︎ Automata Mangrove
Cornell University Fall 2022
Professor Jenny Sabin
Consultant Nicholas Cassab
In Collaboration with Thanut Sakdanaraseth and Thomas Wallace
Driven by the cellular automata model, this traveling exhibit creates an immersive visual-ization of water quality, leaving shore stabilizing artifacts in its wake. This report investigates further details about the stakeholders, production process, and impacts of the project on communities and the environment.
Automata Mangrove’s lifespan is greatly considered in its design. As a traveling exhibit, it possesses an innate temporal quality. From the ground up, the project sits within a vulnerable coastal site. Once the fired ceramic base com-ponents are installed, they begin to function as sediment traps. The textured and hollow quality of the base components allows particles from the riverbed to become fixed within and around them. Over time, the tidal action continues to build upon these components, causing them to act as coastal stabilizers, in a similar fashion to the more tradition-al tetrapod typology.
Within this project, the base components address a greater array of issues compared to its traditional counterpart. The automata base compo-nent is 3D printed out of clay and then fired. This means that it is heavy enough to withstand tidal ac-tion and remain in place, also, as the components break down over time, the sediments produced are non-toxic. Compared to concrete tetrapods, the material choice of clay minimizes embodied carbon and allows for a more environmentally responsible use of energy and resources. Within their lifespan, the components also have an important ecological function. The organic nature of the surface and the hollow spaces created by the component arms contribute to the existing ecological niche of the coastline. Through the careful analysis of existing flora and fauna in the Hudson River, as pictured in the trophic level diagram, it is evident that a variety of organisms benefit from this installation. Aquatic plants, marine snails, and shellfish such as oysters can all utilize the rough surface in order to attach themselves for predatory protection and feeding. The hollow spaces also become underwater nurs-eries for juvenile fish as well as feeding grounds for crustaceans.
Dezeen Feature August 2023
Cornell AAP August 2023 Feature
Cornell Chronicle Feature December 2022
Department of Design Tech Feature
Consultant Nicholas Cassab
In Collaboration with Thanut Sakdanaraseth and Thomas Wallace
Driven by the cellular automata model, this traveling exhibit creates an immersive visual-ization of water quality, leaving shore stabilizing artifacts in its wake. This report investigates further details about the stakeholders, production process, and impacts of the project on communities and the environment.
Automata Mangrove’s lifespan is greatly considered in its design. As a traveling exhibit, it possesses an innate temporal quality. From the ground up, the project sits within a vulnerable coastal site. Once the fired ceramic base com-ponents are installed, they begin to function as sediment traps. The textured and hollow quality of the base components allows particles from the riverbed to become fixed within and around them. Over time, the tidal action continues to build upon these components, causing them to act as coastal stabilizers, in a similar fashion to the more tradition-al tetrapod typology.
Within this project, the base components address a greater array of issues compared to its traditional counterpart. The automata base compo-nent is 3D printed out of clay and then fired. This means that it is heavy enough to withstand tidal ac-tion and remain in place, also, as the components break down over time, the sediments produced are non-toxic. Compared to concrete tetrapods, the material choice of clay minimizes embodied carbon and allows for a more environmentally responsible use of energy and resources. Within their lifespan, the components also have an important ecological function. The organic nature of the surface and the hollow spaces created by the component arms contribute to the existing ecological niche of the coastline. Through the careful analysis of existing flora and fauna in the Hudson River, as pictured in the trophic level diagram, it is evident that a variety of organisms benefit from this installation. Aquatic plants, marine snails, and shellfish such as oysters can all utilize the rough surface in order to attach themselves for predatory protection and feeding. The hollow spaces also become underwater nurs-eries for juvenile fish as well as feeding grounds for crustaceans.
Dezeen Feature August 2023
Cornell AAP August 2023 Feature
Cornell Chronicle Feature December 2022
Department of Design Tech Feature