0°N
THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, 2100 A.D.
The polar ice caps have melted and the Canadian and Russian tundras have thawed. The combined loss of polar albedo and release of Carbon Dioxide from the tundra biomass has led to exponential global temperature increase, rendering the majority of the planet inhospitable. The planet’s human population is closer to 700 million than the current 7 billion, with the vast majority living at the earth’s poles and on the Himalayan Plateau.

Inhabitation of the Arctic poses significant resource issues. While a global ban on fossil fuel consumption is dealt with via solar, tidal and wind power, the issue of food production is a central focus. Aware of the catastrophic implications of overfishing, inhabitants respond by adopting a majorically vegetarian diet.

Vegetarianism is adopted by survivors in other regions as well, but the annual solar limitations on the poles and the limited biodiversity of the Plateau force the world into a complex food-sharing network. Alternative energy fuels unmanned drones, which deliver food and seeds to the other regions. The reduced weight of seeds minimizes the power necessary for the drones to make the flight, maintain a bio-diverse diet with minimum energy expenditure.

This inhospitable environment forces a reconfiguring of the notion of “self” relative to object. Architecture has become exoskeleton and drones have become cybernetic extensions of ourselves, all working in symbiosis. The fall has manidated a post-anthropocentric urban strategy, presencing inanimate agents as equal participants in the design.

0°N was produced with the generous assistance of Christopher Stewart.