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N.R. Couling
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1
The Offshore Petroleumscape
Grids, Gods, and Giants of the North Sea
In the North Sea, one of the world’s most industrialized maritime basins, the petroleum industry has been largely responsible for the creation of new types of offshore spaces, making it a powerful vehicle of the urbanization of the sea. This chapter discusses the particular type of extended urbanization that emerged postwar in the North Sea in conjunction with the construction of its offshore petroleumscape. This urbanization is organized around unprecedented, tailor-made extended territorial frameworks (grids), characterized by huge installations such as “Ekofisk City,” constructed to high technical requirements with vast amounts of concrete and steel and a large-scale rotating workforce (giants); it incorporates intangible cultural dimensions in the construction of identities around these new geographic places (gods). Once established, the offshore petroleumscape leaves a formidable territorial legacy: it has set a precedent in transforming the North Sea into an energy seascape, which is being appropriated, renovated, and redirected toward renewables at the same time as processes of optimization are extracting the last hydrocarbons from existing fields and finding other substances to inject into their hollowed-out subsea spaces.
...
In the North Sea, one of the world’s most industrialized maritime basins, the petroleum industry has been largely responsible for the creation of new types of offshore spaces, making it a powerful vehicle of the urbanization of the sea. This chapter discusses the particular type of extended urbanization that emerged postwar in the North Sea in conjunction with the construction of its offshore petroleumscape. This urbanization is organized around unprecedented, tailor-made extended territorial frameworks (grids), characterized by huge installations such as “Ekofisk City,” constructed to high technical requirements with vast amounts of concrete and steel and a large-scale rotating workforce (giants); it incorporates intangible cultural dimensions in the construction of identities around these new geographic places (gods). Once established, the offshore petroleumscape leaves a formidable territorial legacy: it has set a precedent in transforming the North Sea into an energy seascape, which is being appropriated, renovated, and redirected toward renewables at the same time as processes of optimization are extracting the last hydrocarbons from existing fields and finding other substances to inject into their hollowed-out subsea spaces.
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 the volume of the sea.
...
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 the volume of the sea.
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.
...
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.
Essay, published in Turbulence (edited by Franck Billé) part 3 of the Volumetric Sovereignty forum.
...
Essay, published in Turbulence (edited by Franck Billé) part 3 of the Volumetric Sovereignty forum.
Narrative Cartography
Capturing a Holistic Perspective on Waterscapes
Water territories challenge inherited, land-based methods of capturing their history. They are a vital commons, where social, technical, political and cultural interests intertwine, potentially also causing conflict. Attention is currently focused both on the ecological importance of the water cycle for human well-being and ecosystem services, as well as on the unpredictable aspects of water through the effects of climate change. This paper argues that such interconnected challenges require new tools and methods of conceptualising and visualising waterscapes. Narrative cartography developed with citizen’s input, reveals itself to be a highly inclusive methodology which can capture neglected knowledge about the past as well as propose visions for the future. This method is discussed in two different geographic contexts through the academic projects Streamscapes in Germany and Mittelmeerland in the Mediterranean.
...
Water territories challenge inherited, land-based methods of capturing their history. They are a vital commons, where social, technical, political and cultural interests intertwine, potentially also causing conflict. Attention is currently focused both on the ecological importance of the water cycle for human well-being and ecosystem services, as well as on the unpredictable aspects of water through the effects of climate change. This paper argues that such interconnected challenges require new tools and methods of conceptualising and visualising waterscapes. Narrative cartography developed with citizen’s input, reveals itself to be a highly inclusive methodology which can capture neglected knowledge about the past as well as propose visions for the future. This method is discussed in two different geographic contexts through the academic projects Streamscapes in Germany and Mittelmeerland in the Mediterranean.
Energy Logistics of the North Sea
A crowded industrial void
Spaces of ocean-borne energy logistics and their landside extensions around the North Sea have developed into specialised, impermeable structures of energy extraction, transportation, transformation and storage. Despite the irregular dispersal of artefacts, the combination of both fixed and mobile infrastructure weaving through the North Sea has tied single sites together into a viscous territory of logistics – both solid and liquid and therefore hard to decipher. We argue that it is precisely the traits of invisibility, seclusion, operationalization and intersecting cycles of movement in time, that identify the North Sea as a site of unfolding processes of extended urbanisation and the most expansive layer of the global petroleumscape.
...
Spaces of ocean-borne energy logistics and their landside extensions around the North Sea have developed into specialised, impermeable structures of energy extraction, transportation, transformation and storage. Despite the irregular dispersal of artefacts, the combination of both fixed and mobile infrastructure weaving through the North Sea has tied single sites together into a viscous territory of logistics – both solid and liquid and therefore hard to decipher. We argue that it is precisely the traits of invisibility, seclusion, operationalization and intersecting cycles of movement in time, that identify the North Sea as a site of unfolding processes of extended urbanisation and the most expansive layer of the global petroleumscape.
