The Hive

Ryan DaleyCal PolySan Luis Obispo2017

Architectural Thesis

Ryan DaleyCal PolySan Luis Obispo2017

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The Hive

Ryan Daley

Humans deplete the land of its nutrients through industrial farming practices.

The cycle of natural chemical sustenance, which is a delicate balance between plants and the micro-ecology, is disturbed by our mono-crop culture and the tilling of top soil.

This architectural thesis aims to support a new farming practice that employs ecological thinking.

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Contents

Problem

Proposal

Research

Experiments

Development

Culmination

Influences

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Acknowledgments

I’d like to recognize the soil science professors who have consulted me: Dr. Cristina Lazcano and Dr. Chip Appel.

I received advice from Architectural Engineering professors Al Estes and Ed Saliklis.

I was also advised by several Architecture professors, including: Doug Jackson, Greg Wynn, Karen Lang, and Ansgar Killing. Most notably, I was greatly influenced by my own professor: Dr. Dale Clifford.

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The Problem

“A world view that proclaimed human autonomy and viewed nature as a mechanism subordinate to humanity. Christianity.”

Traditionally, man has tried to disrupt the natural order to better suite the world to himself. Agriculture is his effort to domesticate the land, an imposition of an artificial environment. These practices are actually slowly destroying the land itself. In its most primitive form, plant husbandry is mono-crop, cultivating one plant across a swath of land. Although this is the easiest way to farm, it inevitably depletes the land of the resources that crop consumes. To mitigate this, we have developed the duo-crop practices that America predominantly uses today. Farmers alternate growing crops of inverse nutrition needs such as corn and soy. In America, “more than half our corn acres are in a rotation that includes soybeans” (Haspel). This is because the soybeans replenish the nitrogen that the corn needs. “Ecologically, and in terms of soil management, it’s still a simple system”

-Alister McGrath

(Haspel). There are still a lot of nutrients not being replenished. We are also learning that traditional tilling practices erode the precious top soil. There may be only a few inches of fertile soil, and tilling the land removes the roots that hold it in place. It becomes very susceptible to wind erosion. “It takes 500 years to make 1 inch of top soil...[and] USA is losing top soil at 10x the rate of replenishment” (Joybilee).

Man’s Domestication

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Soil is a delicately balanced ecology of microorganisms facilitating a complex market of nutrient trade and conversion.

In addition to plant to plant relationships, the microorganisms in the soil play a vital role in a farm’s ecology. Dr. Chip Appel describes how “a cubic inch of soil might have thousands of different bacteria and mycelium.” Combined, these microorganisms take on a greater life, the soil becomes a super organism. “One has only to think of the soil as a living entity. It breathes, it transports and transforms nutrients, it interacts with its environment, and it can even purify itself and grow over time.” Plants rely on a balanced micro-ecosystem to get the nutrients they need. For example, the soybeans are actually not providing the nitrogen that the corn needs, but are facilitating the growth of nitrogen fixing bacteria in their roots. These bacteria produce nitrites. Then, Nitrifying bacteria convert the nitrites into a usable form for plants, nitrates. The point being that this micro ecosystem is

Soil Ecology

incredibly complex, and important to keep in balance. The problem is that these complex relations tend to be disrupted by harvests and tilling. Other important nutrients come microorganisms decomposing plants, animals, and animal excrement. Currently, this sustenance is provided through organic compost. However, we have to think more about the health of these decomposers. The mycelium is disrupted every time we till the land; we destroy the miccrohaezal networks.

We don’t need to use chemical fertilizers if the ecosystem is self reliant. Ecological farming was done by the native Americans; they planted corn, beans, and squash together. They are so symbiotic because “their growth habits and footprints on the land are markedly different, as are their nutritional requirements” (Vivian). People are once again seeing the benefits of an ecologically balanced farm. What is now called Permaculture, or Organic Farming, is the focus on cycling resources, ecological balance, and biodiversity. A diverse plant population will have a balanced nutrient exchange, with a better micro ecology. Animals are incorporated into the system with their natural fertilizer. Ecological farming is a sustainable means of maintaining soil fertility. This is certainly a better method for soil health, but it is difficult to industrialize this farming philosophy. “One of the reasons for the duoculture is that the equipment for corn and soy is identical. If you add one more crop, and grow wheat, just that one change requires

“Look closely at the present you are constructing. It should look like the future you are dreaming.”-Alice Walker

Ecological ThinkingAn Ancient Precedent

a specialized planter” (Haspel). If we are to implement permaculture on a large scale, it will need to be more economical in the short term. On the other hand, there is an emerging economy for organic crops. According to USDA’s Economic Research Service, “organic crops can fetch a price premium of anywhere from 25 percent to 200 percent or more over conventionally grown products.” Although, the majority of the population is not going to pay those price premiums.

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One of the newest technologies being introduced to agriculture is the drone. Primarily, they are being used for soil and field analysis. On the Bowles family farm in Los Banos, they are using drones to make water usage more efficient. “Equipped with a state-of-the-art thermal camera, the drone crisscrossed the field, scanning it for cool, soggy patches where a gopher may have chewed through the buried drip irrigation line and caused a leak” (Smith). This farm also uses “infrared cameras to spot color variations in the plants that can signal a problem.” Beyond analysis, UAVs are being used to actually maintain the farm. Drones are being used for planting seeds, spraying pesticides, and for irrigation. In the case of pesticides, it saves farmers from using planes. For watering, the drones can use thermal cameras to see which parts of the field are the driest, and apply more water there. Another prominent technology in agriculture is genetic modification. Scientists are splicing genes to produce

Looking Forward

crops that are more nutritions, resistant to pesticides, or resistant to climate conditions. Genetic modification is progressing so rapidly that National Geographic is calling the 21st century the century of biology. Where as in the past, physics has been responsible for the most notable technologies. The hope is that new technology will allow for a different type of industrialized agriculture. Perhaps we will be able to move away from specialized tractors, and begin using dynamic drones that can manage a multitude of different crops.

12.1 - drone spraying pesticide

I set out to develop a system that utilizes modern technology to implement ecological land management

It is clear to me that we need farms with a great diversity of crops that operate in a way that doesn’t destroy the top soil. I looked to drones as a new industrialized agriculture, as a less invasive and dynamic way to farm. I began to realize that there isn’t the infrastructure to support such a scheme.

