James Miller and Ian Koblick discuss, in their book Living and Working in the Sea, the reasons for the decline of the first generation of underwater habitats.
Independence_ Heavy reliance on surface crews and support ships made the missions unnecessarily costly. Surface crews generally provide supplies, food, medical care, and decompression while providing for quick removal in case of bad weather. Surface independence was never achieved with the exception of one three day mission in Hydrolab in 1969 during which a fuel cell on the seafloor provided the labs power. [the oil platform allows for surface / underwater support to exist as one entity, power production via ocean systems can be implemented]
Cost Effectiveness_ The scope and intentions of the research was not long term and so the funding was also temporary. After the proposed study of physiology was completed there were no further plans or instruments for the other areas of marine science and so the funding ended or a new more suitable habitat was built to facilitate a new area of research. [tourism as funding for research in conjunction with phased research plan and/or self propulsion (floating platform as opposed to fixed)]
Lack of Mobility_ With the exception of the Bentos 300 there were no self propelled habitats. The problem being that static habitats severely limit the area which can be studied or require costly surface crews to be moved and/or removed. Technology at this time did not permit for submersibles or divers to travel more than 1000 feet from the habitat for the great risk associated with saturation diving. [a case for the airport terminal / airplane, or floating platform which can be moved in long term intervals around the globe with associated submersible]
Comfort_ The underwater habitats of the first generation were better described as survival shelters than a place for living. Just as in the space station humans were a secondary consideration to the life support machine, but how long can one really "live" in a place with little comfort and social interaction. [alternate program such as tourism brings a social realm which makes the place more active, less isolated and consequently more livable]
New Technology_ Most serious researchers considered it unproductive research because of the amount of time spent fixing and treating the mechanical systems problems. Older or disabled scientists who were not physically capable of the stressful activity of saturation diving could not participate in research even though they might be most highly qualified. New technology allows for one-atmosphere habitats (at surface pressure, no saturation or decompression required) which allow any one to live and work in the underwater environment.
Koblick, Miller. Living and Working in the Sea. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc., 1984.
10.29.2007
10.25.2007
Attempts to Study the Sea
"Studying the sea from the surface compares to studying a forest from an aircraft hovering above dense clouds. You can lower nets, baskets, hooks, robots, and television cameras, but how much more effective to walk through the forest, to camp for days, weeks, months, to become an integral part of the environment until you begin to understand it as do its other inhabitants." i
Governments and scientific organizations around the world built more than 65 underwater habitats, beginning in the 1960's to study the physiological processes and limits of breathing gases under pressure as well as for research in marine biology.ii
1962_ The first was Jacques Cousteau's Conshelf I, II and III (Continental Shelf Station). Though the missions never reached their proposed potential of 900 feet there was successful research conducted on humans ability to live and work in underwater environments at a depth of near 300 feet. These expeditions also did much to publicize oceanographic research and usher in an age of ocean conservation through building public awareness.
1964_ "SeaLab I, II and III were experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States navy to prove the viability of saturation diving and humans living in isolation for extended periods of time. The knowledge gained from the SEALAB expeditions helped advance the science of deep sea diving and rescue, and contributed to the understanding of the psychological and physiological strains humans can endure."iii Interestingly the third SeaLab mission was sabotaged from within and though the Lab was retrieved it was later scrapped.
iv
1966_ The HydroLab project was in part funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Hydrolab could house 4 people. Though it only operated for four years but was thoroughly used conducting about 180 missions; 100 missions in the Bahamas during the early to mid 1970s, and 80 missions in St. Croix. The laboratory was decommissioned in 1985.
v
1969_ Tektite I and II became the first underwater research laboratories dedicated to ecological studies. The constructed by General Electric and funded by NASA.
1986_ Aquarius is the only undersea laboratory still functioning and is the only permanent underwater environment in the world. Located in the Florida Keys at the base of a coral reef in 62 feet of water. Aquarius houses sophisticated lab equipment and computers, enabling scientists to perform research and process samples without leaving the underwater facility.
One researcher writes of his experience in Aquarius:
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0309/feature4/fulltext.html
i Koblick, Miller. Living and Working in the Sea. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc., 1984. 33.
ii <http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0309/feature4/fulltext.html>
iii <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEALAB_%28US_Navy%29>
iv SeaLab III
v HydroLab
Governments and scientific organizations around the world built more than 65 underwater habitats, beginning in the 1960's to study the physiological processes and limits of breathing gases under pressure as well as for research in marine biology.ii
1962_ The first was Jacques Cousteau's Conshelf I, II and III (Continental Shelf Station). Though the missions never reached their proposed potential of 900 feet there was successful research conducted on humans ability to live and work in underwater environments at a depth of near 300 feet. These expeditions also did much to publicize oceanographic research and usher in an age of ocean conservation through building public awareness.
