (a IJllo!ogy.

b Jcr)'tlJing d ep en ds Oil o ttr JIIdl1ip ll l,Jling

tech nology in the prop er IH Clml l'T as a m ean s. We will, as toe say. "get " techn ology "spiritually in hand. " \t'e will mas ter it ,

..Wl!Jat is fairly certain, h o u /cuer; is that a !Jiologiazl aesthe tics m ust be geared t ou -ards

stm-iua i, w het her

of the indiuidn.il

or the species. Aesth etic preferences must be fo r landscapes th at appear

to

enhance

suruiual. ..

T he will to master)' becomes all the m ore urgent the m ore tech nology th reatens to slip fro m huma n control, ,.

The Western idea of Abori ginal env iro nmentalism is clo ud ed by sentime nta l no tio ns of being 'as o ne

Hannah Arendt (1958:15 1) :

with nature', yet it m ust he rea lised that a ll human ex iste nce, has an impact on th e envi ro n-

"T he q uestio n th erefore is no t so m uch

memo

whether we are th e Masters or the slaves of our m achin es , bu t u/het hcr machines still serve th e w orld and its things, or if, on th e cont rary, they and the automati c motion of their pro cesses have begun to rule and even destroy world and things. "

54

BeLONCINC

Biome

Ren ew ( 1993 :2 3 ) :

"Almrigilld!l'co!Jlc were not nomadic hunters struggling to maintain an ztnchmzging lifest yle in a hostil e enviro nment, Rat her ,IS

inrun-ntn rs they established specialised

lJrodudi/Hz .ind distribution sys tems .m d ex t('nsil'd)' modified their environ ment to slll'lJtlrt this l,ro du d io l1. ..

Abori ginn l ac tio n alon g w it h clim atic o scillati on s had g rea t impact o n Austral ia .

Boura ssa (199 1:69) :

..Atm has for so metime modified the iandscapÂŤ with fire whiff' fJlm t i ng a nd tl /S 0 to

encourage

(l

Sl1l 'il1 U W IJ -

lik e bi snnc. ..

M at eri al cultu re imbued with a reg ional signifier as a st rateg y, to induce a state of belonging, within a biome esta blished to tri gger a su blimina l enviro n me nta l et hic .

55

BelONGING Conclusion

7.0

CONCLUSION

In an attemp t to ra tiona lise th e sea o f info rma tion

sta nces a nd dead end s a rose. \'<'hat ha d not been

before me, thi s visua l record ac ts as a compilation

factored into th e method ology was th e lac k of

o f th e 'ada ges' a nd cliches fro m pa st thinker s ill t he

ex po~lI re

field of environmenta l psychology, emb raci ng the

to th e rigour of aca de mic resear ch. T hei r sense of

ar gum ent s a nd a s~ayi llg th e weight, lead me to th is

run e, and resea rch tim clin cs, '.. 'ere wo rld s a pa rt,

co nc lusi.in .

ca using maj o r ex ten sion,

I end ea voured to foc us o n the three artefa cts,

A pure form and fun ction anal ysis, a s first pro-

described ea rlier. It wa s through that int erface, that

po sed , pro ved problem .in c also , in th e matching of

C3 1l\'3 S

upon whic h I co uld rep rese nt th e find ings of

th at th e Koori sub jec ts o f th e proj ect had

(0

th e initial pr ogr a m me.

a rtefacts to knowled ge. The rea l va lue from the research arose from int eraction with th e artisan

the resea rc h mo re a deq ua tely.

th em selves, th e traditional o ra l na ture o f th e Koori As a result . new ligh t playe d upo n th e accep ted

culture is foreign

' no rms' o f con tem po ra r-y material c ultu re.

ba sed acad emi c ende a vou r.

Of

th e

(0

\X'csrern factua l. liter a ture

dominant school of though t within th e Industri al Design p rofession .

M ost in forma t ion was delivered in th e oral mode, along with practical display o f th eir cra ft and skills.

7.1

METHODOLOGY This reinforced the impression that aside from regional d ifferences in met hod, a totemic signifi-

Predetermining a struct ure for th e research, as cance st ill a pplied to th e ' ma king' o f artefa ct. determined by th e Higher Degrees C o m m ittee , proved problem atic in th e instan ce o f thi s resea rch, Roth ( 1996 :28) : I sta ted in the int roduction that a p resup po sitio n is a t the heart of all good research . Mappin g a path

..Belonging together is the way Heidegger

for research to foll ow, ma y serve science we ll, bu t it

understands the Same. Only iobat is di((erel1t

is like goi ng to sea with a st uc k co mpass.

can belong together. only wha t is spanned by a distance - near or far - can he side by side. ..

In det ermini ng the st ruct ure before th e eve nt, th e methodology wa s subject to a da pta tion, a s circ um

56

B â&#x20AC;˘

o â&#x20AC;˘ ,

.,

Idealogy

f igure 18.

