The Agency of Ambiguity | Visual Research Essay (MLA, RMIT)

Connecting Through Ambiguity | Sebastian Cocks The Agency of Ambiguity | Katrina Simon

1

Ambiguity as a concept.

Ambiguity is, unsurprisingly, a complex concept that has the power to both stifle and generate. It is defined as “having or expressing more than one meaning, sometimes intentionally” (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Ambiguity benefits from the powers of allusion, association, and suggestion. It is this implicit power to generate the otherwise unseen or unexpected that was the focus of The Agency of Ambiguity. Leonardo da Vinci summarises this notion well by stating in his notebook; “by indistinct things the mind is stimulated to new inventions” (da Vinci, as cited in Rasmussen, 2021). This general concept set up the framework for the experiments within this seminar. The drive was to rethink the ideas of depiction and representation, specifically within a landscape architecture context, and thus harness the generative power of ambiguous drawing techniques. Ambiguity works well within landscape architecture due to the inherent looseness and vagueness that stems from the material choices and temporal nature of the discipline, as will be explored further.

My initial explorations into ambiguity for Section 1 showed three different approaches to the concept. Some photos I took documented the idea of ambiguity in life (p. 3). These photos depicted seemingly straight-forward realities but there were implicit ambiguities and mysteries within the stories the photos told. Some of my other images depicted ambiguous realities in a more visual sense (below). These were photos of the sky and beach sand, where scale and materiality are unclear. They can be exaggerated digitally to show even less rigid realities. The rest of my images seemed to focus on ambiguous textures (p. 3). These textures all exist in relatively mundane contexts but become intriguing when isolated within a photo. The sense of scale and familiarity is lost. These photos were all manipulated digitally to further enhance their ambiguous nature and begin to create questions around what they depict (p. 4). Following these experiments, I tried to generate my own ambiguous textures and forms by playing with materials such as shaving cream, oil, ink, salt, and soft drink (p. 5). These experiments led to a more intentional exploration of ambiguity and began to suggest ways it could be used or examined in landscape architecture.

Ambiguity in Realities Photos of natural phenomena that are void of scale and ambiguous in texture. They are manipulated to exaggerate textures and moods that are already present, subsequently creating an alternate reality.

Using Photoshop the oil-painting qualities of this sky photo can be exaggerated. The surface/ solidity of the sky is now ambiguous - it appears solid like a wall.

2

The scale of this crab’s sand excavations can be manipulated to appear almost like an aerial shot of a futuristic village. The existence of life here is suggested but not confirmed.

Ambiguity in Life Photos of real life that raise questions of ambiguity about their story - we can describe what we are seeing but want to know why.

The ambiguity in this photo comes through a question of definition and hierarchy. It is hard to tell where one tree begins and another ends. The trees are fused together both literally and figuratively - one life is essentially split between the two of them, and it is hard to tell which tree is controlling it.

Ambiguity here comes by questioning the life-story and extent of the plant. has it simply grown in a crevace or could a large fern be pushing fronds therough a crack from behind the wall. Is the purpose of the wall to contain the plant or provide it with life?

Small mites on a gum leaf set up what looks like a desert village, full of encampments. In black and white the skeleton of the leaf looks like a road network.

Photos of Ambiguous Textures Photos of everyday materials and places that appear ambiguous when taken out of their context.

Mud at the Elwood Canal.

Mud at Elwood Beach.

Flaking paint on a letterbox.

Dust on a metal sheet.

A pile of paving sand mixing with dirt.

Dust on concrete after rain.

3

Exaggerated Ambiguity The previous photos of ambiguous materials are manipulated in Photoshop and blended with one another to create textural images that are now ambiguous in definition. Their texture, scale and context is alien.

Creating Ambiguous Locations Ink is mixed with water and then manipulated in Photoshop to create frozen landscapes. The depth of the water remains tangible. Watercolour pencils are then mixed with the ink to create less realistic landscapes.

4

Creating Ambiguous Textures Further mixed-media experiments aiming to create ambiguous textures, landscapes and organisms.

Mostly using soft drink, shaving cream, ink, salt and oil.

5

Ambiguity in landscape architecture.

As Dermot Foley states in “Preciseness, vagueness” (2019) there is an inherent “looseness… (which) is an exciting part of landscape architecture” (p. 7). This looseness stems predominantly from the nature of materials used in landscape architecture, which essentially boil down to earth, plants, water, stone, and light. These materials are interdependent and evolve organically over time – it is impossible to design with them without considering these changes. To further complicate the vagueness of landscape architecture materials is the commonly accepted illogical approach to the discipline. In most other disciplines, the most productive way to generate something is to begin making, this is not the case in landscape architecture (Corner, 1992). Landscape architecture is dependent on planning and drawing before any making takes place. This disconnect is exacerbated by the fact that very few landscape architects experience their materials first-hand, generally being restricted to manipulating them in a digital world. Corner summarises the three difficulties of landscape architectural drawing as: detachment from the medium, incompatibility of drawing/planning with organic landscape materials, and the illogical necessity of drawing before making (Corner, 1992).

