inverted utopia; lost things on the sand

'ahmad ibn add ibn abi bakr built araouane. houses were built 140 wells were dug. traders revived the city with commerce; cows, sheep, oil and other merchandise from timbuktu, in the south' manuscript 621

continent | africa zone | sahara country | mali village | araouane

araouane | crossroad the village of araouane, located at the edge of the depths of the sahara zone, is the final resting stop for nomads that travel from the southern part of west africa towards the sahara. the nomads trade gold, collected in the southern areas of western africa, for salt,located in the northern parts of west africa. additionally to this, some copper, tea and sugar are traded in the area. araouane as a crossroad hosts a collection of wells that provide the nomads and their camels enough [fuel] for their journey. in exchange for water, the nomads provide the community with basic food products that the locals cannot produce in their village due to the desertificated state of the area.

araouane | crossroad other crossroads gold copper salt sahara zone

araouane | crossroad

trading activities with closest areas

taoudennit d=420km

araouane kidal=522km

timbuktu d=243km

mauritania borders d=400km

salt coffee

peanuts sugar

nomad resting stop plan 1:200 during the trading trips the nomads undertake they stop to rest at the western side of araouane were some acacia trees and a well are still standing in order to proceed with their trip

images of araouane |island in the sand| anthony ham

'islam as if first appeared in this place, islam reduced to the koran, the prayers, the fasts, in the simplicity, the emptiness, the ternity of the sands and the skies' |araouane| al lingus

in'n'out

crisis mali | crisis mali is at a state of being tormented by a variety of crisis. the war in mali, that has been active for approximately the last twenty years and the hazardous weather that has led to the deforestation and desertification of the northern parts of mali, have set the nation as a whole, in the group of the poorest countries globally. cultural wars between tuaregs [nomads] and muslim extremists and progressional muslims have created a major setback in the progress of the nation due to a confussion as to which path is the right to take for the future of the nation. araouane

just as a crossroad for trading falls also into as a crossroad of these conflicts.

araouane | environmental crisis the village of araouane sits on a 100m dune and it's being hit contantly by sandstrorms that lead to the coverage of the local adobe structures. with the adobe structures, ancient artifacts of the koran have been lost, precious gold and copper have sank in the sand and finally the greatest trade product in their hands, the water, is becoming hard to maintain at reach.

environmental crisis | intention throughout the following research the aim will be to examine the conditions set by the sandstorms, in order to create an architectural proposal, that could generate an effective response to the arid nature of the area and a shield for the cultural possesions of the local community

araouane | interactive physical model terrain + crisis + intention araouane | terrain the first task assigned was the attempt of producing a conceptual representation of the crisis dealt, with an indication of the intention proposed.

araouane today

model the model was produced with a mixture of materials including osb, gypsum, card, acrylic paint, stones, vertical layers and polystyrene. the osb, gypsum and stones represent the landscape of the area. the card was used to represent the existing structures in the village.

araouane+sandstrom

the blue acrylic paint represents the path taken by the nomads towards and away from the village. the polystyrene was an indication of the sandstorm particles that hit the existing structures.

layers | interaction the viewer experiencing the model had to take a path of six points from which his view towards the model was manipulated by a series of layers. on the layers different ammounts of paint was drawn in order to obscure or reveal the village of araouane from the viewers point.

araouane+sandstroms

the interactive nature of experiencing the model allows the addittion of the element of time which cannot be easily represented, indicating that time is required for the sandstorms to cover the village. araouane today

experiencing the model

araouane+sandstorm+intervention

araouane+sandstorms+intervention

projection [introduction of sand and araouane]

production the projection was produced in a combination of nbc news short documentary on mali and an experiential trip to the dunes located in moni, limassol. the aim was to bring together the cultural aspects of araouane and mali, that were represented in the short documentary, with the interraction of the constant emergence of sandstorms.

projection [introduction of sand and araouane]

on model [terrain + crisis + intention]

high-speed images of the splashing of surface particles by an impacting saltating particle; the time step between two successive images is 4 ms. |beladjine| american physical society

the physics of wind-blown sand and dust [research paper]

