On-Site Projects
The Cook, the Farmer, His Wife and Their Neighbour
Building materials, energy infrastructure, vegetable garden, 2009
Stedelijk Goes West, Nieuw West, Amsterdam
Project by Marjetica Potrc and Wilde Westen
Supported by the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; Far West, Amsterdam; The
Netherlands Architectural Fund, Rotterdam
The project is a community garden and community kitchen in the Nieuw
West district of Amsterdam. A previously unused site at Lodewijk van
Deysselstraat 61 becomes a community kitchen. The vegetable garden is
located behind the kitchen in a former fenced-off 'look-only garden'
(kijkgroen). The garden and the kitchen create bonds within the
neighbourhood and become a catalyst for transforming not only the
public space but also the community itself. The project is an example
of 'redirective practice', with people from various disciplines and
backgrounds working together to find new ways to build a shared
community. The project is a case study for redesigning the modernist
neighbourhood from below and redefining rural and urban coexistence.
More information can be found on the project's blog.
Lookout with Wind Turbine
Building materials and energy infrastructure, 2008
Vriza, Piraeus Building, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Collaborative project by Marjetica Potrc and Vriza (Lonnie
van Brummelen and Siebren de Haan)
Supported by SKOR and AFK, the Netherlands
The Lookout with Wind Turbine is an addition to the loggia of the
Vriza apartment. The structure includes an observation platform and a
wind turbine, which provides electricity for the apartment. It is
located on one of the highest points of the residential Piraeus
Building, whose modernist design acknowledges the social equality of
the residents even as it strictly regulates their private space. The
Lookout with Wind Turbine marks the location of Vriza, an artists'
collective that opens its private space for public events. The project
draws a connection between power (electricity) and Vriza's work of
empowerment. It suggests that culture is a tool for reinventing the
city.
A Schoolyard in Knivsta: Fruit and Energy Farms
Energy infrastructure, fruit trees, 2008
The Thunmanskolan High School, Knivsta, Sweden
Project by Marjetica Potrc and Stealth (Ana Dzokic, Marc Neelen) in
collaboration with Ingalill Nahringbauer (A5 Arkitekter)
Commissioned by the Swedish National Public Art Council
and the Municipality of Knivsta
The Thunmanskolan schoolyard has been designed as a hi-tech Energy
Farm and Orchard. In the Energy Farm, a hybrid system consisting of a
wind turbine and solar paneling harvests energy, which is then plugged
into the existing electricity grid and shared with the larger
community. The Orchard reminds us of the new balance between the urban
and the rural. This example of values based on sustainability
illustrates the empowerment of the Knivsta community, which has
recently gained independence from the Uppsala Municipality. In keeping
with Swedish tradition, the schoolyard is open to the general public.
A Farm in Murcia: Rainwater Harvesting
Water-supply infrastructure, 2007
Estratos, Contemporary Art Project, PAC, Murcia, Spain
The rooftops of a small organic farm near Bullas, Spain, in
the region of Murcia, collect rainwater and deposit it in a
biological-purification tank. The collected water is used to
irrigate fields. Murcia is currently facing the loss of both
its soil and water -- essential and non-renewable resources
-- which puts the region on the fast track to becoming a
desert. Small organic farms, however, protect and rebuild
soil fertility and the water supply.
Solar-Powered Desalination Device
Energy and water-supply infrastructure, 2007
Sharjah Biennial 8, Sharjah, UAE
A small desalination device powered by solar energy is installed in a
public school in Al Dhaid. It provides fresh drinking water for the
students. Although the main desalination plant in Sharjah City is
intended to supply drinking water to all residents, in some parts of
the city only salty water comes out of the drinking taps. The
desalination plant runs on fossil fuels, reflecting the area's
dependence on oil. In Sharjah, solar energy is only rarely used to
create electricity.