The drawing techniques generally used in landscape architecture ignore several key aspects of the discipline. “The apparent stability of these familiar images that are constantly replicated and reiterated is undercut by the very ambiguity of the landscape idea” (Simon, 2012). Corner identifies three key phenomena that are not represented in typical landscape architectural drawings (Corner, 1992). Firstly, spatiality in landscape cannot be properly drawn or quantified as landscapes connect a person subconsciously to other landscapes through a larger notion of nature.

Spatial experiences in landscape are also specific to the user and impossible to plan. Secondly, temporality in landscape is near-impossible to draw. “Landscape… cannot be frozen as a single moment in time” (Corner, 1992, p. 8).

Not only is landscape ever-changing, but kinesthesis – the way in which the viewer moves through the landscape – also impacts perception and makes drawing difficult. The final phenomena that is difficult to draw is the materiality of landscape. Landscape is unique in the sheer number of materials involved. Not only do these materials change over time, but they are also dependant on weather, season, and proximity to other materials. These phenomena are rarely interpreted by traditional drawing techniques.

These difficulties in drawing techniques and the need to rethink the hierarchy of landscape architectural design processes encourages the use of ambiguous drawing and making techniques. My first real experiments with using ambiguity to document landscape involved digitally blending photos from my laboratory of experiments (p. 5) with photos of natural structures (below). I was particularly interested by the relationship between ambiguity and structure, I wanted to see how evident a sense of structural formality needed to be in an otherwise ambiguous image before it became something recognisable as a landscape. I believed that a better knowledge of the relationship between structure and ambiguity could be a powerful tool for a landscape architect when generating design concepts and investigating site conditions.

Natural Structures These eight images were taken from the internet to blend with my own experiments in ambiguity.

6

Exagerating the Ambiguity of River Structures The mixed-media results from the previous page were blended with photos of river systems in Photoshop. I want to exaggerate the ambiguity of scale in nature, where fractal-like patterns repeat themselves.

Exagerating the Ambiguity of Plant Structures As with river structures in the previous page, plant structures were blended with my mixed-media experiments in ambiguity. I want to see if these natural structures can provide an organised ambiguity.

7

Creating Ambiguous Natural Structures The distorted river and plant system structures created in the previous experiments were blended together to further exaggerate their ambiguity. My final results from the experimentation for Section 1.

8

9

Ambiguity in cartography.

The drawing technique most relied upon in landscape architecture is mapping. Mapping is used to both create the world and to measure it (Corner, 2011). This can be one of the potential dangers of mapmaking; users often forget that it is a tool for production. This means that someone has created the map with the intention of highlighting the conditions specific to their needs. The power of mapping lies “in uncovering realities previously unseen or unimagined” (Corner, 2011, p. 89). It should be used as an observation tool with an awareness of what is being observed and omitted. An issue with mapping is that the direct relation between mapping a horizontal plane and the earth’s planar surface gives an unjustified authority to maps. For example, Google Earth maps are often seen as depictions of reality, when in fact they are just “tracings” (Corner, 2011, p. 90). These maps are void of many of the real aspects of the depicted site which influence its conditions. They do not depict “natural processes…; historical evens and local stories; economic and legislative conditions; even political interests” (Corner, 2011, p. 90). Despite the potential traps and miscommunications that devices such as selection, omission, isolation, distance, and codification can cause, mapping should be viewed as a beneficial tool. It is “perhaps the most formative and creative act of any design process, firstly disclosing and then staging the conditions for the emergence of new realities” (Corner, 2011, p. 91). Maps can generate new and unexpected worlds and ideas when treated like what they are, subjective depictions of an area biased by the creator.

The agency of ambiguity was engaged to try and explore the act of mapmaking. To illustrate the subjective nature of mapping I wanted to map something highly emotional; deciding to use the areas surrounding my three previous homes. I split these three maps into grids that were then rearranged so that the square containing my home was placed at the top-left of the map, instead of in the centre. The rest of the map was then rearranged so that the squares closest to my home on the map were placed in order of proximity to my home moving from left to right on the new map – to be read like a book. This process illustrates the notion that maps are subjectively arranged drawings that are interpreted differently by individuals. This rearranging process was then applied to street network maps of the three areas, which were then traced so that only the resulting continuous routes of movement were shown, eliminating the unattached streets (pg. 12-14). These street network maps show an abstraction of the structure that informed my sense of home in these areas. The three home areas were also mapped in a layering technique inspired by Ian McHarg (p. 15). The layers I chose to represent were selected to try and inform a sense of home. I mapped areas of social importance to me, commuting routes, areas used for utilities such as shopping and medicine, and then areas of personal pleasure. I then took inspiration from Bernard Cache and decided to isolate the street networks I created by physically dissecting them (pg. 16 – 17). Cutting these maps out of paper gave a new sense to the idea of structure which they were designed to represent. The most interesting take away from this experiment was that the physical maps are useful in highlighting the isolated connection points in the network maps, as this is where they are weakest and fold.

