exspace interview

Our proposal for the 2012 expo in Yeosu Korea called bio[da]ta has been featured in this Polish website. Recently they contacted us and interviewed Josh in more detail about the project here:
Here is a copy of the full transcript of the interview as it gives some background about the project.

KR: Where did you get the idea of BIO(da)TA? What was your inspiration?

J: We have been researching and pursuing the idea of an architecture that comes closer to living and adaptive system for quite some time. Like biological examples that are brilliantly designed to be able to maintain and balance themselves as they manage complex ‘infrastructures’ like water, energy, air and waste efficiently and without toxic bi-products, buildings can be thought of in a similar fashion. Looking at the site for the 2012 expo in Yeosu, Korea, we found that although it is a very rich and beautiful setting, the bay itself had been very damaged by years of industrial impact from the surrounding area. We were very interested in a solution that might begin to repair natural ecology of the bay over time using panels on the underside of the walkway that are seeded with filtering bivalves and sea plants that would begin to remediate the pollution and destruction that occured and begin to re-establish the dredged seabottom. These walkways were also meant to move and respond to tidal conditions so it moves throughout the bay. We imagined that this would actually be an amazing way to engage and educate visitors in imagining ways that the buildings we created could be beneficial and symbiotic to its surrounding rather than just containers that consume and pollute. In the end, it was created to be an entirely emersive experience, with the idea of attracting people to the building repeatedly, due to changing conditions, the experience would be different over time.

KR: How long did you work on the project?

J: It was designed over the course of about 4 months. During this period the building evolved quite a bit and there was a lot of intense discussion amongst our team members during development as to how and why to move away from simply creating a typical "iconic" expo building especially knowing that such a proposal would be a long shot as a competition winner. But the proposal gives an alternative way to think about a visitor experience that is not simply a slick building but one that also increases one’s sensitivity and perception about the surroundings as it becomes an integral part of the biological process of the bay.

KR: What was the main technical difficulty in design?

Engineering of the walkways to deal with the realities of a changing tidal condition was a big challenge. We worked with ARUP to develop a solution on a schematic level and were forced to go back to the drawing board and modify our expectations of the original floating” seanet” walkways to make it much less extensive than we originally conceived. It was also difficult to maintain the articulation of the walkways. You know that because it is designed as a living system that is not a static thing, we don’t necessarily want to control how it transforms but allow it transform based on site influences. Within the ocean, but that might mean growth that could eventually restricts movement. It was very interesting to wrestle over that idea.

KR: What you think about building BIO(da)TA in Poland? Would it be possible?

A bit of research would need to be done to determine the exact conditions.This design grew out of a response to a very specific place and program. It could be interesting to adapt it but conditions of the site are critical consideration that would inevitably modify and influence the design.

KR: Have you thought about modification of the project? Floating bar/restaurant at the seashore would be a fantastic idea.

Actually, as we were working on the project, we thought that it would be spectacular depending on pollution levels to create an oyster bar or seafood restaurant that harvested from the building and actually became a destination for the very freshest spicy kim chi and clam soup and fresh oysters from the bay.

KR: What about winter time, can the building function when water freezes?

No, it would not function, but that in itself could be a very magical experience, different from floating.


KR: Is BIO(da)TA storm proof?;) have you consider this, while designing? 

We imagined that when storms were predicted, the walkways would need to be secured to prevent damage.

KR: I have read about DEWelectric on your blog, are you mainly interested in Eco-design?

We have an interesting practice in that we engage in many built projects where the main focus is more on traditional building approaches rather than development that focuses on eco-development (for whatever reason-clients, budget, program etc -- although we carry much of those sensibilities into every project.) But we also make a large effort to focus on research and theoretical projects that allow us to explore and experiment with how architecture might evolve into the future and provide new ideals and examples of efficient and responsible building that push the boundaries of conventional practice.

DEWelectric was one of these research projects. Designed as a passive water and power generating land art installation in the coastal dessert climate of Dubai. In this project we looked at how we might begin to address the increasing demands for power and water resulting from rapid development in the region. Currently water supply is very limited and most clear water is obtained through desalinization. This process requires large amounts of energy as well as creating a saline sludge that is damaging to the environment—our solution proposed a natural evaporative process to produce clean water thus reducing energy consumption as well as eliminating polluting by-product.

KR: What do you think, does ecological design have a future, everyone is talking about it but who really cares?

We have yet to see where this goes, architecture is at a very interesting point where old *means of building remain the prevelant and somewhat entrenched, yet technology, materials development, our understanding about incorporating and emulating natural processes and so many other possibilities are expanding rapidly and are ripe for application.

It is challenging for us all to explore new ways of doing things. Cost, risk aversion and the tremendous effort required to develop and test new systems discourage it, but it is becoming ever more important as we look at our human impact- industrialization and globalization has made our capacity to do damage so more rapid and dramatic. The goal of harmonizing and integrating buildings as part of their living surroundings is an effort to minimize and manage our impat.

(*old is not necesarily bad, but when not updated in regard to current circumstances, could miss a great opportunity)

KR: Do you talk much about ecology in Seattle?

Seattle is progressive in this respect, there is always a concern for the ecology but generally in building trades it is still considered more in terms about 'sustainability' than approaching it from the standpoint of an integrated ecological response, which we are interested in exploring.

But we are lucky to live in a city that is concerned with looking at different approaches to answering these larger questions of sustainability which relates tangentially to this larger picture.

KR: If you had a chance to design the building again would you create it the same way, or you'd change something? If yes, say what would be different?

It has been several years since we designed the project, things have moved on, so I am certain the outcome would be influenced by the subsequent projects and investigations we have done since that time although I think the general idea is still powerful and interesting on many levels.

KR: Do you think that your project may be an inspiration for young designers?

I don’t know what young designers might think of the project but I do hope that regardless of the specifics of the execution of the solution, the underlying principles might be inspirational and influential to how they think about architecture and building in general.

Biodata project is very fascinating for me because it seems like an living organism being brought to the water surface- it starts to breath and move like a plant, and it could survive in the ocean. This is a new form of life in some way. What you think about projects/buildings that starts to be alive? 

I think it is very interesting to move towards buildings that function in this way. We also worked on a proposal for Seattle 30 years in the future that envisioned a building envelope system that would begin to process air, water, power much like a membranes within the body. The important question is how this would be implemented with responsibility and sensitivity.

What does that mean for contemporary architecture- is it this a new way of looking at design? 

These days there seems to be a trend towards looking at buildings as objects, sleek and beautiful forms generated somewhat arbitrarily. If we could begin to make buildings that are shaped by their ability to adapt and respond to their conditions like sun wind water light, program, need etc... not only would they become exponentially more efficient, they would be in harmony with the natural systems that support our lives.

Can building be brought to the point that it starts its own "living”?

The idea that buildings can self organize, self repair and perhaps even replicate themselves is an idea that we must come to terms with it is only a matter of time before this is possible the bigger question is how long will that take? When will technology and our ability to manipulate biological processes reach the places we inhabit.  

Additionally, Biodata, incorporates humans to be part of that live form. It is like symbiosis. Isn't that great? Have you thought about that while designing the project?

Yes, as we approach projects, it is important to us that our buildings encourage inhabitants to tune themselves to their surroundings and we are interested in investigating ways that the building can evolve to become more intricately intertwined in the networks of systems that already exists on a site rather than destructing a place to build invasive infrastructure based on aging paradigms.