PROCESS BOOKmdes 2011/2012

joseph rau

summer 2011

Table of

Contents

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Intro Lecture w/ Rudi Meyer“This Sucks w/ Michael LeBlanc”Design Process & Thesis Structure w/ Marlene IveyIntensive Two w/ Karen JansIntensive Three (cancelled)Intensive Four w/ David Peters

Assign. One: Three Plants and a PlanterAssign. Two: Plant as Self-PortraitAssign. Three: Plant as New TechnologyAssign. Four: Plant as ClimateAssign. Five: The System

FreeLab

Thesis Development

Intensive One:Intro to Process Book6030

6200

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Introduction to Process Book000.0It has been suggested that it is through the “doing” that our most profound learning and creative experiences occur. If this is accurate, reflecting upon the processes involved in the “doing” can only help to in-form and inspire future design tasks.

The following is an overview of a number of design projects, and the processes related to their completion. These proj-ects were required as a part of the summer semester of the NSCAD MDes 2011/2012 pro-gram.

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Intro Lecture w/ Rudi Meyer001.1An eye-opening lecture touch-ing on a number of carefully woven topics related to design in a historical sense. Including, but not limited to: the evolu-tion of design teaching from 11AD to present, understand-ing roles of information and knowledge, design philosophy and methodology, and perhaps most importantly: research through practice.

related readings:“Ontological Designing” Anne-Marie Willis;

“Why Philosophy?” Tony Fry;“Manifesto For Redirective Design” Tony Fry,

Clive Dilnot;“Redirective Practice” Tony Fry;

“Environmental Ethics” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy;

“Dead Institution Walking” Tony Fry;“Design as Speculation” Carlo Franzato

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Symbolic of the seven liberal arts as promoted by the great philosopher’s and supported by the apostles (pagan vs. religion?!?)

Philosophy used to talk about things that may have been taboo otherwise...crucial in developing criti-cal thought.

Once again the Industrial Revolution is tipping the scales in favour or mass destruction rather than progress and evolution.

This is huge: teaching one to reflect (explicitly) upon what/how/why they have done. Learning how to do this properly has had an undeniable impact on how I approach design / life.

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Research through practice: still struggling with this one occasionally...its often only through reflection that the value becomes ap-parent.

“Options narrowing due to technological de-terminism” - I like this statement very much. We have set a trajectory and our only choice is to follow upon that same arc or angle, until something gives - whether that is our envi-ronment, our capacity to continually advance technologies, or our roles as determinants of the goals and objectives of new technologies.

This idea of “Wicked Problems” is a bit un-settling, as it is very much related to the in-credibly complex (perhaps unsolvable) issues I hope to address in my thesis...wicked solu-tions will certainly be required.

Intro Lecture w/ Rudi Meyer

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“This Sucks” w/ Michael LeBlanc001.2The intention of Michael LeB-lanc’s “This Sucks: Visualiz-ing an Un-Designed World” assignment was to imagine a world in which design has been “sucked out”. In doing so, we would each contribute our own vision of what this might en-tail, in both graphic and written format, and then combine our collective thoughts to be pre-sented in a digital book form on www.blurb.com.Enlightening to say the least, I was introduced to a variety of new design considerations and constraints. Typesetting, pagi-nating, webhosting, etc, etc. Somewhat intimidating, but at the same time a great oppor-tunity to gain some experience directly related to the prepara-tion and production of my the-sis document.

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lost in nature

my two page spread for “This Sucks...”

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Project overview / explanation

Initial concept ideas

Requirements of group to get book to press on schedule.

“This Sucks...” w/ MIchael LeBlanc

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Elaboration of initial concept: removing de-sign from the implementation of cemeteries, as places of rest and solace. The concept was ultimately rejected. I think in large part to my failing to articulate the degree to which design does actually play a role in facilitating these spaces.

Exploration of the types and chronology of de-sign in the process of designing not only cem-eteries, but the memorial process as a whole.

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In finalizing my content for the “This Sucks” document I reflected a great deal on my own experiences with nature, from the perspective of both an active participant and a designer. One of the most important things I drew from this reflection was that people (all creatures really) shape their surroundings, and doing so in a subtle, thoughtful manner can have great effect in connecting one to their own environment, and if done carefully and appropriately can help to mitigate further degradation of the surrounding ecology.

Explanation of the ramifications of removing design from wilderness (trail systems).

Characteristics / roles of trail systems in large-ly wild landscapes.

What is “lost in nature”? Explanation of differ-ent levels of “lost”.

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“This Sucks...” w/ MIchael LeBlanc

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Design Process & Thesis Structure w/ Marlene Ivey001.3

The goal of our first day with Marlene Ivey was to uncover and illustrate our own person-al design process. The objec-tive was reflection followed by coherent communication of a highly complex and often con-voluted process. The reflective aspect of this assignment was simultaneously humorous and humbling as it functioned to elucidate the fact that so much of what I considered to be “my design process” was actually very malleable and not nearly as standardized as I may have expected...which I have grown to realize is fine, despite my own personal diversions that often extend the process a bit. Our second day with Mar-lene saw an investigation of the actual structure of our

prospective theses. Title pages, Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, etc, etc... In order to further appreci-ate the importance and role of these headings we each de-signed and built three dimen-sional representations of the thesis structure. Our repre-sentational structures were to have both literal and abstract elements of expression.

related readings:“Remaking the Map” Carly Berwick;

“Visualizing Research” Gray & Malins

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10. review with client11. evaluate input from client12. refine concept13. implement / execute design14. evaluate design** return to any of the previous black steps

1. define problem2. develop program with client3. investigate analyze problem4. research (precedents, related data)5. draw & incorporate inspiration6. conceptualization / iteration7. become frustrated8. re-evaluate concept / inspiration9. throw wrench into it

DESIGN PROCESS MAPJoseph Rau

gather and archive design

inspiration

process diversion

clientdiversion

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910

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The first explorations of my design process in words.