Kok J F, Parteli E J R, Michaels T I and Bou Karam D 2012 The physics of wind-blown sand and dust Rep. Prog. Phys. 75 106901.

| important insights into the physics of aeolian ripples and dunes and into the origin of complex dune shapes gained through both numerical modeling and cleverly designed experiments |

collage the physics of wind-blown sand and dust

experiment a' testing model of existing structure 1:200 the experiment aimed the further understanding of the time frame required for a structure to be covered by sand when wind filled with sand particles was blown on it the test commenced by the free fall of sand and wind from a fan blowing towards the structure as it stands today in reality initially the structure was standing alone then vertical poles were placed on the wind blown side a flat vertical surface followed finally a aerodynamic surface was implemented the ammount of sand required to cover the structure and the time frame required was annotated as a result the conclusions emerging were a. regardless the type of obstacle placed in front of a structure, the wind-blown sand will find a way to cover it b. each obstacle increased the time required for the structure to be covered

[the aerodynamic surface was the one that increased the time required for the structure to sink in sand the most]

southern view araouane 1:1500

experiment b' aeolic imprints on model 1:200 the experiment aimed the representation of aeolic imprints initially paint was allowed to free fall from a point, having a spinning fan blowing towards the western side of the structure. following that, the fan was placed in the northern side of the structure and finally the fan was moving from north to west and back. the proces of noting aeolic imprints allowed us for noting the peak points of the wind when its blowing position was changing.

'the sands are very fin, yellow beach sand rippled like the patterns in watered silk' |araouane| al lingus

point '...the line consists of an infinite number of points; the plane of an infinite number of lines; the volume of an infinite number of planes; the hypervolume of an infinite number of volumes...'

|the book of sand| jorge luis borges

|section|

1:500

[maximum sandstorm height - 50m]

+335.00 +325.00 +315.00 +305.00 +295.00 +285.00

'one is on sand, and below there is sand. here, i could only be buried in sand and desinterred by the winds' |araouane| al lingus

araouane continuous sand flow collage

the well to build a well two camels are used to pull up sand. after the completion they are eaten by the locals.

throughout history araouane traded water for gold with passing caravans. at its hight there were about 100 wells in araouane. today most have collapsed. two are left about 75ft deep. the water level is just around 75ft. one cannot dig much deeper because the sand pressure would make the well collapse.

ernst aebi [author of barefoot to timbuktu]

location of wells and acacia trees

well existing structure acacia tree

the well section 1:100

material [1] bio-manufactured bricks bacteria+urine+sand ginger krieg dosier ginger krieg dosier, an assistant architecture professor at the american university of sharjah in the united arab emirates, came up with the recipe. after several periods of trial and error, she found a formula that assembled into a [baby brick]. the key was letting the bacteria sit for a long enough period. for now, the bricks are tiny [lego-sized] but the concept could translate to a larger scale. traditional brick-making is very energy intensive, producing more pollution than global air travel each year. it also consumes a lot of resources: 400 trees are burned to make 25,000 bricks. these better bricks are created through a chain of chemical reactions known as microbial-induced calcite precipitation. once all the ingredients are combined, the bacteria serves as a glue that binds the sand together, creating a brick that is as tough as a fired-clay brick or even marble and requires no baking to achieve that strength. if better bricks replaced all traditionally-fired bricks, 800 million tons of CO2 emissions would be eliminated each year.

+

+

+

material sand solidification [2] through crest pouring jack munro this solidified sand structure is created by pouring a mixture of sand and saturated sodium salt solution over the crest of the dune. as the liquid builds along the crest it creates new channels which pour towards the base of the dune. once the poured mixture has solidified through the crystallisation of the salt the bulk of the dune can be blown away, simulating the migration of dunes in deserts. this reveals an interior volume within the sand structure

sand solidification model

sand solidification |structure cover| model 1:50

sand solidification |structure cover| model 1:50

sand solidification plan 1:200

sand solidification |liminal space| model 1:50

the term liminal emerged as a cultural concept in the work of arnold van gennep entitled [the rites of passage]. in his work he concludes that each rite of passage consists of three phases; separation, transition (liminality), incorporation.

