NUS DoA M.ARCH2 THESIS PREPARATION REPORTS: WORK-IN-PROGRESS BY OUR STUDENTS

YEAR 5 COMPILATION OF SAMPLES

2019/2020 M.ARCH 2

M.ARCH THESIS: PREPARATORY REPORTS

IMAGE CREDIT: MUN QIN JIE IAN

MASTERS DESIGN PROJECTS

INTERESTS

PROJECT ATTRIBUTES

Masters Design Projects include those explored in two Options Design Research Studios (M.Arch 1), the Advanced Architecture Studio and the Thesis project in M.Arch 2. All studios may explore issues relevant to the interests of the Research Clusters, adjunct teachers and professors in practice. Students are encouraged to capitalise on faculty expertise in widening the scope of investigations which collectively strengthen the Thesis Project in M.Arch 2.

A good Masters project is one where:

Essential and Elective modules are useful in underpinning your Masters studio investigations. Although Options Design Research studios may be varied in content and method, students are advised to be selective and to use them as ‘learning runways’ to identify a Thesis topic and to apply accumulated knowledge there. The Advanced Architecture Studio preceding the Thesis may be used to explore thesis drivers in greater detail and focus.

It is expected that the Thesis project will be the most comprehensive and extensive study of all the Masters Design Projects. _______________________________________________________________________________________

• the research process informs design strategy which can be followed through a coherent sequential process of explorations or iterations • the research generates an underlying order giving rise to a number of architectural or urban propositions • the research or issues engaged with, give rise to new solutions through design, some of which are singular, permutable or recombinant • it addresses the contextual specificities of site, material, spatial, culture and program and all of the above are communicated through architectural drawings, well-crafted models and annotations which curate a design process and outcome(s) that can be understood without a verbal presentation by the author Beyond a commitment to individual academic portfolios, Masters projects play an important role in characterising the discursive ethos of a design school. It is important that you do your best.

DESIGN AS INQUIRY Masters projects can be research investigations where design forms a principal mode of inquiry.

Methods can be heuristic or empirical or in mixed modes of inquiry.

There are a number of research methods in design investigations leading to different outcomes but they are by no means exhaustive: • textual/graphic analysis of theoretical concepts with investigations drawn from critical discourse using text references, works of art/representation • quantitative analysis to verify qualitative hypotheses with simulation, physical experiment, prototype testing and mixed methods • scenario-driven speculative design to suggest solutions to emergent need. The process in itself is a new way of seeing/thinking which generates many solutions. One version of a solution may be articulated spatially and in full materiality • new research knowledge is interpreted in architecture as a new way of thinking/making/experiencing • existing practices, processes or existing technologies are applied to design and which produce ‘unprecedented’ outcomes

_______________________________________________________________________________________

MASTERS DESIGN PROJECTS

INTERESTS

PROJECT ATTRIBUTES

Masters Design Projects include those explored in two Options Design Research Studios (M.Arch 1), the Advanced Architecture Studio and the Thesis project in M.Arch 2. All studios may explore issues relevant to the interests of the Research Clusters, adjunct teachers and professors in practice. Students are encouraged to capitalise on faculty expertise in widening the scope of investigations which collectively strengthen the Thesis Project in M.Arch 2.

A good Masters project is one where:

Essential and Elective modules are useful in underpinning your Masters studio investigations. Although Options Design Research studios may be varied in content and method, students are advised to be selective and to use them as ‘learning runways’ to identify a Thesis topic and to apply accumulated knowledge there. The Advanced Architecture Studio preceding the Thesis may be used to explore thesis drivers in greater detail and focus.

It is expected that the Thesis project will be the most comprehensive and extensive study of all the Masters Design Projects. _______________________________________________________________________________________

• the research process informs design strategy which can be followed through a coherent sequential process of explorations or iterations • the research generates an underlying order giving rise to a number of architectural or urban propositions • the research or issues engaged with, give rise to new solutions through design, some of which are singular, permutable or recombinant • it addresses the contextual specificities of site, material, spatial, culture and program and all of the above are communicated through architectural drawings, well-crafted models and annotations which curate a design process and outcome(s) that can be understood without a verbal presentation by the author Beyond a commitment to individual academic portfolios, Masters projects play an important role in characterising the discursive ethos of a design school. It is important that you do your best.

DESIGN AS INQUIRY Masters projects can be research investigations where design forms a principal mode of inquiry.

Methods can be heuristic or empirical or in mixed modes of inquiry.

There are a number of research methods in design investigations leading to different outcomes but they are by no means exhaustive: • textual/graphic analysis of theoretical concepts with investigations drawn from critical discourse using text references, works of art/representation • quantitative analysis to verify qualitative hypotheses with simulation, physical experiment, prototype testing and mixed methods • scenario-driven speculative design to suggest solutions to emergent need. The process in itself is a new way of seeing/thinking which generates many solutions. One version of a solution may be articulated spatially and in full materiality • new research knowledge is interpreted in architecture as a new way of thinking/making/experiencing • existing practices, processes or existing technologies are applied to design and which produce ‘unprecedented’ outcomes

_______________________________________________________________________________________

RESEARCH CLUSTERS

ASIA RESEARCH FOCUS

III. TECHNOLOGIES

The Department positions itself as a design and research think-tank for architectural and urban development issues emerging in South Asia and SE Asia contexts. Graduate coursework in design engages with key challenges in population growth, industry, infrastructure, housing and environment, climate change and rapid economic change with disruptive technologies. In engaging with trans-boundary economies and technological change, the Department addresses concerns with the environmental impact of new settlements and cities on the natural environment in the light of climate change and on the threat to heritage and cultural presentation. MArch studios anticipate planning solutions through design explorations at various scales of intervention. The Master’s coursework are thus aligned to a core of five teaching groups viz. History Theory Criticism, Research by Design, Design Technologies, Urbanism and Landscape Studies. _______________________________________________________________________________________

The Technologies cluster investigates environmentally performative/sustainable building forms and systems,and generative-evaluative processes for designing liveable environments. Its research employs traditional and emerging technologies contributing to a new understanding of the human ecosystem, and emerging computational methods and techniques for discovering the relationships between form and performance. It researches on the relationship between human and natural landscapes, at every scale, from the building component scale to the urban scale.

Special emphasis is placed on the context of high density Asian cities and the context of the Tropics.

I. HISTORY THEORY CRITICISM The History Theory Criticism cluster develops critical capacities to examine questions of architectural production, representation and agency within historical and contemporary milieu. Taking architecture and urbanism in Asia as its primary focus, members work in interdisciplinary and transnational modes. We explore a range of topics relating to colonial/postcolonial and modern/ postmodern Asian cities; aesthetics and technopolitics of tropical climate and the built environment; affective media including film, contemporary art and exhibitionary modes; heritage politics and emergent conservation practices. We develop discursive fronts through a variety of media and scales. The cluster research encompasses scholarly, creative and advocacy activities. Output includes monographs, edited volumes, research papers, architectural reviews in professional journals, curatorial practice, conservation work, film and photography, object-making, and policy-influencing advocacy work.

