Human has become a geological force. Someone can argue that this has become recognisable fact
afforded by the new geological epoch that we are living in and comes with the name of the Anthropocene
after the Nobel prize winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen. Anthropogenic activities driven
by a hubris of human exceptionalism supported by a false Promethianism and framed by sterile
geopolitics imposed metabolic rifts on the planet and left traces reminders of a necessity to
address a possible future without us. In the post- Anthropocene era, our intention is to design the strategy for dealing with these problematic remains from the period of the Anthropocene, and utilizing the alternative and
speculative scenarios to metabolize the local cycle in an efficient way.
afforded by the new geological epoch that we are living in and comes with the name of the Anthropocene
after the Nobel prize winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen. Anthropogenic activities driven
by a hubris of human exceptionalism supported by a false Promethianism and framed by sterile
geopolitics imposed metabolic rifts on the planet and left traces reminders of a necessity to
address a possible future without us. In the post- Anthropocene era, our intention is to design the strategy for dealing with these problematic remains from the period of the Anthropocene, and utilizing the alternative and
speculative scenarios to metabolize the local cycle in an efficient way.
The abandoned Solana Ulcinj is one of the cases where a bankruptcy of a salt factory endangers
a biodiversity due to the abandonment of a metabolic circle that was pumping energy and life to
the broader area of Ulcinj. The artificial salty landscape rich in nutrition become a habitat for
an immense number of species of birds during they migratory flights. The 1990’s bankruptcy has
disrupted a settled metabolic circle formed by salt, migratory flight tracks, birdwatching and
financial input to the Ulcinj area. How therefore we designate the problem at the urban scale afresh? How speculative scenarios, that do not restore – impossible and futile – what was existing there suggest alternative metabolic circuits that will redefine a different urban scenario and a new form of habitation for human and
non-human entities. In this sense the project suggests possible strategy for the post-Anthropocene.
In order to approach the project methods, involve methods of capturing and mapping that exceeds
normal urban design methods but in spatial and temporal scales. In this sense the urban problem is
opened up in spatiotemporal scales that far exceed that of human.
The decision to start from salt reveals an intention to allow the site to construct its own history and its peculiar expression. By sensing and recording through various points of view that range from microscale photography of
salt crystal growths to Satellite mapping in order to identify salt concentrations on the site we
aimed to set up a field through which a material system is computed and grow to occupy the planetary
surface of that thick section of investigation. The resulted urban form is an alternative scenario that human and non-human entities interact in a metabolic sphere. Firstly, based on the visited of our site and the maps from European Satellite Agency, we found that plenty of waste material of salt remained on the site. Therefore, it is significant to speculate the alternative potential for local urban sphere and biosphere. Then, we conducted systematic branching system to do the physical experiments of crystallization in order to observe and extract the morphogenesis emergence of salt material. Specifically, we focused on the morphogenesis of crystallization via observation of physical experiments so that we concluded the relationship between the essential parameters of morphogenesis and manual substratum. Secondly, in order to have higher accuracy and comparable experiments with the manual branching system, we utilizing the algorithm of the L-system to generate the specific substratum for physical experiment. Moreover, the L-system is based on the mathematic computation so that we fully manipulated each parameter such as length, angle, scale, generation and codes to build up the material system. Thirdly, it is significant to organise the material system by the L-system which including some prototypes, components and compositions of substratum, each scale of substratum presenting different scale of morphological behaviour of crystallization. Fourthly, comparing with the physical crystallization, it is important to simulate it via the customized algorithm of diffusion limitation aggregation system as an agent. Reasoning that not only we could observe the dynamic morphogenesis at different stages but also could harness this system to speculate its behaviour and the distribution of salt’s crystals on the substratum. Fifthly, our strategy is that growing substratum by the L-system according to the dynamic salinity and water flow in different seasons. On the other hand, the capacity of substratum consists of some functions such as catalytic cells, bird nesting, human activities and so on base on the dynamic cycle and redundancy of information extracted from our site. For instance, the catalytic cell which consists of saline water as a media and mental could generate electricity for activating the pumping system. Therefore, the cycle of biosphere and urban sphere can be balanced as previously.
salt crystal growths to Satellite mapping in order to identify salt concentrations on the site we
aimed to set up a field through which a material system is computed and grow to occupy the planetary
surface of that thick section of investigation. The resulted urban form is an alternative scenario that human and non-human entities interact in a metabolic sphere. Firstly, based on the visited of our site and the maps from European Satellite Agency, we found that plenty of waste material of salt remained on the site. Therefore, it is significant to speculate the alternative potential for local urban sphere and biosphere. Then, we conducted systematic branching system to do the physical experiments of crystallization in order to observe and extract the morphogenesis emergence of salt material. Specifically, we focused on the morphogenesis of crystallization via observation of physical experiments so that we concluded the relationship between the essential parameters of morphogenesis and manual substratum. Secondly, in order to have higher accuracy and comparable experiments with the manual branching system, we utilizing the algorithm of the L-system to generate the specific substratum for physical experiment. Moreover, the L-system is based on the mathematic computation so that we fully manipulated each parameter such as length, angle, scale, generation and codes to build up the material system. Thirdly, it is significant to organise the material system by the L-system which including some prototypes, components and compositions of substratum, each scale of substratum presenting different scale of morphological behaviour of crystallization. Fourthly, comparing with the physical crystallization, it is important to simulate it via the customized algorithm of diffusion limitation aggregation system as an agent. Reasoning that not only we could observe the dynamic morphogenesis at different stages but also could harness this system to speculate its behaviour and the distribution of salt’s crystals on the substratum. Fifthly, our strategy is that growing substratum by the L-system according to the dynamic salinity and water flow in different seasons. On the other hand, the capacity of substratum consists of some functions such as catalytic cells, bird nesting, human activities and so on base on the dynamic cycle and redundancy of information extracted from our site. For instance, the catalytic cell which consists of saline water as a media and mental could generate electricity for activating the pumping system. Therefore, the cycle of biosphere and urban sphere can be balanced as previously.
students: I Lien, Yu Liu, Yadi Kang
tutors: Claudia Pasquero, Filippo Nassetti, Tommaso Casucci, Emmanouil Zaroukas