I began designing a drone station that could support the new mechanized farm. This drone hive would function as a power station, a bacteria fermenter, a soil testing lab, and a seedling nursery.

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We tend to think of robots as mindless, following the every whim of its human domesticator. When actually, we are dawning on artificial intelligence capable of making basic decisions. Though, sense they are not capable of complex decisions, the complexity arises from the aggregation. Robots might begin to act as an ant or termite colony. Using simple algorithms, the robots could respond to their environment, and each other, making

Drone BehaviorSwarm Tectonics

decisions as they go. This elegantly improvised dance would allow drones to operate as a super organism. The hive mentality is such that if all the constituents are responding to each other, the whole group acts as one. Just as a school of fish, or a flock of birds, this active decision making is based on very simple algorithms, but an accumulation of simple decisions can have complex outcomes.

16.1 - Bee Hive

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“Swarm intelligence - the emergent collective intelligence of groups of simple agents.”

“Almost everything operates within a dynamic, open system.” “...Which rel(ies) as much on the individual responding to the logics of the mass or the swarm as they do on any single initiative...” -Neil Leach Complexity theory by Mitchell Waldrop “attempts to show that complexity is not so complex, but born of clear principles.” Just as a bee hive is built

-Neil Leach

using very simple algorithms, and the aggregation of these simple decisions is incredibly complex. “The dynamics of populations of dislocations are very closely related to the population dynamics of very different entities.” “Despite great differences in the nature and behavior of the components, a given population of interacting entities will tend to display similar collective behavior.” -Delanda

16.2 - Termite Nest 16.3 - Wasp Anatomy

A Spanish student, Saul Ajuria Fernandez, designed a drone port for the shipping industry Fig 1.2. Amazon has been making big claims about developing its drone fleet for personal shipping. Fernandez decided to design some infrastructure to support their endeavor. His vision is essentially the future’s post office. Drones come here to exchange packages, and recharge their batteries.

I also felt that my drone hive should have a minimal footprint on the landscape, seeing as its primary purpose is to improve the quality of the land. Richard Horden’s ski house Fig 18.1 is a good example of a low impact architecture.

18.1 - Richard Horden

Precedents

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The HiveProposal Basics

BacteriaFermentation

SoilTesting

The Hive is the necessary infrastructure to support the new agricultural revolution. Drones will be the driving force of change, managing the fields instead of people and tractors. These automated field hands will need a base of operations where they can recharge their batteries, and pick up the necessary fertilizers and seeds to be planted. The Hive is that very base. This structure is skinned with specialized nubs that the drones interact with. The drones dip their beaks into the nubs in order to extract the necessary innoculants. During the same interaction, batteries are exchange for a freshly charged one. The hive also serves as a station for soil testing. Drones take samples of the soil, and return them to the hive for analysis.

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Premanufactured Hives will be a standard product purchased by farmers. They are rapidly deployable; they are trucked out to the site and jacked up on legs.

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From their central hive, the drones would set off to gather data about the land. Coordinating with each other, they would take infrared, thermal, and multi-spectral images of the land. In a second wave of surveillance, drones will take soil samples back to the hive. The samples will be analyzed in the hive for nutritional deficiencies. Drones will return to nutritional deficient areas to take further, more meticulous, samples. This will reveal the true extent of the land’s infertility. In this way, a detailed map of the farm’s health will be produced. This is very similar to how insects locate food. Ants spread out, and survey the land; upon returning with positive information, they lay a pheromone trail that encourages other ants to further investigate the area.

SurveillanceLarge Scale Sampling

SurveillanceDetailed Testing

Upon the initial discovery of a poor soil sample, the drones return to site to take a more detailed survey of the soil. They make a grid of soil data, and discover the extent of the deficiency. A farmer will analyze the soil data, and speculate what should be planted to remediate the problem. The hive might be able to make its own autonomous decision, but it will be vital for the farmer to maintain influence. In many cases, it might be a simple case of impregnating the soil with some bacteria and mycelium. In others, some different crops might need to be amended to the area. The end result is that the permaculture becomes much more nutritionally balanced.

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Inoculants to Remediate Nitrogen Deficiency

Cities and buildings are problems of Organized Complexity - “Problems which involve dealing simultaneously with a sizable number of factors which are interrelated into an organic whole.” -Dr. Weaver

This is different than a problem of disorganized complexity, as in, a million pool balls colliding, which, “In spite of helter-skelter or unknown behavior of all the individual variables, the system as a whole possesses certain orderly and analyzable average properties.”-Dr. Weaver

ResearchParametrics

26.1 - Greg Lynn Studio - Massive Movement 26.2 - Greg Lynn - Diagram

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“Unlike conventional geometric primitives such as a sphere, which has its own autonomous organization, a meta-ball is defined in relation to other objects. Its center, surface area, mass and organization are determined by other fields of influence.”

Problems of disorganized complexity can be solved simply through mathematics and statistics, where as the problem of organized complexity don’t tend to have a provable answer. Solving one problem might present others, or satisfy some of the constituency but not all.

Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber define this organized complexity as a “wicked problem.” “The formulation of a wicked problem is the problem! The process of formating the problem and of conceiving a solution are

-Greg Lynn

identical, since every specification of the problem is a specification of the direction in which a treatment is considered.” It would seem that if all the identified parameters could be synthesized, a solution would emerge. This is the exact mentality behind using parametric design to solve architectural problems.

26.2 - Greg Lynn - Diagram

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30.1

30.1 - Nervous System Blog - Algorithmic Structure

30.2 - Joris Laarman - Bone Chair

30.3 - AP Works - 3D printed motorcycle

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Parametric design, in conjunction with additive manufacturing, enables highly efficient structure

Precedents

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onstruction A new building will have all its variables identified by designers, then a swarm of artificial intelligence collectively grows a building out of those parameters. A design might be more of a seed that grows into a different building based on where it is planted. Building is not pre-designed, but rather emerged from a group of robots operating under “Swarm Tectonics.” Social insects respond to simple inputs like light, temperature, and air, making their architecture without a master designer. The other input they respond to is each other. Termite “builders recruit help by banging their heads on the substrate. Several individuals work together responding to situations created by others...a process called ‘stigmergy’...” (Brian). There might be better optimization if it is actively designed while construction is happening. A structure might more efficiently respond to soil, wind, and dead loads if it is grown, instead of constructed. As a tree grows, it allocates the most material where the greatest bending moments occur.. As a wasp’s nest is constructed, the wasps beef up the central pillar to accommodate a heavier nest.