Initial visualization of design process. Begin-ning to recognize how convoluted the process can become as a result of personal and client related diversions.

Closer to final product, realizing that the pro-cess has the potential to fold back upon itself at nearly any point in time.

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Finalizing structure and relationships between written and visual representation of my design process.

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Design Process w/ Marlene Ivey

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3d representation of thesis structure

The second half of our time spent with Marlene was dedicated to investigating the structure of our theses. As a part of this investigation we built 3D models representing our take on the thesis structure. My model is a very literal representation of the thesis structure, with each element of the model representing a strategic portion of the thesis structure. (See Illustra-tion on next page for an explanation of the form in relation to the components of the thesis.)

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Some guidelines and suggestions regarding the thesis (structure) from Marlene.

Breakdown of thesis structure, with icons used to express the elements representation in my three dimensional model.

Conceptual illustration of my three dimensional model, with annotation of each element as related to thesis structure.

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Thesis Structure w/ Marlene Ivey

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Intensive Two w/ Karen Jans002.0Our week spent with Karen Jans from Parks Canada was an intense exercise punctu-ated with group brainstorming sessions, guest speakers, and mass transmission of informa-tion. The objective for this par-ticular intensive was to develop a strategy targeting members of the “Singles Scene” (Ca-nadians aged 18-34) and new Canadians within that demo-graphic, in the hopes of mak-ing them more aware of, and subsequently more likely to visit Parks Canada’s National Parks, Marine Conservatories and National Historic Sites.

related readings:many Parks Canada documents

parks canada presentation

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parks canada slide show illustrating our strategy

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parks canada slide show illustrating our strategy

Explanation of concept strategy. Keywords: kitsch, nostalgic, singles scene, camping culture.

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Further explanation: budget camping tours = removal of fear, cost, hassle.Clarification of objectives: con-venience, partnerships, aware-ness, links to nature, revenue.

Specifics of strategy implemen-tation.

Examples of merchandise re-lated to launch and mainte-nance of marketing campaign. Opportunity to launch campaign and excursions from National Historic Sites in urban centres.

Built-in advantages of strategy.

Specifics of marketing cam-paign.

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Investigations into profiling with Meyers-Briggs and Parks Canada’s Explorer Quotient. Quite re-vealing actually upon looking back. Outlining the characteristics of our target demo-graphic. Comparative explanation of different types of group / team mates.

Our demographic is not terribly inclined to sleep in a tent while camping?!?

Parks Canada’s perception of the visitor experi-ence at one of their amenities.

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Intensive Two w/ Karen Jans

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Parks Canada Design Guidelines How to make our look sing.

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Parks Canada

LookDesign Guidelines

Atlantic Service Centre External Relations & Visitor Experience Service Delivery Agreement / Project Brief Date of Last Revision: June 1, 2011

1.0 PROJECT IDENTIFICATIONProject Name (include job # if applicable) Culture of Camping (to be revised)

Project Description

To introduce and recontextualize the culture of camping to new Canadians and those Canadians who have not previously experienced camping in National Parks, by implementing low cost customized solutions for training, travel and accommodation. Building on the emotional and brand equity already held by Canada’s National Park System.

2.0 PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Successful completion of the project will meet the following objectives:

• Establishing healthy partnerships between P.C. and outside investment.

• Increase awareness of P.C.’s amenities and services.• Link natural and urban environments.• Create revenue streams through merchandise and

increased visitation.• Provide simple and convenient manner of introducing

Canadians to their national parks system.

3.0 TARGET AUDIENCES

Target audiences for the project are defined as follows:

• 25-34 year olds and new Canadians within the “Singles’ Scene”

4.0 PERFORMANCE MEASURES

The measurable objectives of the project are:

• Groupon visitors will constitute 20% of all P.C. visits within the first year of implementation.

• Groupon visitation will increase by 15% in each of first 3 years of implementation.

• To increase annual revenue of P.C. through merchandise sales and increased visitation of field units.

• To decrease cost, hassle and trepidation related to wilderness and camping, resulting in greatly increased visitation from target demographic.

• Increase brand equity and recognition of P.C. by 25% within target demographic.

2009 National Survey of Canadians Final Report

Prepared by Environics for Parks Canada

December, 2009

Attitudes and Barriers to Visiting Parks Canada Places

MONTRÉAL, TORONTO, VANCOUVER

June 2010

F o u r t h W a v e S t r a t e g y I n c . P a g e 1

Patterns and practices to improve the tempo of your teamwork   This experiential workshop will help you understand and better navigate the patterns of work that is done in teams. You will learn about personal styles that influence group process and observe the challenges that get us bogged down. We'll explore key practices that enable each person's best contribution – creating shared commitment and timely results. 

If you ever have the chance to observe predators in the wild, you may notice that they operate in cycles. Most of  the  time,  they display barely any movement. They project a sense of calm focus, as  if they’re waiting for a particular moment. Then  it comes! Their muscles are charged with intensity as they sneak up on their prey and strike.  

When it’s over, they return to their original calm. The cycle is back to its beginning.  