II. RESEARCH BY DESIGN The Research by Design cluster performs translational research through the practices of making as research rather than through traditional forms academic research. It links the importance of creating, drawing, and building with rigor, originality, and significance to produce innovative and creative designs that shape the built environment. Located strategically between the NorthSouth axis of rapidly urbanizing Asia and the East -West line of the tropical equator, the Research

by Design cluster performs research through practice in three main themes: • Novel aesthetics of climatic calibration and performance; • Contemporary architectonics of fabrication, material, and resources contingent on South East Asia; and • Emergent spaces of inhabitation and production surrounding the equator.

IV. URBANISM With a comprehensive understanding of the complexity and distinctive characters of emerging urbanism in Asia, the vision is to develop sustainable models and innovative urban strategies to cope with various environmental, social, economic and technological challenges that Asian cities face today and in the future. Emergent urban issues related to community & participation, conservation & regeneration, ageing & healthcare, built form, modelling & big data, and resilience & informality are investigated from multiple perspectives and inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations to question conventional norms and conceptions and establish new visions for a sustainable urban future.

V. LANDSCAPE STUDIES The Landscape Studies cluster undertakes research to generate new knowledge of landscapes as socio-ecological systems and promotes the use of knowledge in governance systems and landscape design that improve the well-being of humans and the ecological integrity of the environment. The geographic focus is primarily high-density urban regions in Asia, but members of cluster also work in the transitional zones within the rural-urban continuum, where urban regions are expanding at a rapid rate into rural landscapes. The overall research approach is both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary — we are concerned with not just advancing theoretical concepts and knowledge, but also applying the knowledge in practice and public policy to shape the environment. Our research areas cover a wide spectrum of socio-ecological dimensions of landscape, from landscape science, landscape management, to design research and socio-behavioural studies.

RESEARCH CLUSTERS

ASIA RESEARCH FOCUS

III. TECHNOLOGIES

The Department positions itself as a design and research think-tank for architectural and urban development issues emerging in South Asia and SE Asia contexts. Graduate coursework in design engages with key challenges in population growth, industry, infrastructure, housing and environment, climate change and rapid economic change with disruptive technologies. In engaging with trans-boundary economies and technological change, the Department addresses concerns with the environmental impact of new settlements and cities on the natural environment in the light of climate change and on the threat to heritage and cultural presentation. MArch studios anticipate planning solutions through design explorations at various scales of intervention. The Master’s coursework are thus aligned to a core of five teaching groups viz. History Theory Criticism, Research by Design, Design Technologies, Urbanism and Landscape Studies. _______________________________________________________________________________________

The Technologies cluster investigates environmentally performative/sustainable building forms and systems,and generative-evaluative processes for designing liveable environments. Its research employs traditional and emerging technologies contributing to a new understanding of the human ecosystem, and emerging computational methods and techniques for discovering the relationships between form and performance. It researches on the relationship between human and natural landscapes, at every scale, from the building component scale to the urban scale.

Special emphasis is placed on the context of high density Asian cities and the context of the Tropics.

I. HISTORY THEORY CRITICISM The History Theory Criticism cluster develops critical capacities to examine questions of architectural production, representation and agency within historical and contemporary milieu. Taking architecture and urbanism in Asia as its primary focus, members work in interdisciplinary and transnational modes. We explore a range of topics relating to colonial/postcolonial and modern/ postmodern Asian cities; aesthetics and technopolitics of tropical climate and the built environment; affective media including film, contemporary art and exhibitionary modes; heritage politics and emergent conservation practices. We develop discursive fronts through a variety of media and scales. The cluster research encompasses scholarly, creative and advocacy activities. Output includes monographs, edited volumes, research papers, architectural reviews in professional journals, curatorial practice, conservation work, film and photography, object-making, and policy-influencing advocacy work.

II. RESEARCH BY DESIGN The Research by Design cluster performs translational research through the practices of making as research rather than through traditional forms academic research. It links the importance of creating, drawing, and building with rigor, originality, and significance to produce innovative and creative designs that shape the built environment. Located strategically between the NorthSouth axis of rapidly urbanizing Asia and the East -West line of the tropical equator, the Research

by Design cluster performs research through practice in three main themes: • Novel aesthetics of climatic calibration and performance; • Contemporary architectonics of fabrication, material, and resources contingent on South East Asia; and • Emergent spaces of inhabitation and production surrounding the equator.

IV. URBANISM With a comprehensive understanding of the complexity and distinctive characters of emerging urbanism in Asia, the vision is to develop sustainable models and innovative urban strategies to cope with various environmental, social, economic and technological challenges that Asian cities face today and in the future. Emergent urban issues related to community & participation, conservation & regeneration, ageing & healthcare, built form, modelling & big data, and resilience & informality are investigated from multiple perspectives and inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations to question conventional norms and conceptions and establish new visions for a sustainable urban future.

V. LANDSCAPE STUDIES The Landscape Studies cluster undertakes research to generate new knowledge of landscapes as socio-ecological systems and promotes the use of knowledge in governance systems and landscape design that improve the well-being of humans and the ecological integrity of the environment. The geographic focus is primarily high-density urban regions in Asia, but members of cluster also work in the transitional zones within the rural-urban continuum, where urban regions are expanding at a rapid rate into rural landscapes. The overall research approach is both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary — we are concerned with not just advancing theoretical concepts and knowledge, but also applying the knowledge in practice and public policy to shape the environment. Our research areas cover a wide spectrum of socio-ecological dimensions of landscape, from landscape science, landscape management, to design research and socio-behavioural studies.

EXTRACTS FROM THE DESIGN THESIS PREPARATORY REPORTS OF

MUN QIN JIE IAN SUPERVISOR: A/P DR. LILIAN CHEE

THE ETHEREAL CITY OF PINK

EXTRACTS FROM THE DESIGN THESIS PREPARATORY REPORTS OF

MUN QIN JIE IAN SUPERVISOR: A/P DR. LILIAN CHEE

THE ETHEREAL CITY OF PINK

THE ETHEREAL CITY OF PINK NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE

Design Thesis Preperatory Report

Supervisor: Dr Lilian Chee Mun Qin Jie Ian A0139475U

ABSTRACT

CONTENTS

In 1993, the American Natural Soda Ash Corporation fabricated the claim that soda ash produced by Botswana Ash (Botash) in the Sowa

Prelude

mining district of Botswana was impure due to the presence of pink colouration in the salt brines. Subsequent predatory pricing tactics and

A Study in Pink: Myths of the Seasonal Resource

soda ash dumping in the Republic of South Africa have threatened the soda ash market and economy of Botswana.

This thesis employs the premise of myth-making to rebrand Botash’s

Pink Politics: Myths of Colour, Race and the Apartheid

Dawn of a New Wizard: The Creator of Myths

image. Like the wizard in the Emerald City of Oz, Botash weaves an alternate myth of coloured purity. It rallies the citizens of Sowa in the

The Flower in the Desert: A Tale of a Resilient Township

production and manufacturing of ‘pink’ in a bid to liberate the nation from American capitalist threats. The Ethereal City of Pink protects

The Gift of Colour: A New Ecology of Care

Botswana’s economy and ecology through preserving the limited soda ash resource. It projects an alternate myth of purity by embracing the

Seasons of Pink: The Ephemeral Landscape

colour pink.

