Date: 11 September 07
Email this Article
| Click to Print
For Linlithgow/Edinburgh-based architects, Cadell2 and David Simm of Jan Gehl Architects, Copenhagen the geography of Scotland forms the starting point for The Counter Tectonics..
“Today the predominant patterns of movement along the M9 and M8 motorways and the rail corridors follow the river systems of the Forth and Clyde, which were created by ancient flows of ice,” says Johnny Cadell, “and this has reinforced the polarisation of the great cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow.”
The group’s proposals offer a vision that counteracts the present Edinburgh-Glasgow polarisation and breathes new life into the inter-urban landscape between these cities. They envision a landscape in 2057 where human activity is threatened by global warming and by extreme weather events, flooding and high winds.
There are few parts of the landscape that can be safely occupied without climatic protection measures being in place, so the science of tree plantation for shelter and of levée construction now attract substantial research budgets. Oil shortages have led to fuel price rises and a wholesale re-emergence of fuel-efficient modes of public transport. Energy supply is almost entirely from renewable sources and micro-generation. There are extensive bio-fuel crops on formerly open countryside, high ground is dominated by wind turbines and waterways by micro-hydro stations.
The Propositions
GRAS - M8-PARK
Cadell2 - The Counter Tectonics
VD&B - Sloap Shifts
Collective Architecture - The Muckle Canal
Be the first to comment on this article click here.