People  learn  in  similarly  cyclical  fashion.  They  pass  between  action  and  reflection,  between activity and repose. To be truly effective, teams need to find a way to tap this rhythm — to create  not  only  time  to  think,  but  time  for  different  types  of  thought  and  collective discussion. One  tool  to  help  understand  this  cycle  and  the  tempo  of  your  teamwork  is  the “wheel of learning” 1.  

In any project or  initiative, working either  individually or on a  team, each  stage of  the  cycle demands deliberate attention before you move to the next: 

1 Wheel of Learning, by Rick Ross, Bryan Smith, Charlotte Roberts, from The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, 1994

Reflecting thinking and feeling

ConnectingDeciding

Doing

Individualmoreconcrete

moreabstract

more action morereflection  

variety of documents provided by Parks Canada for reference and direction.

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Aging demography of Canada noted by Parks Can-ada employees. Duly noted by their dated philoso-phies regarding web presence and cellular / wi-fi access in Parks Canada sites.Main strategic outcome / objective: develop a strong sense of connection to national parks, his-toric sites and marine conservatories.Recognition of challenges and motivations related to our specific target market.Validity of Parks Canada’s Xplorers program is questioned by members of public, largely parents and children. Due in part to corporate nature of program.

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Intensive Two w/ Karen Jans

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Breakdown of our strategy to reach out to new Canadians and members of the Singles Scene.Sketch of aforementioned strategy.

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Intensive Two w/ Karen Jans

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Intensive Three w/ Arlene Gould003.0Unfortunately we were not able to complete this intensive due to unforeseen circumstances. Time was restructured to-wards thesis development and review, as well as a day long drawing class with Rudi.

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Intensive Four w/ David Peters004.0Our week long intensive spent with David Peters revolved around ideas of linguistics, business management and the free knowledge movement. Our first objective was to become Wikipedians by contributing or editing a topic of our choice (check “Randolph T. Hester” for my contribution) for the online encyclopedia. We then worked with David and one of his cli-ents from Wikipedia to critique and develop strategies related to encouraging the emergence of Wikipedia-focused social groups. The remainder of the time was spent hearing about David’s ideas regarding com-munication and business man-agement.

david talking about communicating

related readings:numerous suggested readings in David’s syllabus

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Objective:To encourage emergence of Wikipedia-focused social groups.To create tight-knit communities of enthusiastic Wikipedians worldwide.To contribute to the world’s largest body of accessible knowledge.

Wikipedia Page:

Wikipedians at1. Current Students of Damascus University2. Faculty of Damascus University3. Alumni of Damascus University

Conferences/Events: conferences/events will be held locally to celebrate culture, knowledge and community. Examples of these events may include:

Cultural Events:February 14: Valentine’s Day

March 21: Mothers Day

April 17: Independence Day

July 28: Ramadan Iftar / Annual Meeting

September 7: Bosra Musical Festival

November 14: Falafel Day

December 28: Holidays Party

Celebration of Knowledgeand Community:Wikipedian Contribution Awards

Guest Speakers (Alumni, Special Guests, etc)

Strategy:To encourage the students, faculty and alumni of Damascus University to celebrate the contribution of their shared knowledge and culture. To develop nurturing online Wikipedian communities and engaging real world events.

Wikipedian Networks:

Wiki Groups

Wiki Groups

Main page

Community page

News

Events

Join Wikigroup

Meetups

Live chat

Help

Recruit Friends

Become Ambassodor

Language

WikiGroups

Wikipedians at University of Western Ontario

Wikipedians at NSCAD University

Wikipedians at Harvard University

Wikipedians at University of Glasgow

Wikipedians at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

Wikipedians at MacQuarie University

WikiGroups around the world

WikiGroups around the world [edit]

[edit]

Create New WikiGroup

Set up new wikigroup for your university

Log-in now

Click on groups

Wiki Groups

Wiki Groups Wikigroups......social network

http://en.wikigroups.org/wiki/home

Wiki Groups

a selection of slides from our group presentation

The goal of this task was to encourage the emergence of Wikipedia-fo-cused social groups. We chose to focus our attention of creating social groups at the University of Damascus to provide an different cultural per-spective and visual language in relation to Arabic culture.Illustrative of our target market: students, faculty and alumni of Univer-sity of Damascus...found all over the world.Visualization of a revised Wikipedia page, suited to the right-to-left Arabic reading/writing style. Examples of real-world conferences / get-togethers that might be held to help bolster / celebrate the idea of Wikipedian social groups.

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Some keywords related to David’s understanding of professional communication and action. 2 types of knowing: what & how. “What” is much more common and accessible than knowing “how”. He also mentioned the idea of somatic learning and how one’s brain may be somehow distributed throughout the body...alluding to the fact that peo-ple are able to perform complex and extremely fast movements (i.e. playing the violin) faster than they are actually thinking. David presented a nice idea about the overlapping space between our concerns and practices being host to meaningful outcomes.Some facts about Wikipedia presented to us as context for our “request” or assignment.Jay Walsh was our contact / presenter from Wiki-pedia.“Recovering perfectionist”: something more of us should be striving for perhaps.GLAM: galleries, libraries, archives, museums. I want to look into this a bit further.

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Some of David’s musings, of particular interest was the comparison of assessments and assertions. Interesting analogy of the design process as a nar-rative structure in literature. “Design as a practice of care” = “meaningful out-comes”?Co-creation and co-design: does this actually hap-pen in the real world?More talk of assessments and assertion, leading into David’s summary of Fernando Flores’ theories regarding communication.