The Ethereal City of Pink The thesis stands as a speculative proposal of a mining city that cares for its land, resources, wildlife and its people. The proposed infrastructure suggests the slow mining of limited soda ash through rain water harvesting, glass recycling and exploiting the pink landscape in the creation of a resilient and sustainable city. Utilising the spatial mechanics of myth-making – mixing (half-truths), distancing, and edifying, the design creates an alternative myth of the Sowa mining city, one in which the pink of salt pans, flamingoes and the sky, reconfigure the binary of truth and lies; nature and culture; coloured and white.

Myths, Colour, Salt, Capitalism, Race, Ecology

Epilogue: The Fragmented Tales of a United Pink

PRELUDE Scarcity precipitates desire. In environments of scarcity, these desires often find themselves woven into folklore and myth, the making of which itself becomes an embodiment of such desires. Water-scarce Botswana, where four-fifths of which lay couched in the Kalahari Desert, finds itself intertwined in myths of rainfall and water. Peering into these myths offers a lens to understand the Tswanas’ desire for and perception of rain.

The ability to control and manipulate rain in ancient Tswana traditions, for example, was perceived as a symbol of power and status, where the 1

rainmaker is deemed worthy of directing the progression of society. In modern day Botswana, the exiguity of this ecological resource - rain -

1. Gewald, Jan-Bart. “El Negro, El Niño, Witchcraft and the Absence of Rain in Botswana.” African Affairs 100, no. 401 (2001): 555-580.

found itself as the new currency of Botswana, where the word for rain - Pula - is elevated to a symbol of Botswana’s national currency. Both cases, rain as power and rain as currency, demonstrates the intricate relationship between ecological resources and the Botswana economy.

The key to elucidating this relationship is - salt (or soda ash). While the economical value of salt is dependent on global markets demands, the extraction of salt and hence its supply is highly dependent on rain, seasons and the availability of water. As a seasonal resource, it has 2

come to be embedded in many myth-making rituals , shaped local

2. Yurco, Kayla, Brian King, Kenneth R. Young, and Kelley A. Crews.

“Human-Wildlife

Interactions

traditions and is exploited as a means of trade.In Botswana today, salt is exported primarily in the form of soda ash as a source of income for

& Natural Resources 30, no. 9 (2017):

the Botswana economy and the livelihood of the mining residents in the town of Sowa.

Dynamics

in

and

Environmental

the

Okavango Delta, Botswana.” Society 1112-1126.

PRELUDE Scarcity precipitates desire. In environments of scarcity, these desires often find themselves woven into folklore and myth, the making of which itself becomes an embodiment of such desires. Water-scarce Botswana, where four-fifths of which lay couched in the Kalahari Desert, finds itself intertwined in myths of rainfall and water. Peering into these myths offers a lens to understand the Tswanas’ desire for and perception of rain.

The ability to control and manipulate rain in ancient Tswana traditions, for example, was perceived as a symbol of power and status, where the 1

rainmaker is deemed worthy of directing the progression of society. In modern day Botswana, the exiguity of this ecological resource - rain -

1. Gewald, Jan-Bart. “El Negro, El Niño, Witchcraft and the Absence of Rain in Botswana.” African Affairs 100, no. 401 (2001): 555-580.

found itself as the new currency of Botswana, where the word for rain - Pula - is elevated to a symbol of Botswana’s national currency. Both cases, rain as power and rain as currency, demonstrates the intricate relationship between ecological resources and the Botswana economy.

The key to elucidating this relationship is - salt (or soda ash). While the economical value of salt is dependent on global markets demands, the extraction of salt and hence its supply is highly dependent on rain, seasons and the availability of water. As a seasonal resource, it has 2

come to be embedded in many myth-making rituals , shaped local

2. Yurco, Kayla, Brian King, Kenneth R. Young, and Kelley A. Crews.

“Human-Wildlife

Interactions

traditions and is exploited as a means of trade.In Botswana today, salt is exported primarily in the form of soda ash as a source of income for

& Natural Resources 30, no. 9 (2017):

the Botswana economy and the livelihood of the mining residents in the town of Sowa.

Dynamics

in

and

Environmental

the

Okavango Delta, Botswana.” Society 1112-1126.

A Study in Pink - Myths of the Seasonal Resource In 1993, the American Natural Soda Ash Corporation fabricated the

The tale of salt in Botswana dates back 200 000 years ago, when the

claim that soda ash produced by Botswana Ash (Botash) in the Sowa

grand lake situated in the Makgadikgadi pans became extinct. The lake

mining district of Botswana was impure due to the presence of pink

however, did not leave without a trace but left behind a trove of salt

2

coloration in the salt brines. Subsequent predatory pricing tac-tics and

4

2.

Wareus,

And

Jan.

Planning

Of

2019.

“History

Sowa

Town”.

soda ash dumping in the Republic of South Africa have threatened the

Janwareussowatown.Blogspot.Com.

soda ash market and economy of Botswana. In an effort to cope with

com/2009/09/normal-0-21-false-

international competition, the current chief of Botash, Phatshwane,

http://janwareussowatown.blogspot. false-false-sv-x-none.html.

4. Matatshetshe, K. “Salt Production and Salt Trade in the Makakgadikgadi Pans.” Pula, Botswana Journal of African Studies, 2001: 75-90.

deposits fossilized deep beneath the earth. To reach for this treasure, one must await the great flood carried down by the rains from the far north of Angola. Once the flooded pans dries in the deep of arid winter, a thin layer of white crust will lie on the surface of the pans - salt.

championed for diversification of the resource, a further expansion of 3

the mine to sustain the soda ash economy in Botswana.

3.

“BOTASH

Stay 2019.

The principal thesis of this book hinges on the imaginative qualities of the material - salt - as a generator to explore the notion of architecture

Advances

Diversification Afloat

Of |

Towards

Products

Sunday

To

Standard”.

Sundaystandard.Info.

this ancient heirloom. In groups of not more than ten people, the

http://

www.sundaystandard.info/botashadvances-towards-diversificationproducts-stay-afloat.

Then came the early settlers who have journeyed far and wide to collect

Barsawa bushmen would strut through the Sowa pan armed with woven baskets and bags sewn from impala skins. Others who live further from

as a tool for myth-making. It is where architecture is seen as an

the pans would be accompanied by donkeys in hope to return with a

imaginary construct where stories and myths are juxtaposed against

greater harvest. Only the bushmen could tell if the salt was fresh and

the realities of the land. The thesis speculates a scenario of “what if”

dry. For he was told that the salt which stayed long in water turns pinkish

Botash employs architecture in the creation of an alternate myth of

while those fresh from the ground laid crystal white.

colored purity in a bid to reclaim their economy, their identity and their ecology.

The following chapters will illustrate the stories of the agencies involved in, and set the premise for, the myth making process; from the salt of Botswana, historical racial politics to the seasonal climate, and the myths of pink.

5

5. ibid.

A Study in Pink - Myths of the Seasonal Resource In 1993, the American Natural Soda Ash Corporation fabricated the

The tale of salt in Botswana dates back 200 000 years ago, when the

claim that soda ash produced by Botswana Ash (Botash) in the Sowa

grand lake situated in the Makgadikgadi pans became extinct. The lake

mining district of Botswana was impure due to the presence of pink

however, did not leave without a trace but left behind a trove of salt

2

coloration in the salt brines. Subsequent predatory pricing tac-tics and

4

2.

Wareus,

And

Jan.

Planning

Of

2019.