araounae is on a row of dunes, about 100 meters high. when the old houses are about to disappear under sand accumulations the owners simply add to the height of outside walls; rise the door [they have no windows] and the roof. the floors in the houses are just sand; they never build a "hard" surface so they can also raise the floor. the inhabitants customarily add sand to the floors when the old sand gets dirty on account of living on it, thus the whole house, inside and out, rises higher and higher to remain above the accumulated sand. since araouane exists since hundreds of years, and now sits on top of an accumulation of dunes, it is reasonable to assume that foundations of existing houses are very deeply buried in sand (as a result of many additions to the walls they might have become buried skyscrapers). it is not reasonable to assume that the original houses were built on dunes. ersnt aebi

existing structure 100m depth section

experiment c' raising floor 1:20 the experiment aimed the creation of a system of flooring that its connection to an inflatable sac would raise it when desired allowing the sand to penetrate it and stay in a lower level

guide for slab beams slap with openings inflatable airsack

40tone capacity

sand

conceptual section existing buried skyscrapers

conceptual section existing buried skyscrapers q what if the sand filled structures were void? can these voids reach the water level? can lighting systems be implemented underground in order for sufficient light?

inverted

lost things in the sand

aipotu

conceptual collage of structural intention

skeleton structure models

skeleton structure model 1:50

aim of the model was the attempt of controlling the morphology liquid sand may have after it solidifieds. ropes connecting from each existing wall become the areas sand should grasp on and solidify.

skeleton structure model 1:20

the larger model is the structural skeleton of a model produced as part of the final presentation. the question arising after producing these models is: how do you control the underground implementation of the liquid bacteria and urea?

points distribution in a circle |ken shirrif|

computers & graphics, 17(2) Mar. 1993, pp.165-167

voronoi morphologies |andrew kudless| matsys design

a field of points is used to determine regions of space or cells that are closer to a certain point than any other point as the cells are not constrained by a fixed geometric topology the cells properties can be tuned in much more specific ways than a traditional rectangular or hexagonal cell arrangement

3D voronoi drawings matsys design

circulation the two main elevator cores are non structural and therefore allow flexivility in circulation

structural skeleton irregular tetrahedral geometry encloses discreet programmatic elements and easily allows for expansion of the tower over time

subdivided spaces the cellular structure of foaming systems implies a program specific organizing scheme

voronoi skyscraper |geoffrey braiman|david beil| evolo skyscraper finalists 2011

implementation injection

for the implementation of the bacteria underground a system needs to be developed in order to create defined spaces in blind the bacteria needs to be implemented from above and then the sand would have to be exchavated in order to create the void spaces

layers [1] structural skeleton

the visual programming language, grasshopper makes possible the creation of the underground 3D geometry desired and then its deconstruction. its deconstructing ability will provide the allocation of the points the bacteria needs to be implemented from the surface of the sand in order to produce the structure that has already been designed, underground.

first tower

tower definition

tunnel definition

implementation [1] structural skeleton

first tower

first tower and tunnel

first tower, tunnel and second tower

expansion

expansion

expansion

layers [2] skin

solidified sand adobe/dung existing wall solidified sand

skin implementation of bacteria using a cast

yukihiro kaneuchi |artist|

in order to create the vases, the artist makes a base with polyester resin and sand, and then he attaches sand with a bonding agent` images sent by the artist himself from his studio with a vase under creation

bou-taoshi is a game. the rules are simple. players make a heap of sand and place a branch in the centre, and then each player takes turns removing sand. the one who causes the branch to fall loses. it is a common sight in several japanese temples, where the conic shape represents where god first came in the mythological age. the sand heap is also considered to be an object representative of a divine spirit. the shape is also used in a ceremony for laying cornerstones, a process through which the building site is purified, though here, the sand is removed using a hoe. it is thought the children’s game bou-taoshi originated through observing these experiences, and translating them to their playgrounds – sandboxes and the beach. in its current form, children are not aware of this heritage, and in a sense are unconsciously creating an object representing a divine spirit and completing the ceremony for purifying building sites.