Swarm DesignCollective Decisions

34.1 34.2

Frei Otto designed the German Pavil-ion Fig. 34.2 to be a minimal surface, which are highly efficient structurally. He discovered the pavilion’s particular shape by forming soap film with string Fig. 34.1. He can then pull the string to produce a three dimensional minimal surface. This technique gives the smallest surface area possible between two points, saving material. They also follow the natural flow of force, making them highly structural. “Now it can be calculated, but for more than

Frei OttoA Precedent Study

40 years it was impossible to calculate it. I have not waited for it to be calculated in order to build it.” For Otto, the models were enough proof that the structure would be stable. Frei Otto does not pre-design his structures, but rather allows the forces of nature to determine geometry. Otto is merely setting the metrics of the experiment, then allowing nature to design itself. This type of responsive structure might be able to happen at full scale using swarm tectonics.

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“The computer can only calculate what is already conceptually inside of it; you can only find what you look for in computers. Nevertheless, you can find what you haven’t searched for with free experimentation.”-Frei Otto

Frei Otto Explored numerous methods of form finding. A similar minimal surface method was to stretch fabric or netting to see where the material would naturally resolve to. Another method was to make a network of string, then dip the string in water Fig 34.3. The string adhered to each other, displaying a more natural flow of forces. This generated a new way to allocate material.

Also, Frei Otto was a great advocate for tension based structures. Tensile structures are much more efficient than their compressive counterparts, as steel and wood gain stiffness under tension, becoming stronger. This is because the axial load produces perpendicular forces, which in a tensile case, are realized as friction.

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While compressive members loose stiffness from axial load, tensile members gain stiffness. To maximize tensile members, is to maximize material efficiency.

11.1 - Frei Otto 1972 Olympic Stadium in Munich

11.2 - Buchminster Fuller Geodesic Dome, Montreal

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Precedents

The computer program, Millipede, operates by trying to find the flow of forces. After running the simulation a multitude of times, it can better and better guesstimate what the optimal structure is. It does not produce finite answers, but instead is playing a continuous game of guess and check. This is very much the same way termites operate. They do not come up with a preconceived plan, they build until something fails, then the carbon dioxide intrusion alerts them to beef up the structure. This is a cantilevered beam that I was working on. The weight is on the right, and the point of attachment is the white circle.

ExperimentGrowing Structure

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Here, I’m generating columns. I gave the program a foundation, and I gave it the weight of the roof above. This is digital version of Frei Otto’s method. I just give the metrics, and the geometry naturally evolves. The structure grows upward like branches reaching for the sunlight. Near the canopy, they begin to branch connections between each other.

TensegrityopmentStructural Experiment

“Tensegrity describes a closed structural system composed... in such a way that the struts do not touch one another, but press outwardly against nodal points in the tension network to form a firm, triangulated, prestressed, tension and compression unit.”-Kenneth Snelsen

Essentially, tensegrity is where all the compression members are separated by tension, as to not directly transfer compressive loads. The idea is that this takes full advantage of tension’s strength. This is a very effective structure to absorb shock or lateral loads, such might occur in an earthquake. This design mimics the human body in that our bones dont directly touch each other, but are separated by joints of tendons.

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Tensegrity ExperimentOccupiable Architecture

Construction Diagram

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I think the most effective use for tensegrity is shock absorption. A normal building would be like trying to absorb vibration with your knees locked, where as a tensegrity structure with your knees bent. It would be ideal for earthquake country like San Francisco. To a large degree, San Francisco is comprised of loose soils like sand and mud. These soft soils actually transfer earthquakes very effectively, thus exacerbating the issue of being on a fault line.

In my experience, tensile structures have proved to be stronger than those of tensegrity under compressive loading. It seems like it is more effective to have a member that directly transfers some of the compressional force.

Design DevelopmentStructural Focus

With this iteration of the Hive, the goal was to minimize material. The skin is part envelope, and part secondary structure. It is comprised of carbon fiber panels that have a structural lattice built into their surface. The lattice was inspired by the work done by Pier Nervi. Encompassing the skin is a network of tension members that contain the splaying forces from the vaulted roof. These tensile trusses were inspired by Nicholas Grimshaw’s work on the Waterloo station.

46.1 - Carbon Fiber Panels

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Landing NubPoint of interaction for the drones.The nub acts as a port.

Fermentation SackBacteria and mycelium are grownwithin these chambers that areattached to the nub.

LegsLegs are a rapidly deployable foundation solution. The buildingis not designed to walk.

SkinThe building is clad with a light weight metal sheathing.

PerlinsAs with an airplane, a lattice ofperlins run perpendicular to the

wall studs.

Nutrition LinesDifferent nutrients are

transfered to the fermentersthrough an array of tubes

Design DevelopmentImproved Feasibility

The construction method became directly influeced by airplanes. This allows for ease of manufacturing and a light weight product. This system of ribs and perlins is a type of stick built construction, assembled on a large jig. Like a plane, constructed as seperate wall panels that are joined together.

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Floor Section

GirderTransfers the load from the studs directly to the lab’s legs.

Space TrussProvides tensile support for the floor.

Roof Section

Landing NubDrones land on a protruding nub to receive bacteria or mycelium. The nub protects the contents from wind and sunlight.

Fermentation SackBacteria is grown within a fermentation chamber that is suspended from the ceiling. Smaller fermenters allow for a greater variety of bacteria cultures, and for that culture to be grown where it is transfered to the drones.

Nutrition TransferNitrifying bacteria need Oxygen, water, Urea, and a controlled PH. The nutrition pipes are suspended from the ceiling.

Wall Section

RailsProvide substructure for the interior wall panels to be fastened to.

Exterior WallsLarge sections of the walls are premanufactured to achieve curvature, then fastened to tracks that run perpendicular to the studs

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The HiveFinal Iteration

This iteration takes on a mechanical, yet animalistic appearance. It is sleek and aerodynamic, yet it is porous and spiny. It is provocative to people, yet they aren’t quite sure what it evokes. The lack of recognition is a good thing. Perhaps that means it has taken on a quality of its own; it has become something unique.