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Intensive Four w/ David Peters

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Assign. One: Three Plants and a Planter005.0

The main objective of this, the first assignment of MDes 6200 course, was to select three plants we would spend the se-mester growing and thinking about in unusual contexts, as well as to design and build a planter that would house our plant selections. As someone who has “spec’d” thousands of plants for installation this task was surprisingly difficult. The assignment criteria and grow-ing conditions made it very dif-ficult to find plants that made sense contextually and physio-logically. As it turns out I had a couple of casualties in the pro-cess (perishing before I even had a chance to plant them in my cloud), to the right is victim number 1.

victim no. 1

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TETRAHEDRAL SPORESP T E R I D O M A N I ACREEPING RHIZOMES C O S M O P O L I T A I N D I S T R I B U T I O NLITTLE $$$ VALUENO FLOWERS OR SEEDS360 MILLION YEARS S P O R O P H Y T I C R E P R O D U C T I O NDRYOPTERIS FILIX-MAS

plant as self-portrait poster (iteration 1)

Struggling with the task of abstraction, this series of posters caused me the most turmoil of all of the poster assignments. Too much time spent trying to avoid literal representation and probably not enough trusting my initial feelings about the plants themselves. They still make me cringe a bit when looking at them now. Early ruminations about what I was thinking I want-ed my planter to represent conceptually. Looking back I think the idea of a scaled down environmen-tal context somehow subconsciously re-emerged in my assignment five paper and poster. Initial plant selections / options.

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EchinaceaPurperea

Biotechnology?

immunology

ritualsnake bites

stalk

mumps

roots

plant as new technology poster (iteration 1)

Hedgehogs, helvetica and echinacea as biotech...interesting choices. This actually made me ques-tion whether I was ready for graduate design school. I think this also helped me to realize that doubt and turmoil are essential to growth as a de-signer / human.Echinacea research. I thought this was a bit of a stretch from the beginning but I struggled to find an interesting biotech plant that would grow in-doors. I ended up supplanting echinacea with fungi for the my assignment 3 paper / poster.

Fern / self-portrait research / initial ideas. I was immediately drawn to the fern for my self-portrait plant and was pleased by the discoveries I made in assignment 2.

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viola labradorica

native & invasive

plant as climate poster i(iteration 1)

The visual representation of culture often ends up being very literal and regionally caricatured, I found this very hard to avoid in creating my poster. Presented with the idea of climate as culture cou-pled with the objective of finding a plant that rep-resented that relationship, I (surprisingly) was able to find numerous plants that fit this description. The difficulties inherent in the selection process became clear when I realized that many of these plants would likely not grow in our studio.

I selected Viola labradorica as my “climate” plant. It is hardy, native and the purply mass contrasts nicely with the feathery fern fronds in my planter.

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Assign. 1: Three Plants and a Planter

36 Joseph Rau

Cloud Planter v1.0

200mm

40mm

120mm

120mm

40mm

40mm

40mm

300mm

Planter Elevation

Planter Plan Planter Base Plan

410mm

85mm70mm

100mm

40mm 40mm

Painted Steel Rod

Painted Steel Planter

Painted Wooden Base

Moisture CollectionGroove

Construction Info:Steel planter to be welded, primed and painted to dimensions & colours detailed. Drain holes to be drilled in base of steel planter, to allow drainage into groove of wooden base. Steel rods to be welded to interior base of planter (magnets will be used to sus-pend posters from rods). Pro-mix soil, Zeba moisture retention and organic plant food will be utilized as growing medium. Orientation of planter and configu-ration of planting will be deteremined based on avail-ability of natural sunlight in to the studio. Two sepa-rate plant nodes will exist in planter to accomodate

differing moisture requirements of plant materials.

The initial concept for my cloud planter was meant to sit on a table or podium of some sort. I was also drawn to the idea of contrasting the cur-vilinear planes of the cloud with strong geometry, as shown in the angled steel rods in this concept drawing. Although rods were removed from the final concept, the geometry was reinforced further through the angular tension of the aircraft cable used to suspend the cloud from a steel i-beam in the studio.Photos of completed (and near completed) planter.

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Trying to figure out the relationship between clouds, plants and humans. My understanding was that it was a reciprocal relationship that goes much deeper than the specifics of the hydrologic cycle. These two pages were drawn out the night before I went into the metal shop to start constructing my planter. They contain material lists, construction details, dimensions and a somewhat convoluted strategy for assembly. It all came together quite quickly once I started cutting, bending and welding the steel (with guidance from Sandy) in the metal shop. I had a number of pictures of the build pro-cess, but unfortunately these were lost as my old cell phone finally reached its fate of built in obso-lescence. It wasn’t until the steel cloud portion of my planter was constructed that I realized that it needed to be suspended from the sky rather than perched on some sort of structure. These are some crude and hesitant attempts at thinking about what sort of podium I would construct for the cloud...prior to realizing that clouds belong in the sky.

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Assign. 1: Three Plants and a Planter

38 Joseph Rau

victim no. 2

Assign. Two: Plant as Self-Portrait006.0The main objective of this proj-ect was to realize and illus-trate the specific characteris-tics of one’s self in relation to the characteristics of the plant selected for this exercise. Not in the physical sense so much as the manner in which we respond to (or in spite of) our environments. The process undertaken to draw out these relationships started with very making general but descrip-tive lists of characteristics of both myself and the plant. These lists were refined and prioritized to include only the top three metaphoric relation-ships, from which a basis for the poster became clear. I also managed to kill my initial self-portrait plant (see right) prior to actually planting it...again.

related readings:“Sensing Nature...” Kataoka Mami

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adapt

adapttrue to identity

quick to transition

simple/basic needs

plant as self-portrait poster

The poster is meant to illustrate three specific re-lationships between the characteristics of the fern and myself. Without too much elaboration, the main themes were related to: identity, entanglement, and basic needs. First draft of poster. Micro-pattern of fern root system,

utilized as a not-so-invisible grid for the layout of my poster.