Aesthetic Patterns | 43 Southey St, Elwood The same rearrangement as the previous experiment was completed digitally. This map gives shows the aesthetic aerial qualities inherent to my home in Elwood. It can be read more like a piece of literature, explaining potential routes to home. It is interesting to note the impact that the water plays as a barrier when journeying away from home. The streets are also rarely orthogonal and few of the differing squares align.

HOME

10

HOME

Aesthetic Patterns | 6 Albermarle St, Kensington

HOME

The rarranged ‘home’ map of Kensington shows a dominant mix of greyscale. The are is intensely urban and post-industrial. There is more regularity in the property lot sizes and they tend the roads quite often align with those of other squares - suggesting a more regimented urban plan.

HOME

HOME

Aesthetic Patterns | 144 Pin Oak Cr, Flemington The ‘hom’e map of Flemingtonshows less concrete than Kensington, replaced mostly by the green of Royal Park. The map has a very even mix of park and residential, perhaps illustrating one of the subconscious reasons this is the home I cherish most.

HOME

11

HOME

Structural Patterns | 43 Southey St, Elwood The same rearranging to prioritise ‘home’ was applied to a black and white street map. This process reimagines the structure that dictates our most common journeys to and from home.

HOME

Structural Patterns | 43 Southey St, Elwood The previous map was then traced to highlight all the continuous routes that can be made to travel top and from home. This further simplifies the structural investigation into our sense of home. This structural map of my home in Elwood shows the impact the beachfront has on disrupting movement (the blank areas are quite dominant).

12

Structural Patterns | 6 Albermarle St, Kensington

HOME

There rearranged street map of Kensington shows a much finer-grained, fibrous network of roads. This suggests that upon leaving my home there are many more possible walking routes to explore than Elwood.

HOME

Structural Patterns | 6 Albermarle St, Kensington The interconnected web of streets in Kensington are highlighted well by the structural map here. The map would benefit from a gradation of lineweights to illustrate the size of each street and to include non-public walkways.

13

Structural Patterns | 144 Pin Oak Cr, Flemington Flemington’s ‘home’ street map shows a fine-grained network of streets. There is also a vast network of walking paths (dotted lines), perhaps due to the increase in parkland. This suggests an area that is easily traversed and allows a mixture of cars and pedestrians.

HOME

Structural Patterns | 144 Pin Oak Cr, Flemington The simplified structural map of Flemington shows that there are several disruptions to walking paths from ‘home’. This could be due to the two sets of train tracks that run through the area. This map also shows the organic form of the available walking paths - much less orthogonal than the previous two cases.

14

HOME

Layering | Ian McHarg I tried to apply Ian McHarg’s layering techniques from Design with Nature to the maps of my homes. To do this I chose to map four elements that factor into a sense of ‘home’/comfort: socialising, commuting (work etc.), utilities (shopping, doctors etc.) and personal pleasure/leisure. These layers were mapped onto acetate in acrylic paint and then compressed to emphasise their ephemeral, unbound nature. The results become interesting standalone images. They were then layered onto their respective maps.

SOCIAL

COMMUTING

UTILITY

PERSONAL PLEASURE/LEISURE

Elwood

Elwood

Elwood

Elwood

Kensington

Kensington

Kensington

Kensington

Flemington

Flemington

Flemington

Flemington

Layering | Ian McHarg The layered final maps show the areas of most significance to my feeling of home. These maps could definitely be refined by exploring different materials. The four elements I defined could be played with and perhaps made more specific so that connections between seemingly disparate elements of my life cycle can be made.

Social Commuting Utility Personal pleasure/leisure

15

Earth Moves | Bernard Cache The second case study was inspired by Bernard Cache’s Earth Moves. This experiment involved cutting out the structural map for my home at 43 Southey St, Elwood. This physical dissection emphasised the structural nature of this map. It was interesting to use this technique to discover the points where the map hinges upon a single street connection (circled in pink). In the final two images I used these two points of significance to fold the map on itself, creating an interesting 3D object that suggests three distinct sections to this map. This conversion of the map into a physical structure is something I want to further explore, perhaps through a physical model.