Under the Hood

The Hive’s aerodynamic blobitecture necessitates an unconventional structure. I become greatly influenced by construction techniques outside the realms of architecture. I was studying military tanks, cars, and most notably, commercial airplanes. The primary structure can be likened to a car’s frame; although, its assembly is most similar to the Trans-Bay Terminal. The secondary and tertiary structure, which support the building envelope, are directly influenced by airplanes. Further, the nubs are framed, much as the windows are on a plane. Projecting out from the secondary structure, the quaternary structure supports a double wall system.

The Assembly

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TechnicalHow it Works

Bacteria and Mycelium are nurtured in large fermenters at the heart of the Hive. The inoculants are pumped from these growth fermenters to the sacks that hang from the skin. The sack is an intermediary storage vessel. Drones are soon to arrive to sip the inoculant out. The drones interact with the sack by landing on the nubs that protrude from the skin. They dip their beak through the nub’s tap, and into the sack. They sip out the cocktail, then proceed to impregnate the soil. The sack remains a controlled

environment, except only when the drone interfaces it. The Hive also facilitates the planting of crops. A cocktail of seeds and fertilizer are pumped to the sacks, and the drones transfer the liquid package. There is a lot of redundancy in the system; if something breaks, it wont shut down the whole operation. Everything is easily accessed and maintained from the inside.

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Operation

The primary function of the Hive is to serve as a growth and distribution center for the organisms to be planted on the farm. The hive should be completely automated, operating without the need for human control. However, people do enter for repairs and maintenance; all the mechanical systems are easily accessed from inside. The Hive is also a soils and botanical research station. People spend time within to study the soil samples that the drones return with. Further, there is much to gleam from studying the land surveillance the drones take. In this sense, the Hive becomes a type of lab for humans to study the land.

The Human Role

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Model

The construction of the model was an initial proof that the full scale would work. The construction method is so unique; I wasn’t sure how flawlessly the parts would assemble. As it turns out, with the precision of digital fabrication, the building was seamlessly put together. The primary structure essentially breaks up the building into different wall and roof panels. This makes it easier to premanufacture different constituencies. This is very similar to how they construct the hull of an airplane. The primary structure, legs, skin, nubs, and sacks are all 3d printed. The secondary and tertiary structures are lazer cut.

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Prospect

If this nuevo industrial agriculture were to take off, it would certainly need a drone infrastructure. Although, there are a number of different ways such hives could be designed. The imagination runs wild with possibilities. I tend to think how an idea could be made more economical. Perhaps the current agricultural architecture could be retrofitted. We might not need entirely new buildings, but could rather remodel a barn into a hive. Or maybe the whole fermenter, sack, nub apparatus could be sold as a stand alone product. Instead of expecting farmers to construct buildings, you introduce them to the new equipment by giving them small stand alone units. These units could each support maybe two dozen drones, and the farmer could progressively buy more to increase the size of his armada.

Upon researching for this project, I had the revelation that the future will hold all kinds of infrastructure that is not designed for humans. Drones are one thing, but what happens when you need charging stations and central hubs for other kinds of robots? It seems like a whole lot of architecture might be designed to house things, and not people.

How might the Project Develop?

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PH Conditioner

Airplane PartsLiving Pod

Cities for the Next Century

“The project is set to be 200-300m high where acidic pollutants gather...The porous membrane attached to the air bags can absorb the acidic materials, like acid fog, collect and put them into core purifier where neutralization takes place with alkaline substance produced by nitrogen-fixing microorganism via biological action, which is stored in the purifier center...acid pollutants can be transformed into neutral liquid with ammonium salt which will be absorbed by plants attached on tentacle...”

“What is the place of one person - any individual - in the complex, ever-changing landscape of the world? lt is a question without a fixed or universal answer... This is particularly urgent for the apportioning and use of space, which every person needs.” “The aim is not to disturb the stability, but to provide strategies for adaptation when transformation occurs. Even more, they celebrate change and the energies driving it, as the essence of existence.”

“The outcome of rejecting permanence and security in a house brief and adding instead curiosity and search could result in a mobile world – like early nomad societies...It is likely that under the impact of the second machine age the need for a house (in the form of permanent static container) as part of man’s psychological make-up will disappear. With apologies to the master, the house is an appliance for carrying with you, the city is a machine for plugging into.”

“A new generation of architecture must arise with forms and spaces which seems to reject the precepts of ‘Modern’ yet in fact retains those precepts. We have chosen to pass the decaying Bauhaus image which is an insult to functionalism. You can roll out steel - any length. You can blow up a balloon - any size. You can mold plastic - any shape.”-David Greene Amorphous architecture, in all it’s dynamism, could better cater to human needs than a rigid aesthetic.

Carlos Arzate

Lebbeus Woods

David Greene

Alan Boutwell

Influences

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Aggregated BOT Tower

Urban Droneport - Madrid

Kazakhstan National Pavilion

Taiwan Tower Complex

The idea is that a building could relocate if its constituent parts are movable. A building could dissolve into small parts that are autonomous and able to reassemble themselves. This is realized as rooms that are also quadrupedal robots. This is also interesting because the building can reassemble itself to adapt to a dynamic human condition. As the market changes, a building can grow or shrink.

“Companies from Amazon to Facebook have bet on drones as the aerial vehicles of the future. But many locales lack the appropriate infrastructure to support the day-to-day management of hundreds of zooming devices.” This project aims to optimize drone package delivery. Spherical hangers coat the building, allowing the drones to easily land and take off. The hangar doors also function as solar panels. The interior would house a logistics center and technology development center.

Stuart-Smith’s rs-design studio creates organic architecture by first “develop[ing] innovative design processes.” Unique architectural form has the ability to exercise people’s curiosity and is evocative to the imagination. In the words of Frank Gehry, “Your creativity starts with whether your curious or not.”

“To become an innovative landmark people can identify with in the present as well as in the future, the tower should not state a fixed message, but encourage people to invent their own interpretations of its meaning.” The tower is designed using algorithms that mimic swarm intelligence. Functional requirements are juxtaposed with a multilayered structural system. This allowed the design to evolve out of itself in a sort of natural process. The design is guided by man, not explicitly directed.