“History

Sowa

Town”.

soda ash dumping in the Republic of South Africa have threatened the

Janwareussowatown.Blogspot.Com.

soda ash market and economy of Botswana. In an effort to cope with

com/2009/09/normal-0-21-false-

international competition, the current chief of Botash, Phatshwane,

http://janwareussowatown.blogspot. false-false-sv-x-none.html.

4. Matatshetshe, K. “Salt Production and Salt Trade in the Makakgadikgadi Pans.” Pula, Botswana Journal of African Studies, 2001: 75-90.

deposits fossilized deep beneath the earth. To reach for this treasure, one must await the great flood carried down by the rains from the far north of Angola. Once the flooded pans dries in the deep of arid winter, a thin layer of white crust will lie on the surface of the pans - salt.

championed for diversification of the resource, a further expansion of 3

the mine to sustain the soda ash economy in Botswana.

3.

“BOTASH

Stay 2019.

The principal thesis of this book hinges on the imaginative qualities of the material - salt - as a generator to explore the notion of architecture

Advances

Diversification Afloat

Of |

Towards

Products

Sunday

To

Standard”.

Sundaystandard.Info.

this ancient heirloom. In groups of not more than ten people, the

http://

www.sundaystandard.info/botashadvances-towards-diversificationproducts-stay-afloat.

Then came the early settlers who have journeyed far and wide to collect

Barsawa bushmen would strut through the Sowa pan armed with woven baskets and bags sewn from impala skins. Others who live further from

as a tool for myth-making. It is where architecture is seen as an

the pans would be accompanied by donkeys in hope to return with a

imaginary construct where stories and myths are juxtaposed against

greater harvest. Only the bushmen could tell if the salt was fresh and

the realities of the land. The thesis speculates a scenario of “what if”

dry. For he was told that the salt which stayed long in water turns pinkish

Botash employs architecture in the creation of an alternate myth of

while those fresh from the ground laid crystal white.

colored purity in a bid to reclaim their economy, their identity and their ecology.

The following chapters will illustrate the stories of the agencies involved in, and set the premise for, the myth making process; from the salt of Botswana, historical racial politics to the seasonal climate, and the myths of pink.

5

5. ibid.

The dawn of the coming rains would mark the twilight of the harvest season. The salt on the earth would again disappear back into the pans.

The bushmen would then retreat to await the next harvest season. Along the way home, they would set up camps to trade the precious resource 6

for grain and sorghum with the Bantu people from the Nata region.

6. ibid.

Salt, as a natural resource has played an integral role in the lives of mankind. Its uses goes beyond the ubiquitous culinary exploits to 7

political, social and mythical uses. Within African cultures, salt is

7. ibid.

employed as a traditional medicine, used in the preservation of animal skins and as a tribute bequeathed to village chiefs. In ancient Tswana cultures, salt is believed to be associated with the rain gods and is 8

used in rituals of rainmaking. The resource’s close kinship with the weather illustrates its intricate dependency of the seasonal conditions

8. Gewald, Jan-Bart. “El Negro, El Niño, Witchcraft and the Absence of Rain in Botswana.” African Affairs 100, no. 401 (2001): 555-580.

of the site. As a material that is highly deliquescent, water serves as a key regulating factor in the production of salt. Cool and dry winds with adequate sunshine provide optimal conditions for salt to crystallize. As a commodity to be traded between Basarwa and the Bantu people, salt has been a diplomatic tool, forging and strengthening friendship ties 9. Matatshetshe, K. “Salt Production

9

between these communities.

and Salt Trade in the Makakgadikgadi Pans.” Pula, Botswana Journal of African Studies, 2001: 75-90.

Sadly, the expiration of salt trade dawned upon Botswana since the inception of cheap and easily accessible European white salt. Coupled with governmental food aid during a drought around the Boteti area in the 1960’s, the Bararwa saw no further need for the salt trade now that food is provided for. The preference for traditional salt to prepare a local 10

dish, delele, has however kept the salt trade alive, but at minimum.

The landscape in Transition $ WD[RQRP\ RI FRORUV ZKLFK ORRNV DW WKH WLPH RI FRORU DQG VHDVRQ LQ 6XD 3DQ 5HIHU WR *ORVVDU\

10. ibid.

The dawn of the coming rains would mark the twilight of the harvest season. The salt on the earth would again disappear back into the pans.

The bushmen would then retreat to await the next harvest season. Along the way home, they would set up camps to trade the precious resource 6

for grain and sorghum with the Bantu people from the Nata region.

6. ibid.

Salt, as a natural resource has played an integral role in the lives of mankind. Its uses goes beyond the ubiquitous culinary exploits to 7

political, social and mythical uses. Within African cultures, salt is

7. ibid.

employed as a traditional medicine, used in the preservation of animal skins and as a tribute bequeathed to village chiefs. In ancient Tswana cultures, salt is believed to be associated with the rain gods and is 8

used in rituals of rainmaking. The resource’s close kinship with the weather illustrates its intricate dependency of the seasonal conditions

8. Gewald, Jan-Bart. “El Negro, El Niño, Witchcraft and the Absence of Rain in Botswana.” African Affairs 100, no. 401 (2001): 555-580.

of the site. As a material that is highly deliquescent, water serves as a key regulating factor in the production of salt. Cool and dry winds with adequate sunshine provide optimal conditions for salt to crystallize. As a commodity to be traded between Basarwa and the Bantu people, salt has been a diplomatic tool, forging and strengthening friendship ties 9. Matatshetshe, K. “Salt Production

9

between these communities.

and Salt Trade in the Makakgadikgadi Pans.” Pula, Botswana Journal of African Studies, 2001: 75-90.

Sadly, the expiration of salt trade dawned upon Botswana since the inception of cheap and easily accessible European white salt. Coupled with governmental food aid during a drought around the Boteti area in the 1960’s, the Bararwa saw no further need for the salt trade now that food is provided for. The preference for traditional salt to prepare a local 10

dish, delele, has however kept the salt trade alive, but at minimum.

The landscape in Transition $ WD[RQRP\ RI FRORUV ZKLFK ORRNV DW WKH WLPH RI FRORU DQG VHDVRQ LQ 6XD 3DQ 5HIHU WR *ORVVDU\

10. ibid.

In Botswana today, salt is still being mined but exported mainly in the form of Soda Ash (Sodium Carbonate) where it is used mainly in the production of container and flat glass. Its other uses include the 11

11. Advertising, In-Detail. 2019. “Home

production of dyes and detergent.

- Botash South Africa”. Botash South Africa. http://www.botash.co.za.

Fascinating as it seems, the process of salt crystallization is accompanied by a colored spectacle. As water content leave the vast evaporation pans, one can be treated to a visual feast as brine pools shift between hues of pink. The saline brine pools plays host to an algae 12

- d’ salina which contains pink colored carotenoids , transforming the

12. Manjusha, Joseph. “A Study of Carbonate-Rich Brines from Sua Pan

salt pan into a deep pink.

to Characterise Organic Contaminants in the Soda Ash Process.” Rhodes University, 2001.

This fascination around the coloration of salt has allowed it to be exploited and be vulnera-ble to stories, fabrications and claims. The Himalayan salt, for example, is widely exported and produced is a popular product believed to have added effects as compared to the common table salt.

The pink coloration here, apart from its attractiveness, is believed to have unique healing powers.

13

The fascination of the colour pervades

the imaginary realm, causing consumers and dealers to exploit its quality into creating different beliefs.