“Sand” is a reflection of this research and is a primitive form for a japanese flower. yukihiro kaneuchi

michael kukla |artist| kukla takes his cues from potent acts of nature he employs a range of materials to explore form in both 2D and 3D in his scluptures he focuses on carving or substtracting material to reveal a hidden structure he pierces holes on the material he works to allow light to permeate the form

layers [1]+[2]

light

light [1] lowline project

the proposed location is the one-acre former williamsburg bridge trolley terminal, just below delancey street on the lower east side of manhattan.

designed by james ramsey of raad studio, the proposed solar technology involves the creation of a remote skylight. in this approach, sunlight passes through a glass shield above the parabolic collector, and is reflected and gathered at one focal point, and directed underground. sunlight is transmitted onto a reflective surface on the distributor dish underground, transmitting that sunlight into the space. this technology would transmit the necessary wavelengths of light to support photosynthesis, enabling plants and trees to grow. during periods of sunlight, electricity would not be necessary to light the space.

in September 2012, the lowline team built a full scale prototype of the technology in an abandoned warehouse in the Lower east side, for the imagining the lowline exhibit.

light reflectors [2]

can you light an underground cavern by positioning metal discs in a reflective pattern and bouncing light from one surface to the next, as seen in the movie the mummy?

in the show the team mythbusters succesfully managed to answer the above question. throughout the tests they concluded that the best reflector is a metal surface with reduced gloss in comparison to a mirror.

lightwell model + projection from morning to night looking from under, above

the aim of the model was to recreate the possible experience of viewing the inverted skyscraper from below. beyond the solar movement the moon cycle was captured in a series of projections.

light

h2o|o2

h2o [reaching]

just 18m below the surface of the sand the area of araouane has hidden water beds. the locals know this well and when they dig a tunnel their aim is to reach that distance. aim of the project has been the reach of water. the structures built underground should reach minimum 18m in order for water to penetrate the structures at there edges and inhabitants can have open wells.

o2 [planting]

by implementing the solar technology as seen in the lowline project we can generate trees and cultivation underground

o produced from underground trees distributed through tunnels escapes from openings in the top 2

section 1:20

entering utopia path | lightwell | underground park model 1:20

sand [brown paper]

this is a peep-hole skeleton structure [solidified sand]

porous flooring [eliphaz plant sponge]

porous lightwell closed lightwell for helio tube underground photosynthesis

section closed porous exterior skin [black fabric] section open porous interior skin [white paper, cream fabric]

two diferent materials used to indicate variety in densities interior skin may have

underground water bed and vegetation

model fragments

looking through the peep-hole

after implementation of bacteria reach for water planting of trees developing cultivation the community will be ready to inhabit this hidden utopia

tunnel model 1:100

sketches of growing tunnels

the nomads, here tuareg, travel accross the sahara with their tents. the tent fabric is made from camel hair and they use acacia poles to give the tent the desired height. the tents reach the ground to prevent the sand penetrate the interior space.

tuareg tent quick model

appropriation of new spaces tuareg tents

acacia poles

camel hair fabric

appropriation of new spaces with tuareg tents model 1:20

appropriation of new spaces with tuareg tents section 1:20

placing all artifacts under one roof

cooking over ground with solar dishes

ascending-descending section

the imam is here; he offers the ritual three glasses of mint tea: the first, bitter as death the second, mild like life the third, sweet as love |araouane| al lingus

continuation of structures vertically |assumption|

overground [a/c off] warm [lights on] bright

transition [tunnel with fabrics]

undergound [a/c on] cool [lights off] dark

final presentation

transition [exit]

exhibition

1:1 installation for the first part of the project, the visitor is calles to walk through a corridor created by panels representing the research on araouane; the winds, the sand solidification system and the initial overground response. reaching the second part of the project, the visitor is led to enter a tent, similar to the ones the project aims to incorporate . under this [cloud] of fabrics all vertical research is accomodated, complemented by a series of projections produced throughout the years.

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fellow student's work

end

start

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penelope vasquez hadjilyra U134N0998 ARCH402 a.swiny y.hadjichristou m.georgiou ARC-UNIC 2014