A t-';su.11 stimulus conmum to both the Koori ,1114.1 the co ntemporary A ust rJIi.1n is tb.n of th e colovra tion of the riuer red gu m.

It is th e 'sam e' stim ulus yet is perceived di fferentl y.

It 's unique qualities are yet to be realised by cnntempo rary A ustralia.

figure 19.

Unique yet inoisibie.

..

figure 20.

A conservation ethic insnlied in contemporary ma terial amtent G.m be achieve d th rou gh registering w ith the user .1 subli mina l

signifier.

Recow,itiwl of.J regionol

biome est.Jh/ishes J senseof belonging.

57

BelONGING Conclusion

This concept of 'Same' a ffected me. in that it wa s-

ha ving the living descendants before me, proved to

n't the contra st with Koori artefact s that held my

have more to offer than the sta tic artefact.

attent io n, it wa s the element s that we had in com -

Th e grea test ob stacle that had to be overcome ill

mon , the basic etho logica l needs, which are co rn-

th e research wa s the fea r o f ap pro priatio n.

mon to all hum an 's.

As Tilley ( 199 1:97) puts it: Yet in mar erinl culture the Koori ex perience dif[crcd from that of \Vcstern society,

"A /,/,ro/,rilltio H is th e p roces s by which the

revelation of new m odes o{ heiHg

gives

the subject Hell' capacities fo r knowing T he proj ect faltered around the point th at I presup-

hin tsel], If th e reference 0(., text is the pro-

posed that th e Kouri co mmuni ty had similar pri or -

jectio n 0( " world, the n it is 110t in the first

ities to min e. T his pro ved nor to be th e case, th ey

insta nce the reader u.//JO projects him self

a rc comfortable in the knowl edge of their spiritua l

The reader is rath er broadened in his

co nnectio n with th e land, their main priority for

capacity to project himself by receiving a ncur m ode o f heing (rom the text itself ..

resear chin g their culture is to re-instil self esteem withi n th eir communi ty. In \'('estern cu lture a Th e temptation was th ere, to emblazo n co nte mreawakening o f the human connectedness with the porary artefact with Aboriginal markings, an natural environment is what [ sec as the missing approac h which seemed ho llow, and of litt le factor in the production of contemporary artefacts, meaning to th ose with littl e o r no knowledge. all instilled con ser vation ethic.

Ulti mately I o pt ed for an element within th e ph ysical environment co mmo n to, o r the sa me to th e Th e initial intenti on wa s to conduct a fo rm and Koori and co nte mpo ra ry Au str alian soc iety, that function anal ysis, of th e 3 artefacts cho sen, hoping of the bark colouration of th e indigenous river that information relating to these objects would red gurn,

o ffer clues as to meanings of attachment to place, ut ilising thi s kno wledge to th en design co ncepts of Th is tok en elem ent was used to ado rn th e surface co ntempo ra ry a rtefacts of a similar appl icati on . of the co ntem po ra ry artefacts design by myself as a ' toa ' . The ' toa' is a marker or message stick , left Yet, for calculation of human interaction with the at a ca mps ite, to indicate to th ose that followed , ph ysical enviro nment through material culture, th e dir ecti on tak en by th e leadi ng party. I a ppro-

58

BelONGINS

Conclusion

pri nt ed th e sign ifica nce o f th e ' tea' in reflect ing

wo uld occ ur, o f a regi onal nature, to mak e se nse

upon the artefa ct s generated from t he research .

of th eir exi sten ce. This instilled a tot emi c signi fi-

The int ention w as not to pr esent highl y resol ved

ca nce upo n th e a rt efacts used , a nd ge ne ra ted a n

product at th e en d of th e research, hut indica tors

et hos of empathy wi th the physical environment.

o r d irecti on ma rk ers fo r o the rs to fo llow.

It was thi s asp ect of Koori c ult u re w hic h was o f "(It.-,

t he designe rs. ca rry fo rward t he ideas o f soci-

pa rt icular val ue to my resea rc h. t heir to tem ic lo ve

erv, an d give th em form. \'(Ie do nor design in iso -

of the la nd . an d its reflect ion in rhe a rtefac ts they

l.uion, as o u r 'i nd ivid ua listic' e ra would sugges t,

ere.ired.

b ut a rc informed by phi lo sophers pa st a nd pr ese nt , by th e mobi le te m pora lity o f a rtis ts, po et s

E. O. Wilso n ( 19 95 :3 621 :

and ' . .-rirers a nd th e mood of th e ma sses to th eir eco nomic. eco log ica l and ontologica l we ll being.

..hi m y opinion. th e m ost importan t implicatio n of all inn ate hio plnlia is th e [nunda-

tion it lays for an enduring co nserva tion It is that stimulus wh ich informs our industry,

ethic ..