The Cache-inspired cut-out showing the physical structure that constitutes ‘home’ when I lived at 43 Southey St, Elwood. The crucial connections - i.e. the single points where only one connection holds the map together - are shown in pink.

The same technique was applied to my structural ‘home’ map of 6 Albermarle St, Kensington. The more prevalent network of streets makes the physical structure more robsut. In particular, the left half of the map is very sturdy and does not manipulate much while being held - it acts as a form of anchor to the rest of the map.

16

The same technique was applied to my structural ‘home’ map of 144 Pin Oak Cr, Flemington. This map was far more fragile than the previous two, and consists of a much more complex, fragmented structure. There are more crucial connections than the previous two maps.

17

Ambiguity in landscape practice.

The landscape architecture intellectual infrastructure breaks research within the discipline into three sections: landscape as a concept – definitions and key ideas, embodied knowledge – interpretation of built work, and thinking through making – design as a generative act. To investigate landscape architecture research as a concept and examine some practice methods within the discipline I examined three Practice Research Symposium (PRS) theses.

I started by looking at Dermot Foley’s “Preciseness, vagueness”. This PRS was inspirational as a way of thinking about the nature landscape architecture generally and how to traverse the ambiguous nature of the discipline while maintaining a sense of practicality in project delivery. I drew a lot of similarities between the combination of preciseness and vagueness and my interest in combining ambiguity with structure. Secondly, I looked at Anton James’s “Exploring a looping path” (p. 20). This PRS case study encouraged me to take a more fluid look at the site, and to try and break free of the practical restrictions that looking at maps imposes. I enjoyed walking the streets of Footscray and documenting emotional responses and encouraging mental references to aspects of life that do not necessarily conform to typical landscape architectural design processes. Lastly, I looked at Jason Ho’s “Living on the line” (pg. 21 - 22). Inspired by Ho’s research I created maps of the areas that attempted to highlight the interconnectedness of the different areas. I wanted to examine the boundaries between the areas and try to figure out what characteristics made one place distinct from another, which eventually subconsciously split these into two areas.

This was a great exercise in making me interrogate the factors that informed my sense of ‘home’ in these areas.

Preciseness, vagueness | Dermot Foley The inherent looseness of the materials used in landscape architecture is an integral and exciting part of the discipline. It is crucial to understand this loosenees/vagueness/room for change when designing as a landscape architect. At the same time, landscape architecture projects need precision to be documented, costed and presented to potential clients. This is tough, particularly when using ‘secondary raw materials’ as part of a project. The aim of Foley’s research is to explore ways of documenting and presenting landscape architecture projects in a way that captures the symbiotic precisness and vagueness that is central to the discipline.

One example of a mapping technique used by Foley as part of his research was applied to my drawings. This technique, shown below, involved ripping up a map and rearranging the pieces so that the the main road (red) formed a circle. This map was intended to highlight the redundancy of mapping an everchanging site. I think this mapping technique will further my experiments into mapping the structure of ‘home’ by illustrating the vagueness of the feelings associated with home. It will also aesthetically create a central point that can be associated with home and a new form of structure can be manifested around this.

Dermot Foley’s circle map. A physical map was torn into pieces and rearranged so that the arterial road shown in red formed a circle. This is intended to highlight the redundancy of mapping an everchanging area.

18

My own initial attempts at ‘circle mapping’.

I attempted to soak my structure maps in crystal growing liquid. Unfortunately the type of paper I used hasn’t allowed the evaporation process to occurr properly so we do not have any results yet. I will retry this experiment with more research to ensure the process works as I believe it will be a powerful way to map vagueness/ambiguity onto a structure.

19

Exploring a looping path | Anton James James undertook his research with the central aim of further exploring and defining his own design process. James’ process strives to avoid the ‘architecturalization’ of landscape projects, which he believes is a result of designers being pulled into a desire for beauty, utility or civility. This architecturalization leads to “commodification and predictability at the expense of character, surprise and emotive richness” (James, 2013, p. 16).

This research taught James that his design process relies on creating meaning through design, rather than using design as a method to highlight a meaning that supposedly already exists in a site. James describes his design process as a “looping” journey toward numerous possibilities, constraints and ideas. He is constantly referencing mentors and case studies through snapshot moments of inspiration, that are instinctual more than rational.

I was inspired by James’ visual arts-inspired lopping technique to try and create a more emotionally charged account of my ‘home’ maps. To do this I sought, like James, to use a notebook to depict the streets immediately surrounding my current home in Footscray. This map, inspired also by the dream-like ‘drift’ method of the Situationists, shows the snapshot feelings and inspirations that inform my ‘home’ identity.

