18" Above and Below by dimitragrigoriou

18â€? ABOVE AND BELOW Processes of shaping alternative grounds

“Yet the more one reads into the land, the more difficult it becomes to ascertain with any certainty where the substance ends and the medium begins. For it is precisely through the binding of medium and substance that wind and weather leave their mark in the land. Thus the land itself no longer appears as an interface separating the two, but as a vaguely defined zone of admixture and intermingling. Indeed anyone who has walked through the boreal forest in summer knows that the ’ground’ is not really a coherent surface at all but a more or less impenetrable mass of tangled under growth, leaf litter and detritus, mosses and lichens, stones and boulders, split by cracks and crevasses, threaded by tree roots, and interspersed with swamps and marshes overgrown with rafts of vegetation that are liable to give way underfoot. Somewhere beneath it all is solid rock, and somewhere above the clear sky, but it is in this intermediate zone that life is lived, at depths depending upon the scale of the creature and its capacity to penetrate an environment that is ever more tightly packed.” Michelle Addington, “The phenomena of the non-visual”, 2007

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

30°

90°

90° parallel connection 1-1 unit

90° rotation

150°

30°

30° opposite connection

30° cw rotation

150° ccw rotation

30° parallel connection

1-1 unit

30° cw rotation

150° ccw rotation

1-1 unit

60°

120° 90° 90°

60° opposite connection

60° ccw rotation

90° parallel connection

120° cw rotation

1-1 unit

60° ccw rotation

120° cw rotation

3-3 unit

60°

120°

60° opposite connection 3-3 unit

30° cw rotation

150° ccw rotation

MATERIAL TRANSFORMATION : Possible Responses to Change ALAR 8010 | F17 MATERIAL FUTURES : Alternative Grounds | GRIGORIOU Dimitra

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

Material MaterialAggregation Aggregation Material Aggregation

Temperature Increase Temperature Increase Temperature Increase

Compaction Compaction Compaction

Loss

New Aggregation

Loss Loss

New Aggregation New Aggregation

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

SOILS AS GLOBAL CARBON SINKS - THE BELOW GROUND CARBON POOL

300

(MgC/ha)

- Soil Organic Carbon Content (for the upper 30 cm of the soil profile) - Higher carbon stocks in organic soils > peat - Cultivated soils have lost 50%-70% of their original carbon stock

source: http://www.cifor.org/global-wetlands/ SWAMP Sustainable Wetlands Adaptations and Mitigation Program

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

ORGANIC SOILS - PEAT - PEATLAND LATITUDES - PEAT FORMATION - PEATLAND LATITUDES

PEATLAND COVER (%) >10 5-10 2-5 0.5-2 0.0 -0.5 no data

Blanket bog in the UK

source: Global Peatland Database, Greifswald Mire Centre https://greifswaldmoor.de/global-peatland-database-en.html

Fen in Northern Canada

Cushion plants in paramo peatlands in Chile

Hummocks in Patagonia

Peat swamp forest in Indonesia

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

ORGANIC SOILS - PEAT - PEATLAND LATITUDES - PEAT FORMATION - PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

yr 0

yr 50

yr 70

yr 100

100mm 70mm 50mm

Live spaghnum

Fibrous

Hemic

Sapric

TEXTURE: MOSS

TEXTURE: FIBROUS, FLUFFY

TEXTURE: MUSHY, FIBROUS

TEXTURE: AMORPHOUS GRANULAR

WATER RETENTION CAPACITY: 2000%

WATER RETENTION CAPACITY: 1200%

WATER RETENTION CAPACITY: 800%

WATER RETENTION CAPACITY 500 %:

ORGANIC:100% CARBON: 45%

ORGANIC: <30% CARBON: 60%

ORGANIC: 15% CARBON: 70%

ORGANIC: 0% CARBON: 90%

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

ORGANIC SOILS - PEAT - PEATLAND LATITUDES - PEAT FORMATION - PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

1 cm - Microstructure of a leaf of Spaghnum moss

- Pore structure of peat moss

- high water holding capacity - low bulk density > low compression - slow decay - high nutrient holding capacity - organic matter accumulation

