Research topic

The aim of the project is to discover the "landscape imagination" of brownfields and use their identity to create a parallel reality in the metropolis through an embodied experience that offers a reconsideration of the perspective of public place in an undefined and yet undeveloped territory. The project takes into account the social and physical dimensions of the area and defines the Landscape Imaginary through methods developed during the year-long research - Landscape Body Mapping, Train of Thoughts and Landscape Nicknames. My project reflects on the research Image of the City (K. Lynch, 1960), which focuses primarily on visual reference points in space. The research responds to visual references by revealing a mapping of place through tactile and sensory experiences, which I argue causes a reconfiguration of the relationship to brownfield sites that are usually perceived as 'dead zones' (Doron, 2015), thereby stimulating the imagination and engaging the creative potential of places 'in between'.

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T-E-R-M-S

 

1) LANDSCAPE BODY MAPPING (LBM) – physical dimension 

 

How do I map? What should be the result of mapping? How can I combine social dimension (train of thoughts + landscape body mapping)?

 

DEFINITON:

 

LBM is an improvisational movement method based on visual references in public space, which is classified into five elements described by K. Lynch in his research Image of the city (1960, p.46-48). The method focuses on these elements and examines how the body relates to these elements through 'zoom in' and 'zoom out' i.e., element and body in detail and element and body in distance. In this way, experiential mapping creates a new image of public space that is defined by our previous physical experience of the territory. The method is implemented primarily through the technique of 'floor work', which is based on the ground being the main support and dance partner. In the outdoor activity, the characteristics of the terrain are integrated to this technique, based on which the movement is modified. The body specifically uses balance, pressure and grip when moving in the terrain, these elements are used to map the terrain and create a particular movement vocabulary. 

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2) LANDSCAPE NICNAMING – mental dimension 

 

DEFINITION:

 

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3) TRAIN OF THOUGHTS – mental dimension 

 

DEFINITION:

 

The method takes place directly in the terrain of Rohan Island and is based on wandering through an area whose path has no destination. The purpose is to collect random momentary sensations and images that are just seen and felt. The method is materialized thoughts that are recorded through audio or text. This creates an authentic image of the 'momentary place'. This method is used to create visual-audio material as a materialization of the image of a place through the mental and physical dimensions.

 

Mental and physical dimension creates together LANDSCAPE IMAGINARY – urban landscape imaginary as a parallel destination in the metropolis

 

What Is a ‘‘Social Imaginary’’?

I have used the term ‘‘social imaginary’’ several times in the preceding pages. Perhaps the time has come to make clearer what is involved. By social imaginary, I mean something much broader and deeper than the intellectual schemes people may entertain when they think about social reality in a disengaged mode. I am thinking, rather, of the ways people imagine their social existence, how they fit together with others, how things go on between them and their fellows, the expectations that are normally met, and the deeper normative notions and images that underlie these expectations. There are important differences between social imaginary and social theory. I adopt the term imaginary (i) because my focus is on the way ordinary people ‘‘imagine’’ their social surroundings, and this is often not expressed in theoretical terms, but is carried in images, stories, and legends. It is also the case that (ii) theory is often the possession of a small minority, whereas what is interesting in the social imaginary is that it is shared by large groups of people, if not the whole society. Which leads to a third difference: (iii) the social imaginary is that common understanding that makes possible common practices and a widely shared sense of legitimacy.

 

Taylor, Charles. "2 What Is a ‘‘Social Imaginary’’?". Modern Social Imaginaries, edited by Dilip Parameshwar Gaonkar, Jane Kramer, Benjamin Lee and Michael Warner, New York, USA: Duke University Press, 2003, pp. 23-30.

 

DEFINITION:

 

What Is a “Landscape Imaginary”?

Landscape Imaginary is the way people imagine a certain landscape in a city, their imagery is defined by their experience of the place and memories, but also by their general social 'familiarity'. Landscape Imaginary is the social reality of a public place that is a construct of human activity and is not conditioned by urban planning. The Landscape Imaginary is based on social values and social expectations and the way public space is used. Such a public place invites its own interpretations, which can shape the social image of the place and can be modified, as the place is fluid and identity is shaped by stories, mythology, images, history, social structure, and use. Landscape imaginaries are based on a shared image and human outdoor activity that is carried mostly by people who circulate in the locality. Landscape Imaginary consists of a social and physical dimension which is explored through the methods of, Landscape Nicknaming, Train of Thoughts and Landscape Body Mapping (LBM). The methods that have been developed for the project articulate our position in relation to the urban landscape in an imaginative and somatic way that engages embodied imagination in addition to mental imagination.