Examples of Anton James’ notebook depictions using his ‘looping’ design process. I was inspired by the emotionally-charged nature of his drawings and thought they would provide a good experiment to develop my ‘home’ maps.

20

These are mapping attempts using more emotive, less controlled materials taken in Footscray around my home. I was trying to map the subconscious snapshots and decision-making process that guides my aimless walking around the suburb. These experiments could be furthered by adding photos to pinpoint their locations and by adding sound snipets for a different sensory dimension.

Living on the line | Jason Ho The first PRS case study I reviewed was Jason Ho’s PHD; Living on the line. Ho’s research investigates the role of boundaries, as well as their perception, through a design lens. Ho recognises that boundaries have a generally negative reputation in urban planning and design. However, using several Chinese cities as case studies, Ho illustrates the more fine-grained network of vendors and social communities that depend on these boundaries. By illustrating the complexity of uses tied to the physical boundaries in many Chinese cities, Ho is able to illustrate the connections between areas that are otherwise only felt or unrecognised. I used Ho’s boundary mapping technique to generate maps for my homes in Elwood, Kensington and Flemington.

Jason Ho’s mapping of boundaries in his Chinese hometown and a picture he took of a physical boundary’s repurposing.

43 Southey St, Elwood.

The area shows predominantly imagined boundaries, consisting of major roads, Elwood Canal, Elwood beach and the distinct architecture and ethnic identity of the different suburbs. Hard boundaries exist around landmark buildings, schools and in the train line. The east of the map is intensely residential and bares no connection to the rest of the map for me personally. Most of the connected areas move through the corridor from Acland St, to the Botanical Gardens, to my home and further south to Elsternwick Park.

Physical boundary

Connection

Imagined boundary

Disconnection

Physical boundary

Connection

Imagined boundary

Disconnection

Defining areas

Defining areas

21

22

6 Albermarle St, Kensington.

Physical boundary

Connection

The area arond my home in Kensington is split down the middle by the combined physical and implied boundary of the Moonee Ponds Creek, with the Upfield train line running parallel. The other physical boundaries surround the industrial areas around the train tracks at the south of the map and the Flemington Racecourse. These physical boundaries squeeze the area to generate more vertical connections between residents than horizontal. South Kensington is also an area that seems segregated by its geography (residing on a hill) and architecture, as it was all built in quick succession and has a unique, uninviting aesthetic.

Imagined boundary

Disconnection

144 Pin Oak Cr, Flemington.

Physical boundary

Connection

My home at 144 Pin Oak Cr, Flemington was situated in a seemingly well-connected location central to several key areas.

The physical boundaries of the train tracks and the Moonee Ponds Creek are still prevalent, but facilitate movement as much as they block them. The Creek acts as a destination in itself. Flemington sits at the centre of a web of suburbs that all have distinct characters and acts as a thoroughfare for people traversing these areas. The train tracks funnel traffic very near my home towards Racecourse Rd, making it feel central and connected to a lot of these areas.

Imagined boundary

Disconnection

Defining areas

Defining areas

Developing an Intentional Ambiguous Practice Project: use the methods I’ve explored in my previous home areas to explore Footscray. The intention is to select the locations for and form of public spaces that can enhance the cohesion of the suburb – using Leeds St shopping mall square as my starting point. This is intended to safeguard the area against gentrification and the loss of culture/identity.

Ambiguous techniques I plan to use: • • • • • • • •

Restructuring of the ‘home’ map to create the story/journey from Leeds St Restructuring of the ‘home’ map to create a circle around Leeds St (using the tram line? Or Barkly St?) Create the ‘structural’ street map of the area and cut this out Use this structure map to retry the crystal growth (using different material – research) Use this structure map to create a river delta system by wetting with ink and allowing to expand onto a liquid surface Create a Jason Ho boundary map of the area Anton James-style mapping of the area?

McHarg layer mapping of the area? Think of new layers

Initial Network

Resulting locations are considered key Rearrangement illuminates connections

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE DISCIPLINE KNOWLEDGE MATRIX - Agency of Ambiguity Seminar Version 1 April 2021 LANDSCAPE SYSTEM (INDUSTRY)

SYSTEM IN SPECIFIC SITUATION/SITE/S SPHERE OF OPERATONS LANDSCAPE SYSTEM SPECTRUM

(INDUSTRY) SETTLEMENT SPATIAL SPECTRUM SCALES (TYPE OF OF DESIGN SITE/S FOR ACTION DESIGN RESEARCH

The Hydrologic (Water)

Saturation / Desiccation

City/Periphery/ Rural

The Geologic (Earth)

Excavation / Stratification

CITY

Urban form and it’s influence on social form.

Both?

Analysis of the geologic.

The Biologic (Vegetation)

Cultivation / Selforganisation

City/Periphery/ Rural

Considering suburbwide, smallscale personal interactions & the international cultures involved.