- Peat moss sample slowly absorbing water and expanding

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

CHANGING GROUND - CLIMATE - PEAT AS A PRODUCT OF EXTRACTION - CLIMATE FEEDBACK - MATERIAL CHANGE

COUNTRIES WITH MAJOR PEATLANDS

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SASKATCHEWAN Premier Horticultural

NEW BRUNSWICK Fafard Peat Moss Beausjour Peat Moss Inc. Thriault & Hachey Peat Moss Ltd. La Mousse Acadienne (1979) Lte La Tourbe de Pigeon-Hill Lte La Tourbiere Miramichi Lte Fafard Lte. Malpec Peat Moss Ltd. Jiffy Products (N.B.) Limited Gardenscape ASB Greenworld Ltd. Heveco Ltd.

LO D R Y I C N A G T E X IN TR + P R M A O C I C S H T E S IP S P IN

Canadian Industry Associations Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association, St. Albert, Alberta Québec Peat Moss Producers Association New Brunswick Peat Moss Producers Association

MAJOR HORTICULTURAL PEAT PRODUCING COUNTRIES (thousand metric tons, 2013) 1

REGULATIONS FOR PEATLAND CONSERVATION AND PEAT EXTRACTION

CANADIAN EXTRACTION COMPANIES QUEBEC Lambert Peat Moss Inc. Fafard et Frres Ltd Ecotech Inc. Les Tourbires Berger-Berger Peat Moss TOURBIRES YVON BLANGER Inc. Sun Gro Horticulture Canada Ltd.

installation, use & maintenance

Canada is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sphagnum peat for horticultural uses. Canadian sphagnum peat represents 65% of total horticultural peat used in the United States . These imports account for 97% of US sphagnum peat imports and 85% of total Canadian production.

material processing & manufacturing

INTERNATIONAL: Ramsar Convention on Wetlands United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) EUROPEAN UNION: Numerous (two major ones include the Common Agriculture Policy and Natura 2000) CANADA: Wetland Policy FINLAND: Wetland Policy INDONESIA: Government Regulation No 71/2014

CANADA: 1295 SWEDEN: 1420 FINLAND: 670 ESTONIA: 567 IRELAND: 500 NORWAY: 475 UNITED STATES: 465 LITHUANIA: 371 BELARUS: 270 FRANCE: 200 DENMARK: 125

MAJOR ENERGY PEAT PRODUCING COUNTRIES (thousand metric tons, 2013) FINLAND: 6800 IRELAND: 6100 BELARUS: 2700 SWEDEN: 1880 MOLDOVA: 475 ESTONIA: 360 TURKEY: 200

MAJOR PEAT PRODUCING COUNTRIES energy and horticultural numbers mixed (thousand metric tons, 2013) RUSSIA: 1500 LATVIA: 1380 POLAND: 760 UKRAINE: 380

NDS

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

CHANGING GROUND - CLIMATE

- PEAT AS A PRODUCT OF EXTRACTION - CLIMATE FEEDBACK - MATERIAL CHANGE

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

CHANGING GROUND - CLIMATE

- PEAT AS A PRODUCT OF EXTRACTION - CLIMATE FEEDBACK - MATERIAL CHANGE

- Climate shifts in the next 100 years; areas mostly affected coincide with peatlands and soils with high carbon content.

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

CHANGING GROUND - CLIMATE

- PEAT AS A PRODUCT OF EXTRACTION - CLIMATE FEEDBACK - MATERIAL CHANGE

- Overlaid infrared imaging of radial smouldering spread over a sample of peat ignited at the centre. Photo by Rackauskaite, Huang and Rein (CC BY 3.0 license) http://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/ sss/2014/10/01/soils-at-imaggeo-fire-watch-constellation

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

CHANGING GROUND - LANDSCAPES

EROSION DRYING SOIL SOIL LOSS VEGETATION CHANGES

STUDY SITE: Blanket Bog, Yorkshire UK

C° 80°

60°

55°

55 ° N, 2 ° W

Climate: Dfb

Altitude: 315 m

120

100

40°

20°

0°

-20°

-40°

-60°

-80°

-10

water table

Plant Cover

Temperature

Water Content

Erosion

Wind 0

50ft

Aerial View Peat hags are visible throughout the bog

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

CHANGING GROUND - LANDSCAPES

EROSION DRYING SOIL SOIL LOSS VEGETATION CHANGES

opportunities: - amplify wet / dry conditions - amplify topography - create ‘pockets’ of humidity

