Lost Landscapes
Back to Projects listProject Location
Cork, Ireland
Topic
Landscape Regeneration Water
Program
Education Architecture
Aran Islands
Inis Mór has long been a stronghold of Irish culture and unique landscapes. Over centuries, cultural and physical erosion have affected the island, leading to a loss of landscapes and culture. We investigated methods of preserving the unique features of the island, sustainably protecting the culture and land for future generations.
Inis Mór’s karst landscape is being constantly eroded over time, accelerated by the effects of climate change. It’s also losing its communities, with younger generations leaving island life for the mainland. The questions we pose to ourselves: how do we bring people and purpose back to the island, how can we emphasise the importance of connection to nature, how do we protect the wealth of native flora found on the island, and how do we take a stance on the climate emergency facing all of us but more specifically, in the context of Irish islands. Can we provide a sustainable, holistic future for Inis Mór, making it a beacon of research and knowledge for future generations, celebrating its powerful landscapes?
The project is a response to the cultural and physical erosion of the island, grounded in the importance of a connection between humans and the natural environment, and the preservation of our natural landscapes. Our research involved studying the (re)negotiation between the island terrain and colliding forces like the waves, wind and rain. The collisions shape the island, the history of this place encoded into its landscape. By tracing and retracing characteristics of this shifting landscape, we began to better understand its origins, authors and sculptors, extracting embodied knowledge from the landscape. These exercises informed the architecture of the project, an architecture of the island and for the island emerged. Erosion from water and wind was engaged as a design tool, with our interventions designed to decay naturally over time, the architecture becoming part of its surrounding landscape over time, continuing the story of the island. The project spans two sites, the first at the cliff edge at Poll an Iomair on the west side of the island, the second at a decommissioned lighthouse in the centre of the island - Inis Mór’s highest point. The interventions at the cliff edge include a Pelagic Research Fragment, a combined Desalination System and Bath House, and the Atmospheric Sensorium. At the lighthouse site, the Archive inhabits the limestone caves deep beneath the surface, where temperatures are ideal for preservation. The interventions connect people to the landscape around them and provide sustainable solutions to problems faced by the islanders. Oceanic research, fresh water production and natural sample preservation are undertaken at the Pelagic Research Fragment, Desalination System and Archive respectively. The Bath House comprises pools of infused fresh and salt water for users to bathe and unwind. Visitors are immersed in the restorative benefits of a connection to landscape and are encouraged to take part in more sustainable ways of living by strengthening their bond with nature.