SOMA

Mobile Architecture

Saul Ajuria Fernandez

Robert Stuart-Smith

Fibrous House

Futuristic House

Aerial Swarm Bridge

SOFI

“This research proposes a non-standard construction process created by a swarm of 3D Printing UAVs; merging design and production within a singular process, based on the behaviors of robotic systems and composite materials. In contrast to conventional construction techniques, the research harnesses drone technologies in order to propose a construction process that can be pre-designed yet allow for flexibility in order to be implementable within a variety of environments through real-time structural feedback.”

“It is a speculation on the tectonics and affects of designing an entire project from a single geometric type, the strand. The house appears to emerge from the landscape, its fibrous tentacles converge in a turbulent flow of strands that wrap to enclose space and dissolve back into the landscape. The form is intentionally chaotic, a wild assemblage that expresses its intricate internal order, without smoothing over or taming its process of formation.”

Gonzalez juxtaposes the natural environment with incredibly modern architecture to show the paradox between the natural and the artificial. At this same time, this represents a minimalist living space that has been “evolved down to the last detail.” So there is that contrast between being futuristic, and being reverted back to the basic necessities.

“The disruption of material into a twisted or looped condition is an attempt to rethink the role of the envelope as a barrier between outside and inside. By creating a twisted or looped condition where the surface is constantly weaving in and out of itself, the distinction between inside and outside becomes blurred, producing series of intertwining public and private spaces. Four of these twisted tower conditions were created and then grouped around a center core.”

Kokkugia

Dionisio Gonzalez

Kokkugia

Danny Karas

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Plug-In City

Metalocus

Fly’s Eye Dome

House for a Helicopter Pilot

“...there comes an understanding that a drawing may never be literal architecture; although, the means by which the drawing is created might be architectural, or at the very least, speak to ideals which are fundamental to the creation, to the process, of architecture itself.”-Sneha Chahal

“Based on Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome, there is great potential for thickening the single sphere of the prototype into multiple layers. This new transformation based on geometric development and rigorous constraints provides much more possibilities for proliferation of initial system as Fuller proposed.”

“The house for a helicopter pilot with its landing deck on the roof, its lunar module cushioned feet, its built-in solar collectors and its interiors inspired by the aircraft house 015 for the cockpits of a helicopter, was projected And drawn with the technological mutations of the world in mind.”

“A new generation of architecture must arise with forms and spaces which seems to reject the precepts of ‘Modern’ yet in fact retains those precepts. We have chosen to pass the decaying Bauhaus image which is an insult to functionalism. You can roll out steel - any length. You can blow up a balloon - any size. You can mold plastic - any shape. Blokes that built the Forth Bridge - they did not worry.”-David Greene

Dan Lavinsky

LYCS Architecture

Future Systems

Archigram

Brian, M. V. “5 Cavity Nests and Soil Mounds, 6 Nests of Fibre, Silk, and Wax.” Social Insects: Ecology and Behavioral Biology. London: Chapman and Hall, 1983. N. pag. Print.

Social insects gave me great insight into how an insect’s simple algorithms can have a complex realization responds to the environment.

For example, the termite does not need to pre-plan its incredibly complex fungas farms. The termites dig to the appropriate depth based on temperature, then they build the combs. The termites’ “fungal combs are...plastered with clay but have a concave floor which gives access to the underside and allows air to circulate” (pg. 79) This simple algorithm of regulating temperature with depth and circulation is enough to ensure the combs will be well constructed, regardless of how large the nest gets. Though, as the nest grows, how do they know where to allocate their energy? “Builders recruit help by banging their heads on the substrate. Several individuals work together responding to situations created by others...a process called ‘stigmergy’...” (pg. 79)

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Some Termites have much more com-plex structures than others. Some termites have “dome shaped nests” made of “earth and excrements” (pg. 83) that can reach “3 to 5 meters tall” (pg. 89). Yet some others con-struct nests within dry wood, and others, make “arboreal nests” (pg 87).

Some of the most complex nests are constructed by A. Meridionalis of Australia. Their epigeous nests have been nicknamed “magnetic” because they are always oriented north to south. “The largest nests are about 12 feet high, about 10 feet long...The long axis is invariably directed north and south with the broad sides facing east and west...its purpose is to minimize the effects of rapid temperature change” (pg. 423). These nests are described as termite apartment complex because they house termites in a towering manner.

As with other insects, “The nest is not a static structure; its dimensions increase with the number of inhabitants...” (pg. 91). One form of expansion is called “construction by addition,” in which “once built, different portions of the nest are not modified. Growth occurs by new additions.” (pg. 93) They seem to be a stacking of complete nests as modules, “mosaics of parts successively constructed...and linked together” (pg. 95). There is also “construction by reorga-nization,” which involves modifying the original

nest. “This type of growth implies a perpet-ual reorganization of the existing structures” (pg 100). These nests tend to have a much greater capacity to regenerate after the nest is damaged. Lastly, there are Polycalic nests. “The nest can grow either by enlargement of the existing calies or by the development of new calies” (pg 101).

“The nest is a collective product which is the result of the coordinated activity of a large number of individuals” (pg. 109).“The internal structure of the nest is always developed by a division of the nest into floors which are regularly superposed by the par-titions in a generally horizontal direction” (pg114). “The greatest complexity in the nests occurs in the structure of their external walls...there generally exists a system of perfo-rations...facilitating permeability and thus permitting a renewal of the air...the structure of the wall may be further complicated by the formation of peripheral circulation galleries...which are connected to the system of small perforations” (pg 114).

Biology of TermitesKrishna & Weesner

Wasp architecture, in many ways, is more interesting than that of the honey bee. For one, the combs are not used for storing honey. This allows the comb to be arranged in a greater variety. Often times with wasps, the nests are suspended upside down. To perpetuate growth, new combs are suspended from old ones. The whole nest is primarily supported by the “mainstay,” a centrally positioned primary pillar. Other lateral supporting pillars may be added, but for the most part, the whole nest radiates from this one point. This tension structure is a very efficient structural design. The envelope expands by taking pulp from the inside of the nest and repurposing it for the exterior. Wasp repair and rebuild the nest in accordance to certain stimuli. “Where light enters a nest through a hole in the envelope, this hole will stimulate greater activity than other envelope defects.” They also more vigorously repair a nest if the damage is done where the larvae are stored. Some social qualities of the wasp can be likened to humanity. For example, the wasps exchange food for what can be called “social stimuli.” Further, the care taking of larvae is considered paramount for sociality among workers. This trading of goods and exchanging of services is very similar to humans. The social function of the queen is also very interesting. She can regulate the vigorosity and direction of work done by the colony through pharamones. Also, the queen is crucial for inter colony relations. Apparently, colonies can work together if the relationship between queens is good.