1964_ "SeaLab I, II and III were experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States navy to prove the viability of saturation diving and humans living in isolation for extended periods of time. The knowledge gained from the SEALAB expeditions helped advance the science of deep sea diving and rescue, and contributed to the understanding of the psychological and physiological strains humans can endure."iii Interestingly the third SeaLab mission was sabotaged from within and though the Lab was retrieved it was later scrapped.
iv
1966_ The HydroLab project was in part funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Hydrolab could house 4 people. Though it only operated for four years but was thoroughly used conducting about 180 missions; 100 missions in the Bahamas during the early to mid 1970s, and 80 missions in St. Croix. The laboratory was decommissioned in 1985.
v
1969_ Tektite I and II became the first underwater research laboratories dedicated to ecological studies. The constructed by General Electric and funded by NASA.
1986_ Aquarius is the only undersea laboratory still functioning and is the only permanent underwater environment in the world. Located in the Florida Keys at the base of a coral reef in 62 feet of water. Aquarius houses sophisticated lab equipment and computers, enabling scientists to perform research and process samples without leaving the underwater facility.
One researcher writes of his experience in Aquarius:
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0309/feature4/fulltext.html
i Koblick, Miller. Living and Working in the Sea. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc., 1984. 33.
ii <http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0309/feature4/fulltext.html>
iii <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEALAB_%28US_Navy%29>
iv SeaLab III
v HydroLab
10.11.2007
The Disconnection
Systems are the basis for life, transferring information, matter and energy. In order to understand and utilize our world more effectively we must continuously expand our connections to transfer new knowledge and resources. The ocean is largely disconnected yet it covers seventy one percent of the surface of the earth. We have in fact explored more of the surface of the moon than the underwater portion of our own planet.
The ocean primarily transfers food, vehicles and oil. Oil requires built infrastructure which inhabits the ocean in a very telling way, reaching from the surface to the ocean floor with no active systems in between. After the available oil is drawn from the ground the companies seal their drilling ports, remove modular living systems and abandon the structure. The story goes on however; since the oil platform was placed it began to diversify the open water environment simply by providing structure where new biological user groups can exist. Beauty is found in ironic juxtaposition and the opportunity for design lies in developing an enhanced connection between infrastructure and the forgotten middle oceanic zone.
The reef system as an established biological network creates a logic for inhabiting aqueous space. Coral polyps which provide sustenance for the entire ecosystem become the physical building block for the next generation of polyps when they die. In a reef death is a system of growth.
The science of architecture must adapt its materials and methods to be applied to this alien environment. Techniques and processes in the building of submersibles, airplanes and the space stations can directly inform the architectural process. This investigation becomes scientific in terms of materials testing as well as marine biology. Initiating on the Gulf of Mexico, where the most abandoned platforms exist right now, allows a network of information and data to transfer between platforms creating a three dimensional mapping of the Gulf of Mexico rather than a point sample.
The connection is created by a set of simple systems which integrate with the existing systems of the site and at the same time facilitate an enhanced network which could never have occurred without the architecture.
The ocean primarily transfers food, vehicles and oil. Oil requires built infrastructure which inhabits the ocean in a very telling way, reaching from the surface to the ocean floor with no active systems in between. After the available oil is drawn from the ground the companies seal their drilling ports, remove modular living systems and abandon the structure. The story goes on however; since the oil platform was placed it began to diversify the open water environment simply by providing structure where new biological user groups can exist. Beauty is found in ironic juxtaposition and the opportunity for design lies in developing an enhanced connection between infrastructure and the forgotten middle oceanic zone.The reef system as an established biological network creates a logic for inhabiting aqueous space. Coral polyps which provide sustenance for the entire ecosystem become the physical building block for the next generation of polyps when they die. In a reef death is a system of growth.
The science of architecture must adapt its materials and methods to be applied to this alien environment. Techniques and processes in the building of submersibles, airplanes and the space stations can directly inform the architectural process. This investigation becomes scientific in terms of materials testing as well as marine biology. Initiating on the Gulf of Mexico, where the most abandoned platforms exist right now, allows a network of information and data to transfer between platforms creating a three dimensional mapping of the Gulf of Mexico rather than a point sample.
The connection is created by a set of simple systems which integrate with the existing systems of the site and at the same time facilitate an enhanced network which could never have occurred without the architecture.
10.08.2007
Systems Integration
Systems Integration is about viewing the world in terms of functional interrelating systems, which transfer information, energy and matter. This is not forgetting that architecture is also a system within a larger network. Architecture, as an industry, is inhibited by its introspection and as a result its methods and processes of design and fabrication have remained fundamentally unchanged since the industrial revolution.
The manufacturing of complex goods such as those of the aerospace, automobile and shipbuilding industries have streamlined their processes for efficiency. Integrated yet interchangeable assemblies and improved performance are standard on an annual basis. Simple systems create complex interdependent networks to extend the capabilities of the user.
The manufacturing of complex goods such as those of the aerospace, automobile and shipbuilding industries have streamlined their processes for efficiency. Integrated yet interchangeable assemblies and improved performance are standard on an annual basis. Simple systems create complex interdependent networks to extend the capabilities of the user.
While efficiency drives innovation in industry, material optimization has always been essential for survival in nature. Efficiency in biological systems is a result of competition for environmental resources; consequently complex biological systems are adaptive. Food chains are dependent on balanced energy transfer to allow a diverse ecosystem to function.
Breaking down complex devices reveals simple logical systems which work in coordination. Architecture within this context is not a singular entity nor is it permanent, but can become a cooperative and adaptable part of the systematic world.
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