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personal ramblings and discovery central to uncovering metaphors for poster

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I wasn’t completely aware of it at the time but these sentences bear some serious weight in the development of my thesis.

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Assign. 2: Plant as Self-Portrait

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Assign. Three: Plant as New Technology007.0

Though the main objective of this assignment was to inves-tigate a particular plant in re-lation to its application / utility in a technological sense, I had an ethical urgency from the outset to illustrate the value of removing technological in-novation from biotechnologi-cal processes. New technology is often rooted in humankind’s relentless quest for “advance-ments” and “progress”, how-ever it is often the antithesis of this quest that has the most profound and promising effects in nature. Removal of man from the equation of natural pro-cesses often lends to situations of mutual benefit and actual sustainable growth. The plant (actually fungi) that I decided to research in the end is a perfect example of “non-technology “ as the best technology.

related readings:“Design, Product and Systems Change” Sabine

Junginger;“The Problem with Design / What Voice Can

Design Have” Davies & Parrinder;“The Future of Technology and Design” Kei-

ichiro Fujisaki;“The Sins of Syn Bio...” Jim Thomas

white-rot fungi

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WHITE-ROT FUNGIphanerochaete chrysosporium

> >GENERATIONS WEEKS >YEARS

FUNGAL BIOREMEDIATION

BROWNFIELDCONTAMINATION

RE-DEVELOPMENT

abandoned oil refinery (ab)

toxic application

of fungi

decomposition emergent

ecosystemtravelling east from edmonton, an abandoned oil refinery and its derelict infrastructure traces the edge of the freeway for kilometers.

the site is no longer used, but years of industrial work have left behind soils contaminated with: polycyclic aromatic hydro-carbons (PAH’s), pesti-cides, synthetic polymers and numerous other dangerous chemicals..

economicliquidity

there are hundreds of thousands of toxic brown-field sites in north america alone. prohibitive remedia-tion costs and fear of permanent contamination keep these sites from being utilized as they should. fungal bioremediation could help remedy this.

application of white-rot fungi to contaminated brownfield sites begins the process of bioremediation.

upon absorbing the chemi-cals and growing through an entire life cycle, the mushrooms begin to decompose. the organic material left behind attracts other organisms, and a new ecosystem begins emerging.

new ecosystems are formed quickly and natu-rally in the urban voids and wastelands that fragment our urban landcape and ecology. more plants = more biomass = more air / resources / life.

absorption

of toxins

like magic, white-rot fungi are able to absorb and process the worst of the chemicals that we have put into the ground, within a matter of weeks. pcb’s, pah’s, munitions waste, synthetic polymers...all removed from the soil.

Although my first plant selected for this particular assignment was Echinacea purperea, the plant often uti-lized for its immuno-boosting qualities, I found that the depth of suitable research material was a bit shallow for an investigation of this nature. Numerous other students shared similar concerns as the plants selected for this assignment were selected in large part due to the growing conditions of the studio. In talking with Christopher it was agreed that we could select a different, more suitable plant to be used as the basis for the poster project. As such, I chose to investigate a plant / fungi that has incredibly redeeming technological qualities and has intrigued me for some time.White-rot fungi has a natural ability to absorb a wide range of organo-pollutants very quickly. After doing so it decomposes, leaving behind entirely uncontaminated remnants of itself to fuel subsequent and emergent ecosystems in its wake.In my poster I have illustrated a sort of timeline, or chain-of-events that illustrate the quantifiable evidence and surprising qualities of this particular process of bioremediating an abandoned oil refinery site. The feedback I received regarding this poster suggested that I could have further explicated / illustrated the actual process of the absorption / processing of the contaminants. In looking back I think that the imagery could have been much more visceral and engaging with more attention paid to illustrating the metabolizing of oils, solvents, etc.

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plant as new technology poster

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Refined description of what exactly is occurring during the fungal bio-remediation process.Somewhat chronological mind-map of process of bio-remediation.Specific criteria related to what needed to be illus-trated by my poster.Early visualization of the process / timeline.

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Joseph RauJune 14, 2011

MDes 6200 Assignment 3: Written Response

In the year 2000 the Dutch design firm Droog released a collection of products, collectively entitled Do Create, which included an aluminum chair-sized cube to be bashed into a form resembling, and functioning as, an armchair by its users (with an included sledgehammer), as well as an unbreakable rubber-lined porcelain vase that would inevitably gain character as its owners battered and smashed it at will (Davies & Parrinder, 2010). Although the intention of this collection was to elicit thoughts of process rather than violence, the process itself remains strikingly reminiscent of the manner in which humans have have often relegated their surroundings and those taxonomically “inferior” to them as a means for progress and utility in defining (designing?) our future (Davies & Parrinder, 2010). Unfortunately for those “inferior” to us as humans, there is no rubber lining buffering this system of change.

