Viscosity: Historical geo-spatial mapping as a tool to understand the local development of port cities in a global context

Nancy Couling and Carola Hein explore the physical and metaphorical viscosity of two North Sea liquids – oil and seawater. Thickness and resistance to flow cause friction in planning and in the petroleum industry but installations erected to enforce the flow of petroleum, create unexpected viscous conditions in the North Sea as a whole.

Blankness: The Architectural Void of North Sea Energy Logistics

Energy logistics have contributed to the gradual transformation of the North Sea into an industrial void. Referring to the concept of blankness articulated by Roberto Mangabiera Unger and Jeffrey Kipnis, Nancy Couling and Carola Hein call for imaginative architectural interventions that respond to the potential of logistic spaces lodged within...