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Winston, Mark L. “5 Nest Architecture, 9 Communication and Orientation, 12 Drones, Queens, and Mating.” The Biology of the Honey Bee. Cambridge: Harvard University, 1987. N. pag. Print.

“At least 18 chemicals have been identified with function as pheromones, and it has been estimated that 18 additional substances must exist to fully describe pheromone based activities.” They are “known to function for mating, alarm, defense, orientation, colony recognition, and integration of colony activities.” This is in addition to the honey bee’s complex form of dance communication, “with dances lasting for only seconds or up to minutes.” Most often, the honey bee makes its nest within some sort of found cavity such as a log, or animal burrow. They patch up the entry holes to make them smaller, and proceed to make honeycomb within. The comb are hexagonal to accommodate larvae without wasting space. The comb are angled upward to store honey. Temperate breeds of bee make larger nests than tropical bees; temperate bees want a larger consolidated population to trap heat. All honeybees can accommodate different conditions by spreading out more, or condensing their population

Prior to reading this book, I thought of ants as being very robotic in nature. I thought of them as unemotional creatures who must follow specific algorithms to give the hive maximum efficiency. In reality, ants are very much like humans in their flaws. They can make decisions based on emotions, rather than what is economical for the hive. Similar to humans, ants can get addicted to drugs. A beetle in the genus Lomachusa “secretes from its hair a drug which the ants hold in high esteem. Because of their taste for this drug the ants feed and care for the beetle as they do their own queens...” (pg 37). This example is a testament to how ants are much different from robots in their decision making capacities. Perhaps an emotional response is what allows the ants to respond to their environment so well, and perhaps robots need a certain level of emotional capacity as well. Or perhaps it is a flaw that robots could overcome. Ants are very good at responding to their environment, so good, that it seems impossible to achieve without a master plan. Though it seems they operate entirely through instinct and hive mentality, with no one ant making grand decisions. “The purpose of the mound is to catch as much as possible of the sun’s warmth...a lodging burrowed into the earth provides little surface for the rays of the sun to fall on, but the mound catches the slanting rays of the

morning and evening sun. At these times the brood is brought up into the mound; in the noonday hear, it is carried below. Another advantage of the loosely built mound is that it drains quickly after heavy rains.” (pg 52) Another interesting ant, the weaver ant, (oecophylla) sews leaves together to make their nests. “Each of these workers carries a larva between its jaws, squeezing it a little to stimulate the...spinning gland. The worker presses the larva’s head to the edge of one leaf, then moves it across to the other leaf” (57). The fact that these ants can use tools, allows them to perform a much greater sophistication of construction. It made me realize that construction drones should likewise use tools.

The AntsWilhelm Goetsch

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When once the environment was thought of as a stable equilibrium, the new understanding of an ecosystem is of constant change. Frederick E. Clements argued that “the whole assemblage of species found grow-ing together on a site, was actually a single liv-ing organism...{a} ‘superorganism.’” This was the understanding that energy and elements cycle through the animals and plants with sim-ilar efficiency as an individual body. “As such, it displays characteristics of development, integration, and homeostasis similar to an individual plant or animal.” This idea evolved into the notion that an “ecological systems in their natural state are closed, self regulating systems,” an “ecosystem” as its now referred. The paradigm shifted with the understanding of external disturbances to the system: invasive species, fire, flooding, storms, etc. Ecosystems are frequently disrupted and rebuilt in a pro-cess known as “ecological succession.” This “new paradigm emphasizes the dynamic and changing nature of communities and ecosys-tems. After reading this, I have likened the cycle of an ecosystems destruction and re-growth to human ecology. Robert Cook uses the case study of Glacier Bay, Alaska. Nature’s succession begins with “an initial community of mosses and herbaceous species {which are} followed by low-growing willows, cottonwoods, and alders.” This sequence is due to the root systems of small plants strengthening the soil;

Environmentalism in Landscape ArchitectureRobert Cook

it is also because “nitrogen fixing herbaceous species and alders increased the nitrogen content of the soil, and the decomposition of acidic alder leaves lowered the initially high, alkaline condition.” These changes allowed the largest trees, the spruce and hemlock, to successfully grow. If the population of trees is disturbed by an external force, the rebuilding process must follow the same sequence of species. This process I have likened to the de-velopment of a capitalist city. First, small busi-nesses and housing must grow, which pro-vides the necessary nutrients for big business. Big corporations start to colonize the city, and pretty soon, the corporations are using most the resources/consumers, causing the small businesses to greatly diminish in number. That might be where the analogy ends. In an organic ecosystem, the small plants are still helping out the large by exchanging nutrients with them. In the case of humans, I’m unsure if the large businesses have any reliance on the small.

Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to Define Elegance in System ArchitectureAlejandro Salado, Roshanak Nilchiani

This article defines the goal in sys-tems architecture as obtaining elegance, and what said elegance is. “Researchers agree in defining elegance as a combination of sim-plicity, power, and grace.” Yet these concepts are also fairly relative and abstract. Griffin addresses elegance as “immediately appar-ent when it exists, yet it is difficult to define, impossible to quantify, and, so far, incapable of being taught.” The author then tries to find further metrics to describe elegant solutions. They arrive at the conclusion that “it is a com-bination of system attributes that goes beyond system requirements.” Which, to me, means that a building’s structure might do more than hold up the building; it might also be part of the aesthetic. From this point, the definition of an elegant solution is likened to Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. Maslow’s theory essentially describes how a system must meet the basic requirements before it can solve higher level problems. In the case of systems thinking, Maslow’s pyramid has “the system works” on the bottom, “efficiency” and “reliabil-ity” in the middle, and “flexibility,” and “modu-larity” as the highest level of achievement for a system. Likened again to architecture, the building needs to be structurally sound before the designers can concern themselves with aesthetics or environmental controls.