GENERIC STUDIO TYPOLOGY

Urban planning/design through landscape?

Creating and connecting a suburb thru public space.

ISSUES/MOTIVATIONS FOR DESIGN RESEARCH RAISING RESEARCH QUESTIONS (INDUSTRY) PRESSURE INTENSITY TIMESCALE

Gentrification of the area and risk of the loss of identity and forcing out/loss/abuse of migrant communities.

??

Immediate – 10 years – 50 years

METHODS OF DESIGN RESEARCH: (LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE DISCIPLINE)

PROJECT SPECIFICS FOR DESIGN RESEARCH STUDIOS

(SPECIFIC METHODS OF INVESTIGATION, using specific forms of representation for specific forms of knowledge: INDIGENOUS, INSTRUMENTAL, EXPERIENTIAL)

GENERATIVE TECHNIQUES Directly related to System, Issues, forms of knowledge methods of Investigation and forms of representation

KEY THEORY/ TEXTS

KEY PRECEDENTS (Embodied Knowledge) (Situation, Method, Typology etc)

KEY SITE FACTORS

SITE SPECIFICS KEY RESEARCH/ L&T QUESTIONS KEY PARTNERS RESEARCH OUTPUT/S

Using ambiguous mapping techniques and exploring emotional responses to identify important public spaces.

See next page.

Bernard Cache ‘Earth Moves’

??

Social factors are key.

??

Jane Jacobs?

Dermot Foley’s PHD

The physical and imagined boundaries.

Maribyrnong River access?

23

Ambiguity in my own practice The project that I decided upon for Section 4 was to explore Footscray as a site, with the design intention of selecting the locations for public spaces that might enhance the cohesion of the suburb. I used Leeds Street Square as my starting point as it is central to the suburb. Using techniques taken from Section 2 I rearranged a split grid of the site in Footscray so that Leeds Street Square was the starting point for a linear reading of the map from left to right.

This was then applied to the street network, which was simplified into only the continuous routes of movement that are possible. This simplified structure was then physically cut out of stiff card. The physical dissection of the street network was key to this project as it gave a different, more literal view of the structure of the area. The dissected map has four key connection points where there is only one point of attachment. The map folds around these points and highlights their importance and vulnerability within the street structure in a very literal sense. These four points were then located back on the original street map of the site and will be used as the key locations for the project.

The four sites were analysed using space syntax, which provides an interesting theoretical form of abstraction.

Space syntax takes the seemingly complex and organic movement of people and cars and translates it into mathematical formulas that rely on converting street networks into vector linework. This process is ambiguous as many seemingly crucial factors are ignored when considering the desirability of a route of travel, such as weather conditions, street attractiveness and feelings of safety.

Having looked at the location of the sites I used techniques from Section 1 to generate ambiguous forms to locate at the identified key sites. The forms for each site were selected for their visual and physical properties. I tried to relate each form specifically to its site by considering the site’s potential and matching it with physical properties of the forms I was generating. For example, Site 4 sits in an elbow of the Maribyrnong River adjacent to a wetland. As such I matched it with a form that had a swirling gradient of colours that seemed to mimic sand banks and could be used to create an inlet or join to the existing wetlands. The potential design concepts generated include a shade device, wetland project, park walkway, eco bridge and a new arts precinct.

These key sites then needed to be connected. I experimented with ink transfer in oil, nail polish applied to paint and crystal growth to try and produce a controlled but not contained connective process. Two of the results were superimposed over the site. These two results used nail polish to mark the key sites, then ink was poured in between them, and the resulting movement was documented. This suggests possible routes of connection that could be used as part of the design’s further refinement.

Investigating aesthetic patterns I began by using a technique from Section 2 to rearrange a map of Footscray so that Leeds St Square was placed in the top-left square. The map then proceeds away from Leeds St Square from left to right, like a book - thus illustrating a sense of journey away from the starting point. The map is colour-coded by area type to give another layer to the sense of journey.

HOME

24

Residential Commercial Parkland Public infrastructure Mixed use

HOME

Investigating Structural Patterns

HOME

The same rearrangement process was applied to a street network map of Footscray. This process aimed to reimagine the structure that dictates our most common journeys to and from home.

HOME

Consolidating Structural Patterns The rearranged structural street map (above) is traced to show only the streets that connect. This gives a line network illustrating only the potential routes of journey from Leeds Street Square. We now have a new type of network that illustrates how even a seemingly rigid/certain street framework can be reimagined to illustrate a site in a different way.

HOME

25

Dissecting Structural Patterns The rearranged, continuous street network created previously was physically dissectedfrom 300GSM paper. This process is useful in identifying the physical structural integrity of this network in a more literaly sense. It highlights the connection points that are isolated, as the network folds in these places. This map shows four key connection points (shown in red) that separate five distinct parts of the map (coloured).