13.

It

“Pink Have

Himalayan Any

Health

Salt:

Does

Benefits?”.

2019. Medical News Today. https:// w w w. m e d i c a l n e w s t o d a y. c o m / articles/315081.php.

In Botswana today, salt is still being mined but exported mainly in the form of Soda Ash (Sodium Carbonate) where it is used mainly in the production of container and flat glass. Its other uses include the 11

11. Advertising, In-Detail. 2019. “Home

production of dyes and detergent.

- Botash South Africa”. Botash South Africa. http://www.botash.co.za.

Fascinating as it seems, the process of salt crystallization is accompanied by a colored spectacle. As water content leave the vast evaporation pans, one can be treated to a visual feast as brine pools shift between hues of pink. The saline brine pools plays host to an algae 12

- d’ salina which contains pink colored carotenoids , transforming the

12. Manjusha, Joseph. “A Study of Carbonate-Rich Brines from Sua Pan

salt pan into a deep pink.

to Characterise Organic Contaminants in the Soda Ash Process.” Rhodes University, 2001.

This fascination around the coloration of salt has allowed it to be exploited and be vulnera-ble to stories, fabrications and claims. The Himalayan salt, for example, is widely exported and produced is a popular product believed to have added effects as compared to the common table salt.

The pink coloration here, apart from its attractiveness, is believed to have unique healing powers.

13

The fascination of the colour pervades

the imaginary realm, causing consumers and dealers to exploit its quality into creating different beliefs.

13.

It

“Pink Have

Himalayan Any

Health

Salt:

Does

Benefits?”.

2019. Medical News Today. https:// w w w. m e d i c a l n e w s t o d a y. c o m / articles/315081.php.

Pink Politics: Myths of Colour, Race and the Apartheid

Not too long ago, within the region of Southern Africa, spoke the tale of the colored myth. It was said and known that White and Colour did not want to meet. White believed that Colour would stain and compromise its purity and wanted to remain superior above Col-our. White saw that Colour was dirty, wild and unkempt, and believed that Colour should begin to obey the things it said. To do so, White began to label the Color siblings, giving them names of Black (Africans), Brown (Indian and Pakistani) and Grey (mixed).

15

15. Lokko, Lesley Naa Norle. White Papers, Black Marks: Architecture, Race, Culture.

Minneapolis:

University of Minnesota Press, 2000.

In 1948, White then began building houses and townships for itself and gave orders not to allow the Color siblings to stay. Then White gave the Color siblings document tags as should they wish to enter their townships, White could recognize and not make any contact with them.

Image. Pink Brines of a Salt Pan

Casted out, the Color siblings grew unhappy and started fighting against the orders White gave. Unrelenting, White fought back resulting in both 16

16.

parties wounded.

The case of the colored resource was unfortunately unfavorable for

“Apartheid | Definition, Facts,

Beginning, & End”. 2019. Encyclopedia Britannica.

Botswana, where the colour pink was exploited by the America Natural

https://www.britannica.

com/topic/apartheid.

Soda Ash Corporation (ANSAC) in fab-ricating the claim of impurity.

Internationally, many other countries did not agree with what White

The establishment of Soda Ash Botswana in 1991 provided a regional

was doing and stopped wanting to be friends with White. Only then did

source of soda ash to the Republic of South Africa, and was seen as

White relented. In 1993 and 1994, White removed the orders that kept it

competition to to the America Natural Soda Ash Corporation (ANSAC)

14.

And

who once held a monopoly over salt exports in South Africa. The claim caused Soda Ash Botswana to face liquida-tion. It closed down in 1994 14

and reestablish themselves as Botswana ash (Botash).

Wareus, Planning

Jan. Of

2019.

Sowa

“History Town”.

Janwareussowatown.Blogspot.Com. http://janwareussowatown.blogspot. com/2009/09/normal-0-21-falsefalse-false-sv-x-none.html.

17

and Colour apart.

Though the orders were not present today, but the

beliefs about Color still lingers.

17. ibid.

Pink Politics: Myths of Colour, Race and the Apartheid

Not too long ago, within the region of Southern Africa, spoke the tale of the colored myth. It was said and known that White and Colour did not want to meet. White believed that Colour would stain and compromise its purity and wanted to remain superior above Col-our. White saw that Colour was dirty, wild and unkempt, and believed that Colour should begin to obey the things it said. To do so, White began to label the Color siblings, giving them names of Black (Africans), Brown (Indian and Pakistani) and Grey (mixed).

15

15. Lokko, Lesley Naa Norle. White Papers, Black Marks: Architecture, Race, Culture.

Minneapolis:

University of Minnesota Press, 2000.

In 1948, White then began building houses and townships for itself and gave orders not to allow the Color siblings to stay. Then White gave the Color siblings document tags as should they wish to enter their townships, White could recognize and not make any contact with them.

Image. Pink Brines of a Salt Pan

Casted out, the Color siblings grew unhappy and started fighting against the orders White gave. Unrelenting, White fought back resulting in both 16

16.

parties wounded.

The case of the colored resource was unfortunately unfavorable for

“Apartheid | Definition, Facts,

Beginning, & End”. 2019. Encyclopedia Britannica.

Botswana, where the colour pink was exploited by the America Natural

https://www.britannica.

com/topic/apartheid.

Soda Ash Corporation (ANSAC) in fab-ricating the claim of impurity.

Internationally, many other countries did not agree with what White

The establishment of Soda Ash Botswana in 1991 provided a regional

was doing and stopped wanting to be friends with White. Only then did

source of soda ash to the Republic of South Africa, and was seen as

White relented. In 1993 and 1994, White removed the orders that kept it

competition to to the America Natural Soda Ash Corporation (ANSAC)

14.

And

who once held a monopoly over salt exports in South Africa. The claim caused Soda Ash Botswana to face liquida-tion. It closed down in 1994 14

and reestablish themselves as Botswana ash (Botash).

Wareus, Planning

Jan. Of

2019.

Sowa

“History Town”.

Janwareussowatown.Blogspot.Com. http://janwareussowatown.blogspot. com/2009/09/normal-0-21-falsefalse-false-sv-x-none.html.

17

and Colour apart.

Though the orders were not present today, but the

beliefs about Color still lingers.

17. ibid.

Image. Values inscribed on the pillars outside

the

aparthied

musuem,

Johoannesberg

Image.

Signs

depicting

aparthied

segregation

Similarly just like how spatial development took shape during the apartheid era in shaping the myths of separation, the myths too permeate into the very urban spaces of society. Architecture and

Myths and stories woven about colour could well be argued to have

visuality is intricately linked and it is the medium to which these myths

hinged on South Africa’s history of Apartheid politics. Decades of racial

can take shape. Architecture here does not simply refer to buildings,

separation between the white minority and the non-white majority,

but as bill boards, colour, signs, and barriers. All of which provide the

consisting of blacks, colored Asians and mixed race, have scared the

public with visual cues which reinforces these myths thereby shaping

perception of colour within the region. The policies have essentially laid

18. Roland Barthes; François-Denève, Corinne (trans.). Mythologies,. Rosny-

the foundations to which non-whites are seen as a primitive entity, one that is less developed than the supreme whites.

sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis): Bréal, 2002.

the way people live, experience and put to action certain beliefs. These visual cues are where architecture, in the words of Lokko, are imagined 19

and experienced.

