Life at the Centre: A Design Approach
Summer 2022
Diana Scherer: ‘Interwoven - Exercises in Root Domestication’ 2019
1
Life
“First life, then places, then buildings;
the other way around never works”
- adapted from Jan Gehl
My priority is to make life better — more supportive, engaging and sustainable — for both humans + non-humans alike,
through my involvement in the practices of architecture + landscape architecture + urbanism
2
[Eco]systems
“We are all—trees, humans, insects, birds, bacteria—pluralities. Life is embodied network. These living networks…are [places] where ecological and evolutionary tensions between cooperation and conflict are negotiated and resolved….the dissolution of the self into relationship. Because life is network, there is no “nature” or “environment,” separate and apart from humans. We are part of the community of life, composed of relationships with “others,” so the human/nature duality that lives near the heart of many philosophies is, from a biological perspective, illusory.”
― David George Haskell, The Songs of Trees: Stories from Nature's Great Connectors
[Eco]systems before objects;
As a design framework, I aim to create [eco]systems; systemic habitats for humans + non-humans;
spaces + places with entangled relationships to their context;
diverse + resourceful + inclusive
—
Individual heroism is over-rated; whether people, buildings, or projects.
Collective achievement is the only real success.
Above:
Reverse Anthropomorphism —
naturalizing + zoologizing humanity; recognizing that we are part of the natural world.
Image 1: “Green Man” - Chris Pye, Copy of carving from Lincoln Cathedral, England, 700 years old
Image 2: “Lion Man” from three angles: Stadel Cave, Germany, 40,000 years old
3
Infrastructural Design
The key to designing ecosystems is to think of design interventions as infrastructure: ways of delivering resources: simple things for sustenance and comfort (typical of most infrastructure), but also complex social infrastructure - platforms for interaction that are adaptable and interpretable, giving people what they need to live a good life.
…”While the action of individuals is important, it is action at the scale of infrastructures, designed with a mythology connecting individuals to ecosystems, that can catalyze a global shift”.
― Julia Watson, Lo-Tek
“We don’t need new technologies or new ideas; we need the will, foresight and courage to use the best of the old ideas.”
― Shoshanna Saxe
“...the ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently.”
― David Graeber
As a design strategy, my focus is on creating spatial infrastructure —
an expanded concept of civic duty,
this infrastructure is designed as layered systems,
physical instruments that connect people to collective resources;
extending across the city to make life better:
social + community infrastructure
green + blue infrastructure
energy infrastructure
materials infrastructure
mobility infrastructure
. . .
Diagram above adapted from: Dark Matter Labs, ACAN and Zero Carbon House (2022)
Diagram above adapted from Stewart Brand + Frank Duffy (1996), DOOR architecten (2015), and Long Now (2010)
Above:
Infrastructure as Catalyst for Life : the unseen + under-appreciated is important and precious.
Root art by author, 2020; Manhole cover “Jacob Mark + Sons”, TriBeCa NYC