Repost: Animals in Contemporary Architecture and Design
Jennifer Wolch & Marcus Owens analyze a sample of contemporary animal design projects...
Concrete Chimney Swift Tower
The evolution of the Chimney Swift is closely intertwined with modernity and the changing habitats of humans. Although originally nesting in caves and rotted trees, Chimney Swifts now primarily nest in, well -- chimneys and other man-made habitats. They adapted to chimneys in the first place due to a scarcity of standing, rotted trees - as these have a tendency to fall onto property and are quickly taken down.
Call for Writers
We'd like to invite you to become a guest contributor to The Expanded Environment. Click for more info.
Call for Works
We want to publish your work. Do you have a project that you think would look really sweet on The Expanded Environment? Are you interested in biology, architecture, ecology urbanism, interspecies art and various combinations thereof?
Urban Umwelt
Recently Ned presented via pre-recorded video at the "Untaming the Urban" Symposium at the Fenner School, Australia National University. The full-length (it's only 15 minutes) viedo is here for your viewing pleasure.
Intersections 2016
Intersections 2016 is a cross-disciplinary conference of quality of life, health, equity, development and environmental issues facing the growing Houston area. The goal is to foster synergistic thinking and collaboration by bringing different people together, and to demystify the mechanisms for creating sustainable change.
Anthropocene Mag.
Tiny houses and great cathedrals, carbon-neutral skyscrapers and Airstream trailers: architecture is among the greatest of human crafts. Just imagine if the same ingenuity and vision were devoted to building homes for animals.
Joyce Hwang: Bower
Bower is a series of architectural fragments that frame the landscape of ArtPark and host bird nesting boxes for various species.
Syn-Urban Assemblages
Throughout North America, the suburbs are a pervasive condition that emerge at the periphery of every major metropolitan…
Editors / Contributors
Content on the The Expanded Environment is provided by the following lovely people:
Natural Urbanism
Despite the fact that more than half of the world’s population today lives in cities, the attention given to urban ecosystems in the ecosystem services literature has yet been relatively modest.
Co-migration: Cloud Forest
Climate change is provoking a massive migration among humans and non-humans. As temperatures and weather patterns shift, entire…
Domestic Prosthetics for Cohabitation
The project explores possible conditions of cohabitation through the design of domestic prosthetics for the single-family detached house. Three…
Decompositions; Part 2
Can design bridge land and water? Could shared spaces teach us what it’s like to occupy underwater spaces, and navigate through oceans and waterways?
Between Human and Animal
The space of greatest tension between human and animal is the domestic territory of the house. Suburbs are therefore at the front line of the confrontation between humans and synanthropic animals. As woodlots and agrarian landscape are converted into residential communities, highly adaptive animals seek out new habitat opportunities.
Decompositions; Part 1
How can sharing spaces lead us to a deeper understanding of our space? Can we learn the senses of other species? Can we gain an animal’s superpowers? The following projects offer another reason for sharing our spaces with non-human species: the enrichment of our spaces and our own perception.
Knowing the Synanthrope
Humanity defines animals by their relationships to humans. Through this lens non-human species are categorized into two forms; domestic – dependent on humans for survival and augmented to live as companion species to humans, and wild – independent, capable of sustaining life without anthropogenic support. These relationships are based broadly on the level of human intervention required for an animal to survive.
Introducing Guest Contributors – Sarah and Brandon
This month we are thrilled to include the voices of two new guest contributors to the Expanded Environment team - Sarah Gunawan and Brandon Youndt. Sarah and Brandon will be featured regularly in the coming months and we thoroughly encourage you to check out their work and thoughts.
BioCity on NPR
Recently Ned Dodington spoke with NPR station KUHF, Houston Matter's Paige Phelps about the BioCity installation on display at Lawndale from January 22, 2016 to June 11, 2016. Check out the interview below!
BioCity Installation Update
We are happy to announce that the BioCity installation has completed its second round of installation.
Object Relations; Part 3
Our lives are inundated by a growing presence of things. How we manage and relate to these objects, these piles and piles of things, and better understand their complex realities is of serious importance...
Object Relations; Part 2
As we continue our discussion of the trans-worlding properties of objects we stroll through a woodland prairie with J. Von Uexkull and others...
Object Relations; Part 1
Our lives are inundated by a growing presence of things. How we manage and relate to these objects, these piles and piles of things, and better understand their complex realities is of serious importance...
Bio-City: Eco-Performance Art Installation
In January of 2016 The Expanded Environment in conjunction with local partners will construct Houston’s first and largest Bio-Habitable sculpture in the Sculpture Garden at Lawndale Art Center. We need your help to make it a reality.
Announcing the MONSTER Award Winners!
For Immediate Release: Announcing the 2015 Expanded Environment Award Winning projects. First Place is awarded to Lullaby of Weather Species, by Suo Ya. Second Place to In Praise of Dust by Young-Tack Oh and Thrid Place to Walk into the Sea By Zhi Wang. COngratulations to all contestants!