FILE: 2310_CRE
Computational Rural Envisagement/The New Speculative Intelligence of the Unnatural Nature/
Rural & Future @ Artvin: Voices from the countryside [altenative life and architecture]

Project VII | 2022 - 2023 Fall

Istanbul Technical University

Instructor
Prof.Dr. Ayşe Şentürer
Assist. Dr. Yeşim Armağan






01. The atmospheric imagery of computational rural imagination
ural areas are transitioning from the traditional stages of morphogenesis to a post-natural rural era, presenting us with new geographies of meaning. In these geographies, unfamiliar and unconventional meanings are becoming evident. Autonomous server farms, energy plants, ports, factories, and mines that constitute the infrastructure of the modern world are progressively manifesting themselves. In light of these developments, we inquire into the new norms of rural areas and the reality of nature, accompanied by speculations and stakeholders (time, machinery, information, non-human entities).



"Spaces are complex networks created not only by humans but by all living beings and technologies." (The Cyborg Manifesto, Haraway, 1985).”



Focusing on the tranquility of rural landscapes and the complexity of nature, we showcase a way of life and architecture that challenges the radical and anthropocentric visions of the future. In this context, we transform the Artvin region into an experimental landscape by utilizing the opportunities and resources offered by the rural area. The architectural approach and experimental landscape proposal here include the design of systems and mechanisms that will initiate and support an evolutionary process. Structures are in constant interaction with nature and possess the ability to reshape themselves. Each structure is an integral part of a living organism. Furthermore, rural areas are ecosystems that self-transform, self-destruct, and self-rebuild, and our architectural approach becomes a tool that guides or adapts to this change.

02. Master Plan/Speculative Intelligence for Artvin
03. Manifesto Collage


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“In the post-human world, architecture becomes a laboratory for designing spaces for new entities and understanding how technology surpasses humans." (The Posthuman, Braidotti, 2013).


04. Atlas Cards of Future05. Atlas Cards of Rural06. Atlas Cards of Artvin07. Atlas Cards of Performative08. Atlas Cards of Intervention
09. Game Guide of Storytelling
10. One of the Game Outputs: The Future of Rural
we present our architectural proposal by addressing four significant nodes that are starting to differentiate within the Artvin geography and can cater to different scales and participants. In this way, we create a harmonious infrastructure that is based on the same foundation but can branch into different directions. The Hopa, Borçka, Maden, and Arsiyan regions represent the nodes of these complex networks. The information, events, resources, and possibilities obtained from these locations contribute to the creation of an ecology consisting of various machines, new technologies, physical and non-physical resources, smart programs, and living organisms that sustain complex ways of life in the region. Thus, the infrastructure of ecosystems provides a framework where spaces can access the information they need in various forms and variations in computational design processes.
11. Rural Profiles
Rebirth
and
the Future
When we examine the reality of nature, we observe a series of events, such as natural disasters, that have occurred in the past to rebuild or alter it. Considering the reality of nature, we can see that efforts to maintain the delicate balance of our environment sometimes involve radical interventions. This system represents the vision of the future or the geography of continuous rebirth. In this context, we explore different forms of life and architecture for the future by unleashing unlimited possibilities and engaging with the unknown. The systems and infrastructure in our experimental geography help create entirely new organisms with personalized features by using genetic modifications of organisms.
12. Time Theory for Speculative Intelligence(supercomputer)
13. How it works [supercomputer systems]
14.  How it works: Program Diagram
"Architects stand on the threshold of creating new entities in the universe, transcending human limits." (Haraway, D.)
15. Atmosphere of CRE
Knowledge 
and 
Evolution
Using the information presented in this experimental geography, we establish a mechanism of evolution. The nodes on the geography become places or tools where the steps of knowledge's evolution are taken before it evolves. Knowledge becomes a living and evolving entity, beginning to imbue the networks of established life forms with deeper meanings. As knowledge becomes a living entity, it can create new forms of meaning by reproducing through combinations of different knowledge or even lose existing meanings. Such combinations occur through the multiplication and differentiation of knowledge through living organisms, contributing to the development of our speculations for the future and the infrastructure of our experimental landscape. This becomes both a record book in the meaning geography of Artvin and a network of evolving knowledge.
16. Plan of the Arsiyan Scenario"

Transformation of Non-Human Life and New Spaces for Multiple Intelligences

The experimental geography becomes a laboratory where biotechnological structures are constructed. These structures are part of living organisms and can reshape themselves. Structures transform into living organisms capable of perceiving and responding to the environment. They assist in processes that help understand what organisms produce and how they produce it, making changes as needed. Infrastructures redefine themselves in collaboration with non-human entities. Thus, spaces are created involving a diversity and variety of multiple intelligence types, including machines, artificial intelligence, other technological developments, living organisms, mutants, and humans, enhancing harmony and collaboration within ecosystems.
17. Atmosphere of intervention on animals
18. Atmosphere of intervention on microorganisms

19. section of animal intervention
20. section of bacteria generating
Computational Rural Imagination
Our architectural proposal seeks alternative ways of life and architectural solutions within rural life of the future, sometimes by providing harmony, sometimes by creating conflicts, and sometimes by manipulating resources it gains. Throughout this process, the experimental geography strives to generate countless proposals and dreams by working with infinite possibilities and variables. Simultaneously, it leverages the advancements in technology, artificial intelligence, machines, autonomous systems, new discoveries, biological and chemical developments, non-human entities, and humans as tools of an ecosystem. As a result, the system has, in fact, created its own alternative way of life and architecture.

Rural is now composed of a supercomputer.

Rural now consists of physical data fields or genetically reprogrammed lifeless entities via CHRISPR/Cas9.

Rural is creating a data center that fuels artificial intelligence.

Rural is shaping a computational future.

Rural consists of a production center that creates new living and lifeless bodies."

Please note that this translation is a direct conversion of the text and may require additional proofreading and editing to ensure it adheres to the academic style and conventions of the target language.
21. Isometric View of the Machine Landscape
 Samet Yılmaz © 2024, created by Samet Yılmaz, all rights reserved.

This project redefines rural landscapes in a post-natural era, integrating architecture with evolving systems. Focused on Artvin, it envisions adaptable structures, multispecies collaboration, and complex ecosystems blending biological, technological, and computational intelligences. Challenging anthropocentrism, it fosters ethical coexistence and alternative forms of life in future rural geographies.


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