19. Lokko, Lesley Naa Norle. White Papers, Black Marks: Architecture, Race, Culture.

Minneapolis:

University of Minnesota Press, 2000.

Image. Values inscribed on the pillars outside

the

aparthied

musuem,

Johoannesberg

Image.

Signs

depicting

aparthied

segregation

Similarly just like how spatial development took shape during the apartheid era in shaping the myths of separation, the myths too permeate into the very urban spaces of society. Architecture and

Myths and stories woven about colour could well be argued to have

visuality is intricately linked and it is the medium to which these myths

hinged on South Africa’s history of Apartheid politics. Decades of racial

can take shape. Architecture here does not simply refer to buildings,

separation between the white minority and the non-white majority,

but as bill boards, colour, signs, and barriers. All of which provide the

consisting of blacks, colored Asians and mixed race, have scared the

public with visual cues which reinforces these myths thereby shaping

perception of colour within the region. The policies have essentially laid

18. Roland Barthes; François-Denève, Corinne (trans.). Mythologies,. Rosny-

the foundations to which non-whites are seen as a primitive entity, one that is less developed than the supreme whites.

sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis): Bréal, 2002.

the way people live, experience and put to action certain beliefs. These visual cues are where architecture, in the words of Lokko, are imagined 19

and experienced.

19. Lokko, Lesley Naa Norle. White Papers, Black Marks: Architecture, Race, Culture.

Minneapolis:

University of Minnesota Press, 2000.

In his book, Barthes posited the subversion of a myth through the 21

Through the premise of myth as a

21. Roland Barthes; François-Denève,

stolen language, where the constructed mean-ings of the given form is

sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis): BrĂŠal,

production of an alternate myth.

stolen from the original meaning of the word. Pink, for instance, is no

Corinne (trans.). Mythologies,. Rosny2002.

longer seen as just a colour, but its meaning has been overwritten as a signified sub-stance of impurity. Barthes, however, posits the possibility 22

that the signified object can be in turn be re-signified , whereby pink as a signified substance of impurity can be re-signified as a substance of purity.

Image. Entrance to the aparthied musuem mirroring the events of seperation during the aparthied era.

Capitalizing on this theory, the thesis project aims to change the signification of colour and the colour pink through the embracing not only its form but also in the concept. Pink, in its entirety, is not just reimagined as a colour of purity but of resilience, strength, love and abundance. Its architecture is imagined and experienced as a city of

Race, as I would like to argue, is a myth. Lesley Lokko puts forth that

ambition and yearn-ing, a city of wealth and health all done though the

race is essentially a trope of difference constructed to segment the human population.

20

love and acceptance of color - pink.

Hierarchy and classes are given to instate a 20. ibid.

desired order in society, for in the case of the apartheid - the notion of white supremacy.

22. ibid.

In his book, Barthes posited the subversion of a myth through the 21

Through the premise of myth as a

21. Roland Barthes; François-Denève,

stolen language, where the constructed mean-ings of the given form is

sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis): BrĂŠal,

production of an alternate myth.

stolen from the original meaning of the word. Pink, for instance, is no

Corinne (trans.). Mythologies,. Rosny2002.

longer seen as just a colour, but its meaning has been overwritten as a signified sub-stance of impurity. Barthes, however, posits the possibility 22

that the signified object can be in turn be re-signified , whereby pink as a signified substance of impurity can be re-signified as a substance of purity.

Image. Entrance to the aparthied musuem mirroring the events of seperation during the aparthied era.

Capitalizing on this theory, the thesis project aims to change the signification of colour and the colour pink through the embracing not only its form but also in the concept. Pink, in its entirety, is not just reimagined as a colour of purity but of resilience, strength, love and abundance. Its architecture is imagined and experienced as a city of

Race, as I would like to argue, is a myth. Lesley Lokko puts forth that

ambition and yearn-ing, a city of wealth and health all done though the

race is essentially a trope of difference constructed to segment the human population.

20

love and acceptance of color - pink.

Hierarchy and classes are given to instate a 20. ibid.

desired order in society, for in the case of the apartheid - the notion of white supremacy.

22. ibid.

EXTRACTS FROM THE DESIGN THESIS PREPARATORY REPORTS OF

BONAVENTURA KEVIN SATRIA SUPERVISOR: TSUTO SAKAMOTO

CONFRONTING THE UNKNOWABLE

EXTRACTS FROM THE DESIGN THESIS PREPARATORY REPORTS OF

BONAVENTURA KEVIN SATRIA SUPERVISOR: TSUTO SAKAMOTO

CONFRONTING THE UNKNOWABLE

Aerial view of Lapindo Mudflow main crater (Source: ANTARA Foto/Eric Ireng, 2014)

Abstract Lapindo mudflow is the largest mudflow eruption in the world’s collective memory. Since its inception in 2006, it has swallowed twelve villages and displaced more than 60,000 people (Mazzini 2018). Due to its extreme otherness, the mudflow has attracted countless scientists and professionals to understand its cause and activity, Yet, there has been no consensus regarding its cause, its contents and how long the eruption will continue; the mudflow remains an unknowable entity.

Given its overwhelming presence and the impossibility to access and comprehend the mudflow, people living in the surrounding area are in constant fear. To subsume their fear, the only thing they could to is by circumscribing it, through the creation of narratives. Nonetheless, instead of helping people understand the mudflow activity, such imposition of narratives by different actors only lead to a form of power contestation; the mudflow refuses to be comprehended.

The future of the mudflow remains uncertain. Despite people not being positioned to know, the mudflow continues to erupt. No one could accurately predict how long it will continue to erupt. Although the current eruption rate is generally not as high, the mudflow activity is still in constant flux. Its activity could escalate anytime without prior warning. In the midst of such undecidability, people are not given a choice but to react; ignoring the mudflow activity will only discreetly breed more fear.

Due to the unknowability of the mud, the thesis poses the question whether architecture could participate in such situation without imposing any meaning to the object. In this context, perhaps architecture can only react to the physicality of the mudflow. Due to its unknowable nature, architecture intervention needs to always be in a state of preparation. It has to always be vigilant of what is to come since no one knows when the eruption activity might escalate again. Such reaction could materialise in the form of embankments development.

Such acts of preparation may inevitably induce various activities and programmatic ideas, in the form of bioremediation of the mud for instance.

Through the extensive array of experiments, it is perhaps inevitable that new narratives of the mudflow may surface. However, they will be the ones that are emerging as a result of physical interaction with the mud. This may allow people to live together with the mud. Regardless, given the impossibility to fully undestand the mudflow, the threat always remains lurking behind. People can only circumscribe the mudflow, it remains an unknowable entity that we could never comprehend.

Keywords: mudflow, unknowable, narratives, reactionary

Chapter 1

Materiality of the mud

10

The unknowable phenomena

Chapter 1: The unknowable phenomena

11

Chapter 1

It was a sunny, cloudless day when I was brought by my relative to visit Lapindo mudflow. Journey to the mudflow site from Surabaya took approximately one hour by car. As we were approaching the location, I could see a long stretch of earth embankment lining the roadside. As soon as I stepped out of the car, I could smell a stench of sulfur permeating the air. Yet, from where I stood, nothing indicated the presence of the mudflow, except a makeshift signage stating ‘Area Wisata Lumpur Lapindo’ (Lapindo Mudflow Tourism Site). The mudflow is not visible from the road. To see it, one has to climb up the embankment.