Ground contracts

mat - protects from wind and erosion - accumulates organic litter - slows down drying

roll as ground subsides organic matter is compressed and submerged in water

Ground expands

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

CHANGING GROUND - LANDSCAPES

EROSION DRYING SOIL SOIL LOSS VEGETATION CHANGES

STUDY SITE: Post-mined Peatland, Quebec - Canada

C°

80°

60°

48°

48 ° N, 69 ° W

Climate: Dfb

Altitude: 87 m

120

100

40°

20°

0°

-20°

-40°

-60°

-80°

-10 -20 j

Water Content

Temperature

Plant Cover

Erosion

Wind 0

150ft

Aerial View Edge of post-mined peatland in Canada

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

CHANGING GROUND - LANDSCAPES

EROSION DRYING SOIL SOIL LOSS VEGETATION CHANGES

opportunities: - create new topography - create intermediate layer between atmosphere and ground - encourage spotaneous vegetation

Ground contracts

mat - protects from wind and erosion - stores water at the surface of the ground - initiates new topography

ASSIGNMENT III | CYCLES AND TIME

PFF III | F17 | Professor: Teresa Gali-Izard | Student: Dimitra Grigoriou - MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

B. Helophytes | Response to water table change in a drying peat bog CHANGING GROUND - LANDSCAPES

Peat is- formed in the waterlogged acidic environment of peat bogs. Changes in the level of the water table affect EROSION both the amount of air that enters the soil and the ph of the water, creating new conditions for different vegetation - DRYING SOIL patters. Therefore in a drying peat bog, as the water table drops spaghnum moss decreases, however it creates - SOILforLOSS opportunities new ecologies to emerge as grasses, shrubs and other vascular plants take over. hummock - VEGETATION CHANGES

H L

ericaceous shrubs

pool

wet moss graminoids

dry moss hollow

H L

High Low

year 0: top - spaghnum mossmoss dominant spe- species year toplayer layer80% 80%submerged submerged - spaghnum dominant Hummock

H L

Lawn 1

High Hollow

-1

Low L

year toplayer layer50% 50%submerged submerged - spaghnum with Eriophorum year 1:1:top - spaghnum mossmoss mixedmixed with Eriophorum vagina-vaginatum L

- Vegetation types and topogrphy of the peat bog

High Low

year 2: top toplayer layerbegins beginstoto - growth of grasses and shrubs year 2: drydry outout - growth of grasses and shrubs

High Low

Calluna vulgaris

Eriophorum vaginatum

Spaghnum moss year 3: top - vascular plants taketake over,over, spaghnum moss cannot grow grow year toplayer layermostly mostlydrydry - vascular plants spaghnum moss cannot

*cycles + time, survival at the waterâ€™s edge

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

GROUND AS CONTEXT

- SOIL DEGRADATION + LOSS

- 5 billion hectares or Earth’s vegetated land have been degraded (43% of earth’s surface)

- CLIMATE CHANGE - Temperature increase > drying soils

- CARBON SINKS - Decrease of below ground carbon sink

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

MATERIAL INTERVENTION

- ACTS ON THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND, 18” ABOVE AND BELOW > ZONE OF INTERACTION WITH THE ATMOSPHERE - REVITILIZES EXISITING GROUND AND CREATES A NEW GROUND - TRANSFORMS ITS ENVIRONMENT AND ITSELF

MATERIAL FORMATION - MODULARITY + MULTIDIMENSIONALITY - FORM + ASSEMBLY MATERIAL TRANSFORMATION - RESISTANCE + COMPRESSION - SURFACE AREA + POROSITY - ACCUMULATION - DECAY

- MATERIAL AS SURFACE - THE MATERIAL OF THE GROUND - SOILS IN TRANSITION - SHAPING ALTERNATIVE GROUNDS -

MATERIAL FORMATION - MODULARITY + MULTIDIMENSIONALITY - FORM + ASSEMBLY

90°

30° parallel

30° opposite

60° parallel

60° opposite