Biologically based technologies (among multitudes of other modern advancements) often fall within this category. Genetic engineering, biorobotics, even nanotechnology all provide forward momentum and technological trajectories that we, as a scientific community, tend to uphold. But how often do those responsible for facilitating these advancements take time to reflect upon what we have learned thus far regarding the effects that “progress” and innovation have had not only on the health and integrity of our surroundings and fellow inhabitants of this planet, but our own health and integrity as humans? “Not often”, one might intimate when considering the degree to which our environment and its indigenous species are able to sustain life abreast the current rate and embodiment of human technological advancements. Fortunately not all progress is blinded by its own gleaming potential for greatness, some is slowly becoming cognisant of the innovative qualities inherent in pulling back and allowing things to happen as they did before our collective hands were soiled with the remnants of modified DNA strands and agrochemicals. e remediation of contaminated brownfield sites through the application of White-rot fungus is one such process.

White-rot fungus or Phanerochaete chrysosporium, has proven effective in the transformation and bioremediation of a wide range of organopollutants, including: munitions waste, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's or petroleum based toxins), bleach plant effluent, synthetic dyes, synthetic polymers and wood preservatives (Pointing, 2001). As evidenced by the work of mycologist and mushroom enthusiast Paul Stamets, highly contaminated brownfield sites can be transformed into fertile oases of healthy biomass through the application of white-rot fungi within a matter of weeks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BelfLIJErek; Nugent, 2006). In a process of reversion, or passive transformation from artificial back to natural, toxins in the soil (many of which, ironically, are products of previous iterations of biotechnological processes) are consumed and processed by the mushrooms, which then decompose, and attract and fuel new forms of organic life, resulting in self-sustaining ecosystems and increased biomass (Nugent, 2006). As suggested in the article “e Sins of Syn Bio” published in Slate magazine, attempts to supply the steadily rising global population with food, land and natural

Assign. 3: Plant as New Technology

46 Joseph Rau

Assign. Four: Plant as Climate008.0The intention of this assign-ment was to draw parallels between the manner in which my selected plant reacts to lo-cal climate and the way Hali-gonians (or Nova Scotians) respond to the very same cli-mate. In terms of the poster the ultimate objective was to illustrate these responses to climate as an embodiment of regional culture, or a deeper understanding of “nature”. The written portion of the assign-ment further illustrates my un-derstanding of these particular relationships.

related readings:“Climate and Culture...” Tetsuro Watsuji;“The Hidden Dimension” Edward T. Hall;

“Experience of Architecture , Echo of Space” Atelier Bow-Wow;

“The Physiology of Time” Anna Wirz-Justice

initial poster concept (printed vellum overlay on printed bond)

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J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D

plant as climate poster

This particular poster (and the initial poster concept) consist of one sheet of 11x17 vellum overlaid on one sheet of 11x17 bond. The pink and yellow lines were printed on the vellum to illustrate the mean temperature per month and number of fog days per month, respectively. The rest of the imagery illustrates a temporal and seasonal shift in relation to the blooming tendency of my selected plant. My assertion was that the unusually eager blooming capacity of viola labradorica, in spite of Nova Scotia’s often foggy and dreary weather, was reminiscent of the vibrantly painted homes in Nova Scotia...ostensibly also painted to counteract the mono-chromatic haze that blankets the region regularly.Although I did receive some great feedback regarding the redundant nature of the lines on the vellum, which I certainly would have changed had another revision fit into the schedule, I think I would also return to utiliz-ing the circles of the first poster...in hindsight they make the blooming pattern more apparent and don’t take away from the implied temporal progression...or perhaps done away with the circular / dot patterns alto-gether and illustrated the blooming pattern through the colour of the houses?!

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Initial ideas / sketches about Haligonian culture / climate.Feedback from initial draft: emphasize cycle and get rid of circles.This is me trying to figure out how to emphasize the cycle.And me justifying my concept to myself.

Feedback received during final crit. I thought the gradation of vellum and further reductive qualities of the house images were great ideas, but wasn’t convinced that I should have gotten rid of the cir-cles from the first poster.

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Joseph RauJuly 6, 2011

MDes 6200 Assignment 3: Plant as Climate Written Response

As suggested by Watsuji, in a fleeting moment of lucidity in an otherwise overtly existentialistexamination of the self as related to climate, cold is merely a phenomenon or element within climate(Tetsuro, 1961). This can be said of all singular characterizations of climate. For the purposes of myexamination I will rely on the phenomenon of fog within the marine climate of Halifax, Nova Scotia inconjunction with the biological response of my chosen plant, viola labradorica, to provide insight intothe regional culture of Nova Scotia.

In the Atelier Bow-Wow article “Experience of Architecture, Echo of Space” the author(s) exhibit awonderful and inspiring sensitivity towards an unexpectedly delicate, yet sensorially overwhelmingarchitectural marvel perched thoughtfully in the jungle of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica (Atelier Bow-Wow,2009). The marvel over which they lavish emphatic praise, consists of not much more than a series ofsmall cabins, a tiny restaurant and some other very basic amenities tied together by an elevated woodenwalking path (Atelier Bow-Wow, 2009). The structures themselves are lifted above the jungle floor onstilts, seemingly to both preserve the ecological integrity of the substrate over which the buildings sit,and to provide a passive buffer between the creatures inhabiting the jungle floor and the humaninhabitants of the establishment (Atelier Bow-Wow, 2009). Constructed of carefully chosen wood,mosquito mesh and nylon, the structures keep out unwanted jungle guests, while allowing a palpableporosity to the lively and engulfing surrounding environment (Atelier Bow-Wow, 2009).