Power from Nature
Energy infrastructure, 2005
Barefoot College, Rajasthan, India, and the Catherine Ferguson Academy,
Detroit, Mich., USA
In collaboration with the Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, Norway
Self-sustainable technologies are relocated from the city of Oslo to
two other sites: the rural community of the Barefoot College in
Rajasthan and the Catherine Ferguson Academy, a high school for
teenage mothers in Detroit. Both communities have in their practice
demonstrated a commitment to the principles of
self-sustainability. The installation of solar panels at the Barefoot
College and of a hybrid wind turbine/solar panel system at the
Catherine Ferguson Academy came after the historical preservation
authorities in Oslo refused to authorize an earlier project designed
for the Nobel Peace Center that would have incorporated wind turbines
as one of its main elements.
Balcony with Wind Turbine
Building materials and energy infrastructure, 2004
'3rd Liverpool Biennial', Liverpool, England
A balcony with a wind turbine is installed on the 14th floor of the Bispham House towerblock.
Originally part of the movement for social housing, towerblocks are today
being increasingly pulled down. Of the 72 social-housing highrises that were
once in Liverpool, only 12 remain. With the dissolution of the social state,
these remaining towerblocks are being privatized. While underscoring private
space and wind-generated energy, the project improves living conditions for
two families.
Dry Toilet
Building materials and sanitation infrastructure, 2003
Courtesy of Liyat Esakov and Marjetica Potrc
Supported by La Vega community, Caracas;
Caracas Case Project and Federal Cultural Foundation of Germany;
Ministry of Environment, Venezuela
The dry toilet project was the result of a six-month stay in Caracas, during
which time Liyat Esakov and I researched the informal city under the auspices of the Caracas
Case Project. A dry, ecologically safe toilet was built on the upper part of
La Vega barrio, a district in the city without access to the municipal water
grid. The project attempts to rethink the relationship between
infrastructure and architecture in real-life urban practice in a city where
about half the population receives water from municipal authorities no more
than two days a week.
Individual Empowerment
Building materials, energy and communication infrastructure, 2003
'The Fifth System: Public Art in the Age of Post-Planning'
The 5th Shenzhen International Public Art Exhibition, Shenzhen, China
A wi-fi service is provided at a cafe in the Porto Fino gated community in
the Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) in Shenzhen. Solar panels supply electricity
for a laptop computer, allowing visitors to browse the Internet for free.
All across the world, gated communities seek control over basic
infrastructure systems, whether for water or
communication.
Siena: Urban Agriculture
Building materials and energy infrastructure, 2003
'Arte all'Arte 8 Project' Associazione Arte Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
A hydroponic vegetable garden is cultivated on the roof of a privately owned
building in the city of Siena, Italy. The project focuses on notions of
self-sustainability and private space. In this way, an experiment in urban
agriculture -- an approach that has been recommended by the World Bank for
such fast-growing cities as Cairo and that is being implemented in Caracas
-- now finds a home in Siena.
Istanbul: Rooftop Room
Building materials, energy and communication infrastructure, 2003
'Poetic Justice' The 8th International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul
Rooftop Room is a site-specific project realized for the 8th Istanbul
Biennial. It consists of a tin roof constructed on top of a privately owned
flat-roof house in Kustepe, Istanbul. After the exhibition closed, the
family who lives in the house replaced the temporary curtain walls with
permanent walls.
House for Travelers
Building materials, 2000
'Manifesta 3', Ljubljana, Slovenia
-
Building material, 2002
'Go-Home', Sarajevo, BIH
I built the House for Travelers for a family of refugees who live
in Ljubljana. The house is modeled after a UNESCO resettlement project
in Kenya. The dwelling consists of a tin roof on stilts and a small
room for safeguarding possessions. In both Ljubljana and Sarajevo, the
temporary structure was given to a temporary social group. Residents
made their own improvements on the houses.
Magadan
Site specific building, building materials, 1997
'Skulptur. Projekte in Münster', Münster, Germany
Magadan, a project named after a Far Eastern Russian port city,
begins with a walk through a huge World War II bunker and ends with
a shanty structure built in the open area of the moat. Magadan references
both the urban voids of Münster, of which the bunker is one example,
and shantytowns. Shantytowns and urban voids are both common features
in the contemporary city.
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