Unnatural Wilderness - Microclimatic Islands for Edible Plants (OSLO)

Some landscapes are difficult to alter; an island is and will always want to be an island. The phrase "island condition” refers not only to a geographical condition but has become a term to illustrate solitude and independence. Isolated and connected by the same substance the island is defined by its oneness and reliance to the sea. The use of interior gardens and methods of controlling micro-climates date back over 3000 years and have enabled us to grow for extended seasons in colder and sometimes warmer environments. The condition of having water and geothermal heat as a main source of energy, a low population and large areas of available space is however unique. While several European countries has capitalized on agricultural landscape as a cultural asset, Iceland has a largely untouched landscape. It has therefore been of essence for this diploma to create landscape driven interventions that do not only produce edible plants, but provides ways to engage with the landscape that is considered one of the last wildernesses of Europe. The diploma has chosen to describe spatial qualities with words borrowed from botanical terminology. This method highlights how words can translate into form, although being outside the construct of any current architectural language.