This careful and unobtrusive architectural interjection balancing shelter and exposure for visitingtourists is lauded openly by Atelier Bow-Wow for its “form of being” (its presence within theenvironmental context) being so finely in check with its “form of doing” (the spirit of the lodge)(Atelier Bow-Wow, 2009). Their decided and genuine appreciation regarding the fine balance of“being” and “doing” piqued my own interest on this topic and I began to consider the role of the violalabradorica, (a plant native to Nova Scotia) in this equation of “being” and “doing”. After somedeliberation I came to a personal understanding that the maturation of a plant within its nativeenvironment could be nothing but the purest expression of this sentiment. An absolute reflection of itsnatural environment, the native viola labradorica needs nothing more than what is supplied by itsindigenous habitat to fulfill its life cycle and role within the greater ecosystem. Contrastingly however,the characteristics of this plant also lead me to believe that it may be functioning more in spite of itsnative surroundings than as a reflection of them.

A plant that thrives in shade and blooms profusely twice in one season, such is the case with the violalabradorica, is unusual, if not persistent and perhaps a bit unruly, admirably so. This is an especiallyapt description when considering the thick blankets of Haligonian fog that often diffuse the precioussolar radiation required of photosynthetic processes and flowering. This colourful response in spite ofthe dreary monochromatic haze of fog is not terribly dissimilar to the traditional Nova Scotian practiceof painting the exterior of one's home with vibrant colour, ostensibly for the very same reason.

Up to 200 days per year, Haligonians are cloaked in fog(http://canadaonline.about.com/od/novascotia/a/halifaxfacts.htm). Undoubtedly a nuisance at times, thefog dulls the visage of the environment while leaving people damp, depressed, and visually under

Joseph RauJuly 6, 2011

stimulated – in desperate need of colour and contrast in their highly perceptive human lives. In thewords of Edward T. Hall: “patterning of perceptual worlds is a function not only of culture but ofrelationship, activity, and emotion” (Hall, 1966). Nova Scotians and Haligonians have effectivelyembodied this statement by defining a recognizable aspect of their culture (i.e. the vibrantly paintedhomes and shops) through both emotion and action in response to their climate.

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Assign. 4: Plant as Climate

50 Joseph Rau

Assign. Five: The System009.0Unfortunately “Assignment 5: The System” was cut short due to extenuating circum-stances. Fortunately though, the initial draft of the poster and the written portion of the assignment contributed nicely to my own comprehension of my thesis topic. My intention is to finish the data visualization assignment and potentially in-clude it as a visual addition to my thesis. It has also allowed me to think a bit differently about the manner in which data and information can be ef-fectively presented using dif-ferent graphic dimensions and conventions.

The objective of this assign-ment was to illustrate a sys-tem of cause and effect, in re-lation to a portion of the thesis, through metaphorical repre-sentation via the plants and planter as a system.

related readings:“Climate and Culture...” Tetsuro Watsuji;“The Hidden Dimension” Edward T. Hall;

“Experience of Architecture , Echo of Space” Atelier Bow-Wow;

“The Physiology of Time” Anna Wirz-Justice

some of the parts

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1962Stroget street bans motor vehicles.Copen-hagen, Den-mark.

1968Another street bans motor vehicles in CPH.

1970Jan Gehl begins docu-menting quaniti-tative and qualita-tive changes to the city.

1973

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1992

Addi-tional streets ban motor vehicles in CPH.

2004Jan Gehl pub-lishes “Public Spaces Public Life”

potential for great things? with a bit of work, certainly.

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In my mind, Jan Gehl is one of the most influential minds to speak and write about urban design and life in cities. He also developed the methods of quantifying and quali-fying the usage of public space, these methods are now used globally in studies of urban space.

A wonderful example of Gehl’s empirical qualification of space.

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FreeLab: Camera Obscura010.0This project was undertaken under the auspices of the rela-tionship between NSCAD MDes program and the Dalhousie School of Architecture, also known as the FreeLab Project. After listening to a number of FreeLab leaders present their project ideas we each selected our top three groups in which we would prefer to participate. Project leaders then placed us into the groups of their choos-ing. Fortunately I was selected to participate in the camera obscura group which had been my top selection. It was clear from the outset that the objective would be to build some form of portable room-sized camera obscura that we would eventually move throughout the city allowing people to enter and experience the city from a different per-spective.

early camera obscura used for drawing one’s surroundings

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design / build process - see following page for image descriptions

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Joseph RauNSCAD Master of Design Student

August 3, 2011

The Camera Obscura FreeLab provided a unique opportunity for trans-disciplinary investigation and collaboration of both form-giving and experience design. Through discussion, conceptualization and iteration we were able to produce an object and experience that challenges and obscures traditional notions of transformative and transportable structures and the human visual and experiential capacity. The experience as a participant in this process was both informative and positive in that I was able to see a project through from concept to construction, as well as experience in person the level to which it inspired wonder and joy in the members of the public who were also able to experience our camera obscura.

FreeLab

image descriptions:

paragraph submitted for FreeLab publication:

Initial exposure to camera obscura. We covered up the windows in Maria’s office with black plastic garbage bags, cut a hole the size of a quarter and to our surprise the outside world came in upside-down on the in-terior walls of her office.First concepts. It quickly became clear that a folding structure may provide us with the portability, interior space and relatively low weight required for our portable, room-sized camera obscura.

We made two full scale cardboard models of our two favourite paper concepts, this being the beginning of the first one.This is the first model again, fully constructed out of cardboard. It was shorter than we expected inside due to angle of walls and pitch of the “roof”.An upside down bus going past on the interior walls of our first model, as it sat on the lawn of the Dalhousie architecture building. Many garbage bags were used to make this version light-tight enough for us to begin to see with any clarity inside the camera obscura.Beginning construction of the real and final version that we would eventually move around the city.