Rem Koolhaas - Designing the Design ProcessSjors Timmer

Every design process needs a method or set of rules to achieve the end result. Rem Koolhaas is constantly trying to rethink this process, he is always “critiquing himself and the outside world, whilst at the same time cre-ating both of them.” At the moment, he does have a fairly defined process. First, he says, “we define an agenda, and then we look at the current moment and see where and in what way we could make certain breakthroughs...” With each project, they try to re-look at the world as a whole and see where progress can be made. He tries not to lineat all their work with a single all encompassing process. Then, the studio goes through an iterative process to develop distinct solutions. “What the OMA process focuses on is not the creator but the critic. In our way of working, the important person is the one who is shown various op-tions and then makes a critical decision. Part of this process involves modeling repetitively, maybe only altering one variable at a time.

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From Object to Field: Field Conditions in Architecture and UrbanismStan Allen

“To generalize, a field condition would be any formal or spatial matrix capable of unifying diverse elements while respecting the identity of each.” The “serial aggregation of a large number of relatively small, more-or-less similar parts.” A field could be anything, it could be the culmination of buildings to form the field of a city, or the close proximity of grass blades to form a lawn. Allen states, “Post war composers…employed con-cept such as ‘clouds’ of sound…in which complex acoustical events cannot be broken down into their constituent elements.” A note has no meaning by itself, but only gains power by its relationship to the other notes in a song. Objects of design are the exact same; we can not view them as independent entities, but part of a field of interconnected influence. An interesting idea is that everything is both object and field. If one is to look at the field of a lawn close enough, one realizes that each constituent is also an object: a blade of grass. If one were to magnify that object of a blade, there is the revelation that a blade of grass is a field of aggregated cells. A cell could be an object, but then it could also be a field of atoms.-

Biotechniques: Remarks on the Intensity of ConditioningWilliam Braham

There was “essentially a romantic attempt to fashion a man-built structure by lit-eral application of nature’s design principles;” this has come to be known as “biomimicry.” Instead of an aesthetic, Frederick Kiesler was more interested in technology that learned from biology in its operation. It is not a repli-cation, but an application of a process. It is bases on ‘correalism,’ meaning, “the dynam-ics of continual interaction between man and his natural and technological environments.” When this perception is applied to architec-ture, buildings can be viewed as “participants in dynamic, ‘living’ systems.” This article also delves into blobitec-ture. Greg Lynn explains, “Unlike conven-tional geometric primitives such as a sphere, which has its own autonomous organization, a meta-ball is defined in relation to other objects. Its center, surface area, mass and organization are determined by other fields of influence.” “In blob modeling, objects are defined by...internal forces of attraction and mass.” Later in the article Braham mentions, “Classical systems are inherently inflexible. Since they embody intellectual-aesthetic ide-als of harmony and order, to disrupt any one element is to destroy the whole.”

The Century of Biology: Three ViewsJames Dwyer

This article explores different theories of where the biosciences will take us in the century to come. Freeman Dyson emphasizes the importance of horizontal gene transfer. He describes how “we may breed new crop plants that have leaves made of silicon, converting sunlight into chemical energy with ten times the efficiency of natural plants...They would allow solar energy to be used on massive scale without taking up too much land.” The adverse opinion is sited by James Lovelock. He believes that global warming is our imminent demise, and to solve this problem, we need to start viewing the earth as a single organ-ism, a “living, self-regulating system.”

Engineering EcologiesPeter Trummer

The idea is that the 21st century will be much more revolving about biology than physics. Beyond the sciences, Biology is starting to have a much grander impact on design. A great example is Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest. It “can actually be understood as new forms of material organization that could not exist without their particular envi-ronment...lightweight skeletons are wind powered and their structures create a walking behavior in response to the specific ground conditions.” The Associative Design and Synthet-ic Vernacular has been applying the studies of biology and ecology to urban planning. “The urban pattern is based on the growth logic, whereby the accumulation of cells (buildings) generates various urban tissues.” They have “emerged through the interrelationship of economic forces and the water landscape as its main infrastructural network.”

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Dilemmas in a General Theory of PlanningHorst Rittel, Melvin Webber

Urban planning is identified as a far more complex problem than engineering or mathematics. Mathematics and the sciences are described as “benign” or “tame” because the “mission is clear. It is clear, in turn, whether or not the problems have been solved.” In contrast, most social and planning problems are “wicked” because they “are never solved. At best they are only re-solved--over and over again.” With a wicked problem, there are many factors, influences, variables, and constituents at play; it becomes difficult to understand the prob-lem. “The formulation of a wicked problem is the problem! The process of formating the problem and of conceiving a solution are identical, since every specification of the problem is a specification of the direction in which a treatment is considered.” The authors also identify that “there is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem.” “Any solution, after being implemented, will gen-erate waves of consequences over an extended...period of time.” A solution to a wicked problem could have unintended repercussions and maybe even generate more wicked problems. That is why it is important to understand that every “wicked problem is unique.” “Despite seeming similarities among wicked problems, one can never be certain that the particulars of a problem do not override its commonalities with other problems already dealt with.” Coinciding with this, “One cannot understand the problem without knowing about its context; one cannot meaningfully search for information without the orientation of a solution concept...”

Swarm TectonicsNeil Leach

We tend to think the best way for some-thing to be designed is by means of a master intellect, though nature is in complete contrast. “Al-most everything operates within a dynamic, open system.” “...Which rely as much on the individual responding to the logics of the mass or the swarm as they do on any single initiative...” Complexity theory by Mitchell Waldrop “at-tempts to show that complexity is not so complex, but born of clear principles.” “Rather than accept-ing the unfathomable complexity of the universe, it seeks to discover the very structuring principles that have created that apparent complexity.” “Self-organizing systems” - “complex collective behavior may emerge from interactions among individuals that exhibit simple behavior.” “Swarm intelligence - the emergent collec-tive intelligence of groups of simple agents.” As DeLanda points out, “The dynamics of populations of dislocations are very closely related to the population dynamics of very different entities.” “Despite great differences in the nature and behavior of the components, a given popula-tion of interacting entities will tend to display similar collective behavior.” “The operations of ants building nests can be recognized as a form of stigmergy...” “...an architecture that is open to those processes themselves, an adaptive, responsive environment, that does not crystallize into a single, inflexible form, but is able to reconfigure itself over time, and adjust to the multiple permutations of programmatic use that might be expected of it.”

