Reef Machine | B1-9004 | HOLE IN WATER

Mas Yendo, is an ex-student of Lebbeus Woods that has developed several speculative projects. He was born in 1957 in Tokyo and educated at the Rhode Island School of Design (B.A.) and Pratt Institute (M.A., architecture). His experimental works have recently been compiled in his monograph Ironic Diversions, published by Springer/Wien through the Research Institute of Experimental Architecture. He lives and works in New York City.

This project called B1-9004 Reef Machine.  The project is a large artificial reef system that maximizes the ocean’s capacity to renew itself and sustain life. It encourages macrobiotic activity by pumping air through nearly 90 miles of pipes that wrap its perimeter. This activity results in the growth of crustaceans and barnacles, which, in turn, leads to habitation by larger organisms. Eventually B1-9004 will be completely lined with living organisms to form a complex eco-environment.

The project is an experimental prototype for the Sagami Bay ecosystem. This bay, which makes up the lower portion of Tokyo Bay, stretches 70 miles west of the Miura Peninsula to the town of Manazuru. The bay, which consists mostly of sandy beaches and quiet fishing villages, is shaped like a bow, and the Sagami River flows into its center. Under the sea, Jogashima, Kagemi, Enoshima, and Oiso Spurs spread like fingers and drop 1,500 meters to the Sagami Trough Basin.

Organisms from sub-arctic regions are also advected into the bay by intrusions of the Oyashio Current resulting in a very high [biodiversity]. It is the major study site for research programs at the University of Tokyo (ORI) and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). Twenty miles south of the bay, the flow of the deep ocean current Kuroshio sweeps the Izu Peninsula and travels north. This particular current originates at the equator and brings migrating fish and microscopic organisms. The combination of the unusual depth of the bay and the tropical ocean current fosters a diverse and highly concentrated ecological system.

That’s why B1-9004 Reef Machine is a reaction to the usual methods of preserving and designating natural reserves. Such methods (parks, for example) may stop further development but they are usually already overdeveloped. Further, when one considers our advanced understanding of the complexity and interrelated structure of nature’s wholeness, such bureaucratic efforts seem fragmented and ineffective.

More info at Mas Yendo web-site.