26

3.

4.

1.

2.

Locating Key Sites The four key connection points identified by the physical map were located and numbered on the original street map. These four locations will be used for the rest of the project as the sites that are key to the overall project. They are identified below.

1.

2.

HOME

3.

4.

1.

1. Crnr of Moore St & Ballarat Rd - the entrance to Footscray Park.

2.

2. Track into the Heavenly Queen Temple.

3.

3. Crnr Irving St & Hopkins St.

4.

4. Crnr Bunbury St & Moreland St.

HOME

HOME: Leeds Street Square.

27

Space Syntax To look ad the advantages and disadvantages of the selected four key sites I ran a space syntax analysis on the area. This analysis delves into the world of ambiguity as it splits a street network/ urban grid into literal linework. This linework is then mathematically analysed and used to predict the seemingly unpredictable movement of pedestrians and vehicles. I like the idea that this analysis transverses the realms of reality and theoretical/mathematical.

The analysis shows that Hopkins St is clearly the main arterial route of the area for vehicles.

Moore St is also a key connection for pedestrians, which joins sites one and three. Finally, the segment connectivity can be used to suggest more fine-grained connections.

1.

2.

HOME

Hopkins

St

3.

BUSY

4.

QUIET

Choice Analysis = vehicular movement through the network.

Moore St

1.

2.

HOME

Hopkins

St

3.

BUSY

4.

QUIET

Integration = pedestrian movement.

Moore St

1.

2.

HOME

Hopkins

St

3.

INTEGRATED

4.

SEGREGATED

Segment Connectivity = the number of connections between line segments.

28

Generating Ambiguous Forms To use the four key sites identified and the ‘home’ at Leeds Street Square as a potential design brief I wanted to use ambiguous generative techniques to create forms that might be interpreted as design concepts for these locations. I experimented with oil, water, multiple types of paint, nail polish, ink, food dyes and other media to generate forms with different properties. I wanted to vary properties such as rigidity, clarity, density and physical feel to create a form that evokes an individual sense of each of the selected sites.

29

Using Ambiguous Forms From the previous experiments in ambiguous forms, five were selected to be associated with our five key locations on site. The ‘home’ form was selected as the nail polish interestingly formed a solid skin when spread across the paint, this made me think of the potential to create a shading device for Leeds St Square. Key Site 1’s form expanded from a worm-like form that evokes the idea of a path - this seemed to fit with the location at Footscray Park. The form for Key Site 2 created interesting swirls that look like sand banks - this lends itself to the close proximity to existing wetlands and the Maribyrnong River at Site 2. The form for Site 3 looks like a growing organism. It looks as though it could climb the buildings of the area, and made me think it could make an interesting connection between Footscray Market and the other side of the train tracks adjacent to Site 3. Site 4’s form was a strange, fragmented one that seems a lot more rigid than the other experiments. This seemed to fit well with Site 4 as it is an interesting junction of fragments of industry and residential dwellings - this could be a way to tie the area together.

HOME

N

30

100m

Home

1.

2.

3.

4.

Five selected forms from the testing iterations to be placed on the key locations that were previously identified to generate design concepts.

1.

2.

E

3.

4.

31

Using Ambiguous Forms The five ambiguous forms were used to provide very rudimentary design concepts to show the generative power of ambiguous drawing techniques.

Home: the form located at Leeds St Sq evokes the idea of a shading device. It might be rigid or flexible, attached to the surrounding buildings or supported from underneath by a structure similar to the gien precedents.

1. The form here is used to create a walking path with garden beds and water catchments. The form allows for changes in space and movement.

2. The Heavenly Queen Temple’s surrounds might be excavated to create a water inlet in the form generated. This can attach to the existing wetlands and filter water runoff in the Maribyrnong.

3. The organism created by the ink transfer for Site 3 creates monstrous bridge that traverses the train tracks from Footscray Market’s rooftop parking lot to Cowper Street.

4. The fragmented form used at Site 4 could be the framework for an artist installation used to decorate the ground and walls of buildings in this area. This will create a new art precinct around the Footscray Community Arts Centre.

Concept for ‘Home’.

Enrique Miralles’s ‘shade structure at Santa Catarina Market is a potential precedent study.

Leeds St

Byron St

Barkly St

N

50m

N

Jurgen Mayer’s Metropol Parasol in Seville is another source of inspiration.

50m

Concept for Key Site 1.

N

32

100m

N

100m

Pond

Garden bed

Path

Concept for Key Site 2.

Train Tracks

Heavenly Queen Temple

M ar ibyrno n

N

100m

N

g River

100m

Concept for Key Site 3.

