COLONY

[ ecological ark ]

In the aftermath of a failed war, in a world drastically altered and reeling from ecosystemic collapse, a military facility once used for extraterritorial rendition becomes a refuge and the kernel of restoration.

The project began with an analysis of geological and biological systems, in an attempt to synthesize ecological thinking with concepts of architectural monumentality and ephemerality in the work of Piranesi and Hugh Ferriss. Relating notions of geological and biological time with the human-driven activity characteristic of the Anthropocene age in which we exist, the project seeks a transition from an architecture of repression to one of release.

The island itself contains relics from its previous incarnation, including an embedded Faraday cage marking the surface of the entire landform at intervals. As the seed pods emerge from the meshwork of their incubation structure, the island reveals the continuous unfolding of nature in the wake of the tumultuous upsets that humanity may make in that continuum, of which it is itself a singular part.

Additional influences on this projected reality include Franz Kafka’s In der Strafkolonie and William Gibson’s The Peripheral. Its development was in particular the result of a semester of continuous provocative conversation with Vito Acconci, whose effect on both the project and my architectural world-view has been profound. The research and design processes developed in this studio continue to inform an ongoing project that studies ecologies of defense and defendability.

This project was featured in the exhibit Celebrating Vito Acconci at Pratt Institute in 2018, curated by Maria Acconci and the Pratt School of Architecture.