Full scale cardboard mock-up of second concept. This is the form we ended up choosing to build out wood and fabric. Entry and exit is facilitated by lifting or “accordioning” the structure up and back enough that someone can crouch their way in, and then take a seat on the ground.Cutting, stitching, taping, gluing, and re-stitching about 30 square meters of blackout fabricLaying out the plywood panels in order to mark and mask the fabric, prior to applying over 10 gallons of con-tact cement to both the fabric and plywood.Fully assembled, in the folded / transport-mode position. It ended up being heavier than it looks and less durable than we had hoped so we were only able to set it up at the public library and public gardens.Best part of the entire process. Watching kids and adults alike as they sat awestruck by the images inside the camera obscura. Fortunately the smell of contact cement dissipated slightly when the camera obscura was moved outside, it was pretty toxic when we were testing it inside...”this thing smells like cancer!” was one notable reaction once the structure was folded down around them.Located on the corner of spring garden and south park street. We all walked away from it for a bit to watch the reactions on people’s faces as they noticed this strange object on the sidewalk. Set up in the exhibition space prior to presenting our project to the other FreeLab groups.

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Our FreeLab project leader Maria really liked the idea of the movement of the camera obscura through the city to be a processional type of event, where it would be carried through the streets. A nice idea, until we realized how heavy it was.Crude sketches of an early concept consisting of a cylindrical core, from around which fabric would unfurl into a shape like that of a snail shell to cre-ate the interior space of the camera.Calculating dimensions of plywood panels best suited to minimizing wasted wood (offcuts)...very limited budget.Investigating options for fastening edges of fabric that need to be open during construction but fas-tened in order for the structure to stand. We ended up spending about 10 (hu)man hours hand stitch-ing these particular seams once the panels had been glued to the fabric and the fabric had been trimmed.

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Thesis: General Development011.0This section will present ma-terial related to the develop-ment of my thesis, not only as an archival process, but hope-fully also as a platform from which new ideas will continue to spring forth. Therefore the breadth of topics considered, muttered about and stricken from the list will be great, but hopefully becoming more re-fined as the pages are turned. The information is presented chronologically from the pages of my sketchbook, illustrating the path of my thoughts, ideas and related research.

resource material

58 Joseph Rau

My earliest notes about what I thought I wanted to investigate for my thesis. Key ideas: symbol-ism, wayfinding, colour. These words still feel like they mean something in the context of my thesis topic.A list of action / descriptive words describing what I thought I wanted to investigate. Many of these words are still applicable.Again, this idea of environmental graphic design or wayfinding, and how it relates to the urban environment and those who inhabit these envi-ronments.

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A quick bubble diagram drawn during our library orientation. The theme of wayfinding persists in my thinking here. Recognizing that it presents opportunities to intro-duce colour, vibrancy, etc.Beginning to think about ideas re-lated to environmental psychology (cognition, perception, etc) and the fact that public art is something I want to be included in the discus-sion. Also realizing that the idea of wayfinding as a thesis topic is too short-sighted, it needs to be more about the human experience of the environment.This must be from a bit earlier as it is focused on the idea of symbol-ism in the landscape, from which I was redirected very early on.

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visual culture?

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I was really beginning to focus wholly on the idea of public art here, even spinning wayfinding and site furnishing as such, under the guise of functional public art. It became clear to me at this point that the form of the city as a whole was less important to my thesis than were these visual elements within the urban landscape. All of this is still very related to the current focus of my thesis research.Trying to break down exactly what / how I was think-ing about the topic.Critique and preconceptions related to contempo-rary urban form.

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Some of my initial resources.Thinking about the effects / limitations of infill development in relation to addressing the human experience in the urban form.

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An investigation of the effect of policy on criteria related to urban design and development.

Formulating a revised thesis framework for my final degree project proposal overview submis-sion. The focus is still on addressing the human experience in the built urban environment, but it is now framed in the context of visual culture...

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VISUAL CULTURE and the BUILT URBAN FORM:ADDRESSING THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Joseph RauAugust 15, 2011

Master of Design ProgramSummer 2011

Given the exacting consideration af-forded to meeting the technological and infrastructural requirements of a continually growing and dynamic urban population, should the development of urban environments not also endeav-our to address the perceptive, cognitive and emotional capacities of its human inhabitants? Can these human capaci-ties, or what will be summarily referred to as the “human experience” begin to be addressed through the enrichment of visual culture within the public realm of our cities? As suggested by environ-mental psychologist Ann Sloan Devlin in her book Mind and Maze:...“a much

richer visual environment and one bet-ter suited to human needs might emerge if designers and planners knew more about the cognitive capabilities of their users”. Although Devlin refers singularly to the cognitive capabilities of humans, one must also recognize that this cog-nitive ability is inextricably linked to the human capacity for sensorial perception and emotional response. Considering that vision remains to be the dominant sense for most humans, is it not logical then, that the visual culture expressed in our urban environments has profound potential to affect the human experience in relation to one’s urban environment?

HUMAN EXPERIENCE

VISUALCULTURE

BUILT URBAN FORM

PUBLICREALM

SENSORYPERCEPTION

SPATIALCOGNITION

EMOTIONALRESPONSE

UTILITARIAN

MODERNISM

POLICY

JOY WONDER

HOMOGENEOUS

INFORMATION

VIBRANT

UNIQUERHYTHMIC

STIMULATING

ART FUNCTION

INDUSTRIALIZATION

overview:

Thesis

thesis proposal poster