A small shelter was erected atop of the embankment. There sat a group of ojek drivers, waiting for visitors to come. As I set foot on the embankment, I was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the mudflow. As far as my eyes could see, there was only a flat landscape of mud stretching endlessly across the horizon. Truly a sight I had never witnessed before.

Standing on top of the embankment, I could only catch a faint sight of gas eruption from the main vent. On such a windless day, the mudflow seemed to stay still; I could hardly tell if the eruption still occurred.

A middle-aged ojek driver soon approached me, offering to give me a ride around the embankment. “It’s only 50,000.00 rupiah ($5). Too far for you to walk around. I can bring you around with my motorcycle. Later you can ask me as many questions as you want about Lapindo (the mudflow)”, he said, trying to persuade me.

“The mud here is not dry yet, so you cannot walk on it. But with motorcycle I can bring you to the centre area near the main vent where the mud is already dry. You can see the main crater from up close. Don’t worry, it is safe”, he continued.

I was hesitant. Was it really safe? I asked myself. Yet, curious to see the main crater, I decided to hop on his motorcycle. These ojek drivers are the local residents whose houses had been swallowed by the mudflow. Forced to move out and find a new place to live, they only come back to the site to offer ojek services to visitors and chat with old neighbours.

“My house used to be there. Now everything has disappeared”, he pointed while driving the motorcycle.

12

The unknowable phenomena

Embankment separating the mudflow and human settlement.

(Source: Fully Syafi, https://en.tempo.co/read/678012/state-budget-allocation-doesnot-cover-all-lapindo-victims, May 2015)

My first encounter with Lapindo mudflow has certainly been overwhelming. Although the mudflow seems to remain still at first glance, it is currently still active and has been expanding for more than thirteen years since its first inception in 2006. Located in Sidoarjo, a rapidly developing regency near Surabaya, the mudflow is sitting right next to dense village settlement and factories. Occupying more than seven kilometres square of the regency (Mazzini 2018), the mudflow is a phenomenon that people have never encountered before. It is the largest mudflow eruption in the world’s collective memory. To date, it has swallowed twelve villages and displaced more than 60,000 people (Mazzini 2018). And yet, despite its overwhelming presence, the inherent nature of the mudflow remains a big question.

When discussing the mudflow phenomena, I am reminded of Andrei Tarkovsky’s film titled Solaris. Based on a science fiction novel by Stanislaw Lem, the film tells the story of an alien planet named Solaris that human has discovered. For more than 100 years, a space station has been

13

Chapter 1

73

74 75

69 68

7.

8. 00 9.0000 10.0 0 11.0 0 12.0 0 13.0 0

70a

66 76

75a

77 78 79

14.0

10d

6.00

0 63

5.00

71

80 81

83 82

21

00 14. 00 13. 00 12. 0 0 11.

22 25 31

43

24

88

89

10.

42

9.00

00

29 32

84

0

8.0

41

39

33

38 37

40

34 35

36

Mud water Wet mud

Mud distributiom

14

Drying mud Dry mud

The unknowable phenomena

set up to monitor its activities. Yet, those attempts to study the planet’s behaviour have rather been fruitless as the planet’s activity continues to defy human logic. Depicted as an “oceanic fluid surface which moves incessantly”, Solaris is hypothesised to have its own alien consciousness (Zizek 1999). In writing Solaris, Lem states that “I only wanted to create a vision of a human encounter with something that certainly exists, in a mighty manner perhaps, but cannot be reduced to human concepts, ideas or images” (Philosophe 2015). The film therefore intends to highlight the limit of human capability to comprehend in their encounter with an unknowable entity.

While the film is purely fictional, the issue of human inability to comprehend the other is similarly encountered in the mudflow phenomena.

When the mud volcano first erupted, people were confronted with an

Depiction of Solaris planet (Source: http://thephantomcountry.blogspot. com/2011/05/ocean-memory-mirror-solaris-on-blu-ray.html, 2011) 15

Chapter 1

unfamiliar entity that they had never encountered before. It is an incident that goes beyond people’s imagination. Due to its extreme otherness, the mudflow has consequently attracted countless scientists and professionals to probe into it and understand its behaviour. Various attempts have been made to stop the eruption, from using techniques of relief wells to plugging the vent with hundreds of concrete balls, but the mudflow activity cannot be stopped. Despite the extensive effort to gain control over the mudflow, it is still a question that remains unanswered.

One of the main obstacles that hinder people from probing deeper into it is its physical inaccessibility. Physically, the mud crater cannot be accessed due to its active and boiling main vent. Currently, the only possible access to the crater is from the sky, using a multipurpose drone (Mazzini 2018; Di Felice et al. 2018). However, although the drone can take visual footage and infrared imaging to monitor the mudflow activity (Di Felice et al. 2018), it can only do so from a distance. This means any data generated remains as an estimation of the actual reality. Physical inaccessibility of the mudflow also proves in be a huge challenge in measuring the rate of land subsidence. Given the massive amount of mud erupted, the original ground at the main vent has also been subsiding at

Human sculpture by Dadang Christanto (Source: Umarul Faruq, https://www.antarafoto.com/peristiwa/v1464416101 menjelang-10-tahun-lumpur-lapindo, May 2014) 16

The unknowable phenomena

an inconceivable rate. However, how much it has sunk today remains a big question. During a personal interview with Anton Novenanto, an anthropology professor from Brawijaya University, he mentioned that the government have recently attempted to explore different ways to obtain the data. So far, they have managed to visualise the geothermal activity until two kilometres below the surface but the original ground is still not yet found. Should the government want to go deeper, a seismic test needs to be conducted. However, they do not dare to conduct the test since it requires drilling shot holes and blasting deafening seismic airgun, which might trigger an even much bigger eruption. Such physical inaccessibility of the mudflow has posed a tremendous challenge to scientific investigation. Currently, they can only circumscribe the mudflow and monitor its activity through approximation.

The inaccessibility of the mudflow, however, goes much deeper than the physical level. Even in the hypothetical scenario whereby the main crater could be physically accessed and its activity accurately measured, the logic behind its activity could never be fully understood. Similar to Tarkovsky’s Solaris planet that continuously defies human logic, the mudflow activity can never be fully comprehended; it is always in a constant flux. Based on the current estimation, the amount of erupted mud breccia was recorded at 80,000 m3/day in August 2017. However, in December 2017, the figure was suddenly almost doubled to 130,000 m3/ day (Mazzini 2018; Miller and Mazzini 2018). Many speculate that the activity depends on the pressure underneath the surface due to the fault movement but this too is uncertain. The exact cause of such fluctuation can never be pinpointed; it can be approximated and hypothesised, but never fully known.

In his Object Oriented Ontology theory, Graham Harman discusses the inaccessibility of objects to human comprehension (2018). Developing his argument based on Martin Heidegger’s tool analysis (Heidegger 1962), he argues that objects are always withdrawn in the subterranean realm and only appear to our consciousness when they break, by pre17

Chapter 1

Ketapang River

III

II

IV

Jalan R

aya Po r

ong

V I

VI

V VI Porong River

first

last

Evolution of mud embankment

18

The unknowable phenomena

senting anomalies to us (Harman 2011). Yet, he believes that even if we are aware of an object’s presence, the thing-in-itself can never be “exhausted by its presence in consciousness” (Harman 2018). In his term, “no sensual profile of these things will ever exhaust its full reality, which withdraws into the dusk of a shadowy underworld” (Harman 2018).

