The structure is distorted by both the plants as well as human occupation — pushing and pulling on the modules by users; balancing environmental and social transformations. It is the weakness of the tensile system of supports and the membrane fabric, which enables the characteristics of the individual species to have an effect on the whole. Thus, the portico archetype is merely an index of a recognisable figure that is subverted by its environment and inhabitants. By framing the tension between invasive and native species, the project is part art-critique of culture and part garden-critique of nature. It is the strength in the weakness of framework versus system that provides its ability to transform, adapt and, ultimately, be resilient to transformations. This repositions the role of the designer to organise a resilient framework for anticipated and unanticipated events from the environment and their users, leveraging the notion of weakness for long-term relevance. ~
Project credits firm: The Open Workshop, 2013 design team: Neeraj Bhatia, Anesta Iwan, Cesar Lopez
above: views from within and without. below: Section through the Garden in its early phases, indexed against the portico structure
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