The Death and Life of Great American CitiesJane Jacobs

There are three kinds of problems that we have identified in this world. First, we have problems of simplicity, which are problems of a few variables. It is a problem “in which one quantity-say a gas pressure-depends primar-ily upon a second quantity-say, the volume of the gas.” This type of problem consumed the physical sciences until the 20th century. This is when we started to deal with problems of “disorganized complexity.” We developed “analytical methods which can deal with two billion variables.” This is using statistics to resolve mechanics. “As soon as one tries to analyze the motion of ten or fifteen balls on the table at once, as in pool, the problem becomes unmanageable...with millions of balls flying about on its surface...The great surprise is that the problem now becomes easier: the meth-ods of statistical mechanics are now applica-ble.”

What We Learned from the Dust Bowl: lessons in science, policy, and adaptationRobert McLeman

An example of such a practice was plowing fields to a fine consistency prior to leaving them fallow, on the assumption that the exposed soil would have a higher rate of absorption and retention of moisture; instead, this practice produced conditions that made drought-desiccated soil more susceptible to wind transport The Federal Emergency Relief Ad-ministration offered farmers subsidies to list-plow their lands in ways that would reduce wind erosion US Forest Service’s Prairie States Forestry Project initiated tree-planting on private lands to create shelterbelts to reduce soil erosion, and by 1940 had planted 200 million trees on 30,000 farms from North Dakota to Texas

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Monocrops: They’re a Problem, but Farmers aren’t the Ones who can Solve itTamar Haspel A mono-crop is one plant growing in the same place, year after year. There are two problems with mo-no-crops. The first is that they are not conducive to good soil health. The second is that, when all your eggs are in one basket, you’re vulnerable to a devastating loss; think Irish potato famine. Half of our 300 million farmed acres are planted with corn and soy, and that’s a very big basket. Much more common is what I’ll call a duocrop. Although precise numbers aren’t avail-able, Wallander says it’s reasonable to estimate that more than half of our corn acres are in a ro-tation that includes soybeans. I asked Griffin how much better that duocrop is than a monocrop. “It’s a little better,” he said, unenthusiastically. He points out that you still have the problem of crops being planted in the spring and harvested in the fall, with fields bare over the winter. “Ecologically, and in terms of soil management, it’s still a simple system.” “One of the reasons for the duoculture is that the equipment for corn and soy is identical. If you add one more crop, and grow wheat, just that one change requires a specialized planter. “Farmers will produce what the market asks them to produce,” says Wilkins, and I think that’s the crux of the issue. A complex series of factors, from government subsidies to consum-er preferences, has built a food supply with an almost insatiable appetite for corn and soy.

What is Organic Farming“a production system that is managed to respond to site-specific conditions by inte-grating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.” -Use of cover crops, green manures, animal manures and crop rotations to fertilize the soil, maximize biological activity and maintain long-term soil health. -Use of biological control, crop rotations and other techniques to manage weeds, insects and diseases. -An emphasis on biodiversity of the agri-cultural system and the surrounding environment. -Using rotational grazing and mixed for-age pastures for livestock operations and alterna-tive health care for animal wellbeing. -Reduction of external and off-farm inputs and elimination of synthetic pesticides and fertil-izers and other materials, such as hormones and antibiotics. -A focus on renewable resources, soil and water conservation, and management practic-es that restore, maintain and enhance ecological balance. For many farmers, a driving force to convert to organic production is economic: Organic crops can fetch a price premium of anywhere from 25 percent to 200 percent or more over conventionally grown products, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. “It’s about trying to get the ecologi-cal system harmonious and working with it, rather than overriding it.”

How to Fight Desertification and Reverse Climate ChangeAllan Savory

“Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning to desert,” explains Allan Savory. This is primarily attributed to human misuse of land. “We all know that desertifica-tion is caused by livestock...overgrazing the plants, leaving the soil bare, and giving off methane.” However, Savory points out that the world naturally has grazing animals. In fact, grass need grazing animals in order to flourish. “The movement prevents the over-grazing of plants, while the periodic trampling ensured good cover of the soil.” When there are not herds feeding, “grass...has to decay biologically before the next growing season. And if it doesn’t, the grassland and the soil begin to die. Now, if it doesn’t decay biolog-ically, it shifts to Oxidation, which is a very slow process. And this smothers and kills grasses, leading to a shift in woody vegeta-tion, and bare soil, releasing carbon.” “There is only one option...to use livestock, bunched and moving, as a proxy for former herds and predators and mimic nature.”

Importance of Soil to AgricultureSay No to Food Waste

Loam is the most fertile soil, and is a combination of all three different soil types.“...A more sandy soil will have a high hydraulic conductivity and a low water holding capacity. Water drains through sand very easily and if too much water enters this kind of soil it can lead to nitrate leaching which can be lethal to plants...There are different solutions to en-hance sandy soil performance. One of them is to add more of the organic matter content.”“Soils that have a higher percentage of clay will have a lower hydraulic conductivity and a high water holding capacity... Moreover a higher percentage of clay and silt in the soil will increase the cation exchange capacity. It is an ability of the soil to hold positively charged nutrients called cations (calcium, magnesium, potassium and ammonium–N).”

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“When natural vegetation is cleared and when farmland is ploughed, the ex-posed topsoil is often blown away by wind or washed away by rain.” “Soil carried off in rain or irrigation water can lead to sedimentation of rivers, lakes and coastal areas. The problem is exacerbated if there is no vegetation left along the banks of rivers and other watercourses to hold the soil.”

Farming: Soil Erosion and DegradationWWF

These early hunter-gatherers selected and improved a group of plants that could be hand-grown with relative ease and in suffi-cient quantity above daily subsistence needs to afford the people leisure time to establish settled, agricultural societies. Many native species that are still grown today include potatoes, sunflowers, amaranth, quinoa, chilies and many more. But the three foundation plants of early new-world agriculture were, most importantly, the wild grass Zea mays (called maize in most of the world and corn in the U.S.), beans (native legumes of several species) and squash (a curcubit). The elemental botanical differences between these three species guarantees that they will not all succumb to a single nutrition conflict, pest or meteorological event. Their growth habits and footprints on the land are markedly different, as are their nutritional requirements.

The Three Sisters: Corn, Beans, and SquashJohn Vivian

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