Such inaccessibility is certainly evident in the mudflow phenomena. The mudflow is real and present—its affects can be felt and observed—yet its “full reality” always remains withdrawn from human comprehension.

This argument also resonates with Jacque Lacan’s definition of the real Thing, as “something alienated, unfamiliar to me even if it’s standing in the center of me” (Cretella 2017). With its massive physical footprint, the mudflow certainly exists. Its growth can also be observed from the satellite images and its physical impact on the peripheral areas too can be felt. Yet, no one fully can fully make sense of the phenomena.

The overwhelming presence of mudflow, coupled with people’s inability to fully access the mudflow, and gives rise to an unsettling condition.

People living around the mudflow are constantly haunted by the threat of it invading their houses. At the same time, they are also hesitant to leave their original villages since living somewhere else means losing all their existing social ties (Novenanto 2018). Suddenly they find themselves hanging in limbo; they do not know how to act. This reality exemplifies the Anthropocene, defined as the “geologic epoch in which humans have become the major force” affecting the earth (Tsing et al.

2017), while revealing a paradox: despite having exerted tremendous impact on the earth, we also discover minimum agency to do anything about the corollary of our actions. Such inability to control and understand the mudflow has inevitably generated anxiety among people.

19

Chapter 1

Aerial photographs of the mudflow evolution (Mazzini 2018)

20

The unknowable phenomena

21

Chapter 2

Effigy of Aburizal Bakrie during the annual commemoration event in 2013 (Source: Umarul Faruq, https://catatandaris.wordpress.com/2013/05/29/944/, May 2013)

Human sculpture by Dadang Christanto (Source: Umarul Faruq, https://www.antarafoto.com/peristiwa/v1464416101 menjelang-10-tahun-lumpur-lapindo, May 2014)

EXTRACTS FROM THE DESIGN THESIS PREPARATORY REPORTS OF

NICHOLAS TAI HAN VERN SUPERVISOR: A/P ERIK G. L’HEUREUX

HAPPY ENDING: HOLY MEN IN SIN CITY

EXTRACTS FROM THE DESIGN THESIS PREPARATORY REPORTS OF

NICHOLAS TAI HAN VERN SUPERVISOR: A/P ERIK G. L’HEUREUX

HAPPY ENDING: HOLY MEN IN SIN CITY

Interpretation of friction on site

Flood gate along the border of Thailand

Condition of illegal jetty at night

Malaysia Thailand

Thailand - Malaysia

Abstract

Border, as shared between two separate nations, can exist in various forms depending on the geographical conditions in which it sits. The border is merely a demarcation set between two countries despite being an official demarcation which marks a nation’s sovereignty. It is an agreed representation of land ownership by both the government and the mass. However, the border plays many roles where it controls geopolitical issues from not only a national scale but also internal problems at the regional level for those who live within borderlands; closely linked to matters of culture and history. This is especially relevant in the regions of Southeast Asia (SEA) that has undergone waves of colonisation and oppression for centuries. The borders of SEA are ones that share a common path. This thesis situates itself on the borderlands of Thailand-Malaysia, specifically between Rantau Panjang in Kelantan (Malaysia) and the infamous party town of Sungai Golok (Thailand).

Unlike many well written and recorded borders in the world such as the US-Mexico border and the North-South Korean border that has strong traceable historical references between nations, borderlands in SEA are incidental and should be understood from a regional point beforehand as they share similar pasts of colonialism, civil wars, regional conflicts and etc. Many countries in SEA underwent further political turmoil during the post-colonial period, in the mid-20th century where various global geopolitical happenings were coinciding such as the Vietnam War and the Cold War, making SEA region a victim of its spillover effects.

The effects are still visible at present in the many border regions in SEA, making it a hotspot for international and trans-border crimes such as smuggling and trafficking in the region if not global scale.

With only a river separating between Rantau Panjang and Golok without any forms of physical barrier and active monitoring, the border is practically open to citizens from both sides who not only hold different citizenship and identity but were also brought up under opposite political and cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, with talks from both sides of the government in building a wall as an attempt to alleviate these issues, the impacts of this proposal would not only alter a local fabric that has been long established for centuries, but would also lead towards unknown future complications. Ultimately, this thesis challenges the roles and limitations of architecture within chaos, order, religion, culture, security and sovereignty in a familiar yet foreign context to the natives living within this borderland.

01

Similarly, the Thailand-Malaysia border serves as an active pathway that feeds into the global crime network. Drugs and trafficking aside, this border is also home to multiple militant organizations that share the same goal of liberation and Islam, a widely practised religion within the region. Reaching over 640km in length, the border changes topographically through a series of separations by mountainous terrain while remain connected physically. Citizens from both sides cross the border daily through illegal and legal means for personal and economic reasons, showing that the border is fluid and volatile. Furthermore, the border is only partially guarded and barricaded, which facilitates illicit activities to occur while allowing this region to act as a transit point to serve the global illegal network. Both sides share a common history which transcends up till today, gathering issues of geopolitical and identity into this hot mess.

Malaysia Thailand

South China Sea

Perlis

Kedah

Malacca Strait

Kelantan

Perak

Ground condition at the border

06

Korea Japan

China

Myanmar

Laos

Phillipines Vietnam

Cambodia

Singapore Indonesia

Australia/New Zealand

Drug flow in SEA; data based on UN drug report (UNODC, 2019)

07

875km

1750km

2 6 25k m

3500km

4378km

5250km

Thailand Never Colonized Royal Thai Family Colonial Exports: Rice

1898

1945

Phillipines

Indonesia 17th August 1945 Netherlands Colonial Exports: Palm Oil, Cocoa, Rubber, Coffee,Tea, Rice, Spices

12th June 1898 Spanish Empire Colonial Exports: Cotton,Tropical Fruits

1945 Vietnam 2nd September 1945 France Colonial Exports: Rice and Coal

1953

1948

Laos

Myanmar

22nd October 1953 France Colonial Exports: Wood,Tin, Copper, Coffee, Gold

4th January 1948 British Empire Colonial Exports: Rice

1965

1957 1953 Cambodia 9th November 1953 France Colonial Exports: Rubber, Rice, Corn

1984

2002

Brunei

Malaysia 31st August 1957 British Empire

Singapore

Colonial Exports: Rubber, Rice,Tin,Tea, Coffee, Oil

9th August 1965 British Empire Colonial Exports: Nil

1st January 1984 British Empire Colonial Exports: Oil

Independence Timeline

East Timor 20th May 2002 Indonesia Colonial Exports: Nil

Independence time line of countries in SEA 08

10

m

km

k 10

10

km

km

10

0m

800

1600

2400

3200

Low - High Topography

Topography Changes: Low to High 09

10

m

km

k 10

10

km

km

10

0m

800

1600

2400

3200

High Topography

Topography Changes: High 10

10

m

km

k 10

10

km

km

10

0m

800

1600

2400

3200

High - Low Topography

Topography Changes: High to Low 11

12

YEAR 5 COMPILATION OF SAMPLES

2019/2020 M.ARCH 2

IMAGE CREDIT: NICHOLAS TAI