Footscray Market

k Trac

Cow p

er S tree t

Train

N

100m

Site 4 has the potential to be turned into a bridge crossing the train tracks to the Footscray Market parking lot. The bridge’s form is inspired by ink transfer onto paint.

Concept for Key Site 4.

N

100m

A potential for Site 4 is to convert the area into a community ‘art precinct’. Vehicular traffic could be redirected and the area decorated in a manner similar to BIG’s ‘Superkilen’ (shown above) based on the ambiguous form I’ve generated.

33

Connecting through Ambiuity The five design concepts now needed some form of connection. I experimented with multiple forms of linear connectivity in ambiguous media such as oils, ink transfer and crystal growth (shown below). The most succesful of these experiments were superimposed over a map of the site to try and highlight potential routes of connection in the existing street network (shown to the right).

The succesful iterations involved applying ink and/or nail polish to physical cutouts of the street network.

These were submerged in oil or acryclic paint and then the resulting forms allowed to grow. These were then photographed and digitally superimposed onto a Google Earth screenshot of the site to try and identify otherwise unseen potential routes of connection that could be used for further design refinement if the project were to go ahead.

I began by testing ink and nail polish in water. It forms an interesting skin that creates a sense of depth as the ink sinks below.

I then tested ink and nail polish in oil. This created a slower movement of material that was fascinating to watch.

I placed a dissected street map of the area into acryclic paint and then located the key sites in nail polish. I joined the sites with an ink trail and then lifted the cut-out map to view the resulting pattern.

34

I spent weeks trying to grow crystals across the site as a way of connecting the key locations. In the end, only the epsom salt crystals actually grew and formed interesting shard-like patterns. Unfortunately this wasn’t enough to form a coherent connection between the sites.

1.

2.

HOME

3.

4.

Ink and nail poilish was painted onto a physical cutout of Footscray’s street network and then transferred onto watered-down acrylic paint. The resulting form was then superimposed onto a Google Earth screenshot of the area to try and identify routes connecting our key sites.

1.

2.

HOME

3.

4.

Ink and nail polish were submerged in oil over the top of a physical map of the street network. The ink was used to represent movement while the nail polish was applied to mark the key sites. The resulting form was then superimposed onto a Google Earth screenshot of the area to try and identify routes connecting our key sites.

35

Conclusion.

Ambiguity has been crucial in generating five rudimentary design concepts for key locations across Footscray and suggesting potential paths of connection between these sites. The design process undertaken here worked essentially in reverse to the common landscape architecture project. I began by making, this generated ideas which were then assembled and documented last. Generally, the documentation is the beginning point, which, as James Corner states, has been a major problem for the evolution of the discipline. Landscape is an elusive, vague and unpredictable medium which should not be rigidly documented until it is experienced first-hand. Only through physical experience can a landscape architect begin to understand the temporal and spatial qualities of landscape that are so difficult to document. In particular, the importance of mapping should be reconsidered and paired with more ephemeral drawing techniques. This is where the agency of ambiguity is so powerful. It allows room for the qualities that cannot be documented. This room for growth and change, the power of multiple interpretations, is why ambiguity is a concept that must be harnessed by landscape architects.

36

Bibliography.

Cambridge University Press. (2021). Cambridge Dictionary: Ambiguous. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ambiguous Corner, J. (2011). The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and Invention. The Map Reader: Theories of Mapping Practice and Cartographic Representation. https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/doi/ abs/10.1002/9780470979587.ch12 Corner, J. (1992). Representation and Landscape: Drawing and making in the landscape medium. Word & Image, 8(3), 243-275. https://ap01-a.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/delivery/61RMIT_INST:RMITU/12252661160001341?lang=en Foley, D. (2019). Preciseness, vagueness. [Landscape Architecture PRS, RMIT University]. RMIT Research Repository. https://practice-research.com/presentations/prs-europe-november-2019/preciseness-vagueness Ho, J. (2014). Living on the line: a search for shared landscapes. [Landscape Architecture PRS, RMIT University].

RMIT Research Repository. https://practice-research.com/presentations/pre-2015/living-on-the-line James, A. (2013). Exploring a looping path: a design art practice in landscape architecture. [Landscape Architecture PRS, RMIT University]. RMIT Research Repository. https://practice-research.com/presentations/pre-2015/exploring-a-looping-path Rasmussen, C. (2016). Quote of the Week: Marvellous Ideas by da Vinci. https://www.christinerasmussenart.com/ blog/2016/5/11/quote-of-the-week-marvelous-ideas-by-da-vinci Simon, K. (2012). Image, Territory, Picture, Map: The Slipperiness of Landscape [PhD Thesis, University of Sydney].

University of Sydney.

37