â&#x20AC;˘md need s to he ref lected more in th e o b jects we e re..it e, a change in the methodology o f the appli Th e impo rt an ce pl aced o n the region al nature o f ca t io n of Industrial Design, is wh at is required. [h e a rtefact a rose from not o nly th e local mareri -

7.2

CONSERVATION ETHICS

als th e a rtefact was fa brica te d fro m, b ut th e peo pie assembled to collect, process a n d fabricate

Belon ging, as it a ppea red to me through the int er -

and th e sto ries told among young a n d old,

action w ith th e Ko ori pr actit ioner s was imbued

a round th e process of the mak ing .

th rou gh th e a rtefacts they prod uce d, in t ha t t hey appli ed sign ifica nce to co nte m po ra ry a rtefac ts

Patrick J\1 cCi.1 ughey, ga ve a lecture to th e

throu gh th e o ra l tradition o f kn owled ge transfer,

Contempo ra ry Sculptors Association , a t th e Yarra

and practica l tu itio n of rela t ing stories wi thin a

Sculpture Space o n September 17, 19 98, eotitled

gro up a ll asse m bled around th e sa me task .

â&#x20AC;˘Freighted Object s - British Sculpt ure (rom Whitercad to Epstein ', thi s description he attach ed

Th rough thi s gro up inrer ac rivity, o f o ra l t ra nsm is-

to mo vem ents in co nte m porary British Sculpture

sio n an d p ract ical a p plication, m yth ge neratio n

cu rrent ly, relati ng to the object as m etapho r.

59

BeLONGING Conclusion

1\1cCaughey held th a t, to o litera l ex posur e of

In doing so, t he artefacts pr oduced in the exhibi-

meaning dull ed th e enjoym ent o f th e viewe r, to

tion were imbued wi t h a regional co ntex tua lisa-

int erpret on a n individual ba sis. M cCaugh cy was

tion, not immediately reco gni sed by tho se from

emp hasising t he need for a deeper mean ing in th e

o uts ide o f thi s ph ysical envi ro n me nt, tha t t he

crea tion of sculpture, yet

rcdg um is ind igenous to . This sign ifier, beco mes

110{

overtly ob vious as

to deprive the viewer of the element of clos ure.

more obvious as you trave l th e le ngth and breadt h o f Victo ria, w it h region al differ ences in

Th is s ub lime messa gin g is not wid ely pr eva lent in

co lo ur-a n o n a nd tex t ure , becomin g mor e p ro -

th e wo rld o f con rcm po r.u-y a rtefact Llhrica tio n,

no unce d th roug h local kn o w led ge.

lea din g to a dim inution o f th e va lue an d th er efo re a person's retention of the artefact.

r\ \X'estern interpre tat ion of th e Abo riginal ex pe rie nce is p ro blema t ic. as if \X'est ern society

7.3

BIDMIC DESIGN a nt icipa tes th at 4 to 5 gen er ations is a de q ua te tim e for c ultura l con nect io ns with th e land to

Bion-ic design is th e co ncept o f a holi sti c

di m in ish. T he \'('est e rn expe rience ove r

<.1

hu nd red

approach to the d esign o f conrempor.ir y artefact, gene ra tio ns is di slocation and ethnic di sruptio n. tak ing in to acco unt th e fittin gn ess of t he fu nctio n, th e agra ria n society of th e 17th Cent u ry, being th e sign ifica nce o f th e fo rm, th e en vironmental th e last conn ecti on w ith th e cons tr uct of lan d a nd se ns it ivity and th e lov e o f th e object. C urre nt belo ngin g. The ror emisarion o f th e ph ysical West crn intent with materi al c ult u re is lacking in e n viro nme nt through artefact is a n avenue for a more sym pa t hetic resp on se to th ese iss ues . th e inn a te sensib ilit ies of to poph ilia to engage.

In genera t ing a rtefact fro m th e research, t he

It is thi s as pec t th at I hav e det ermined is vita l to ap proac h adopted was th at of interpreting th e a n env iro nme nta l se ns e of belon ging in th e wo rld ph ysical env iro n me nt from th at w hic h w e still of material c ult u re. By a reco nn ecti on w it h t he share wi t h the Koori comm uni ty. Choosing a phy sical environment, throu gh artefact, t he benesymbolic as pect raised concerns o f approp riatio n, fits to society in the fo rm of a n environ me nta l so th e ap proac h c hose n was th e liter al tra nsfe r of eth ic, wi ll he significa nt. A different way of th ink -

a visua l st im ulus sha re d as gro und dwellin g muming, wi t h differ ent dri ver s to th o se pr esentl y pr emal s. That o f th e co lo u ra tio n a nd rextu ra t ion of t he Euca lyp t us ca ma ld ulen sis o r rive r redgu m.

60