Resilience

I came across this company, Resilience Alliance, by accident, but it deals with the approach I would like to take. Fundamentally, my thesis will deal with the inherent order and adaptive quality of the New Zealand endemic ecosystem, and translate it to an infrastructure and transit system for the urban environment. I intend to redefine the relationship between the biosphere and artifice, so that infrastructure adapts to the natural environment itself, as opposed to modifying the landscape to our own ends. As an example, it has always fascinated me that New Zealand's journey from Gondwana created an inland ecosystem which, in higher level flora and fauna, is almost entirely based on a variety of landscapes and vegetation (mainly temperate rainforest), and birdlife. Environmental adaptation in a most pure form. It is clear how easy it is to tip the balance, when presented with the arrival of introduced mammals: rats, cats, dogs, possums etc- Current urban infrastructure is a great big possum. But not as fluffy.

Diversity of endemic species must be maintained, and in fact re-established on the mainland. Evolution has provided each example of flora and fauna with functionality perfectly attuned to the environment around it- nothing is superfluous in this form of response [Edit, I do not intend to describe evolution as design per se....] to operational requirements. Therefore, species must be re-introduced where they have a positive symbiotic relationship with the biosphere. This symbiois will be the basis for my research, both enhanced in it's own right, and used as a basis for an urban system.

The challenge will be to keep the balance between utopia and reality.