Poster
...
Poster
In 2019, the North Sea petroleumscape celebrates its 50th anniversary since the first major offshore oil discovery at the Ekofisk field in 1969. Despite the current task of decommissioning, it is therefore a rigid, historical format, invested with millions of tons of concrete and steel, working hours, technological solutions, social narratives, and in the meantime encrusted with multiple forms of marine and birdlife. It is a cultural artefact.
The North Sea petroleumscape has urbanised the entire sea and linked into land-side infrastructural systems. This paper traces its formation and explores the spatial properties of the resulting artefact. Urbanisation processes in ocean space have historically been steered by trade and shipping in addition to the fishing industry and more recently by the new technological seascapes of renewables. However, I argue that in the case of the North Sea, the extraction of oil and gas has been the major driver of a process of radical transformation of the sea-space which has, in turn become deeply rooted in society, and particularly in the case of Norway, diverted traditional maritime industries, legends and ways of life into an “ecology” of oil. The Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage has awarded several offshore fields the status of industrial heritage and proceeded with comprehensive documentation of these monuments in lieu of the dismantled physical sites.
As the turn to renewables advances, multi-national oil companies in collaboration with the state are discreetly diverting to “green” strategies, however at the same time, characteristic traits of their oil operations are firmly maintained. The petroleumscape leaves a formidable territorial legacy which is being appropriated, renovated and redirected towards renewables at the same time as processes of optimisation are extracting the last drop from existing fields and finding other substances to inject into their hollowed subsea spaces.
...
In 2019, the North Sea petroleumscape celebrates its 50th anniversary since the first major offshore oil discovery at the Ekofisk field in 1969. Despite the current task of decommissioning, it is therefore a rigid, historical format, invested with millions of tons of concrete and steel, working hours, technological solutions, social narratives, and in the meantime encrusted with multiple forms of marine and birdlife. It is a cultural artefact.
The North Sea petroleumscape has urbanised the entire sea and linked into land-side infrastructural systems. This paper traces its formation and explores the spatial properties of the resulting artefact. Urbanisation processes in ocean space have historically been steered by trade and shipping in addition to the fishing industry and more recently by the new technological seascapes of renewables. However, I argue that in the case of the North Sea, the extraction of oil and gas has been the major driver of a process of radical transformation of the sea-space which has, in turn become deeply rooted in society, and particularly in the case of Norway, diverted traditional maritime industries, legends and ways of life into an “ecology” of oil. The Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage has awarded several offshore fields the status of industrial heritage and proceeded with comprehensive documentation of these monuments in lieu of the dismantled physical sites.
As the turn to renewables advances, multi-national oil companies in collaboration with the state are discreetly diverting to “green” strategies, however at the same time, characteristic traits of their oil operations are firmly maintained. The petroleumscape leaves a formidable territorial legacy which is being appropriated, renovated and redirected towards renewables at the same time as processes of optimisation are extracting the last drop from existing fields and finding other substances to inject into their hollowed subsea spaces.
Urbanization through Ocean Channels
An emergent spatial model
In a radical change of urban perspective, this paper shifts the sea into the geographical and conceptual foreground as a spatial realm; a vital ecological unit, an integrated, yet distinct cultural “territory” and the site of unfolding urbanization processes. Examples are drawn from research in the Barents, Baltic and North Seas, - the latter two marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean- however I argue that the conceptual frameworks and methodology are relevant for ongoing Atlantic research.
Part One of this paper introduces the inherent spatial, cultural and ecological dimensions of the ocean, independent of land-side dynamics, hence a foundation for understanding the ocean as a unit of analysis is constructed.
The second part argues that the relationship between ocean space and urbanization processes involves two reciprocal developments;
Firstly the stretching of urban systems across the global ocean as transport networks, physical infrastructure, temporary energy installations and management frameworks, each forging land-based Cartesian coordinates through this liquid terrain.
Secondly, the invisibility of the resulting urban indicators – which are porous, periodic, dispersed and challenge our inherited ideas of the “urban” as a bounded space of dense social and material interactions. However contemporary urban theory argues for an expanded understanding of urbanization processes, including the city’s hinterlands and seemingly natural areas which have been “operationalized” for productive purposes (Brenner & Schmid 2011).
Hence urban & oceanic systems have merged in unprecedented and contradictory ways; the ocean itself is an active agent, while the extension of urban systems has altered the ocean’s very internal composition. These conclusions form the basis for a proposed relational definition of ocean territory.
Part Three discusses how the urbanized ocean provides new opportunities to challenge 20th century analytic orthodoxies through descriptive cartography, geographic urbanism and the alignment of ecological and community boundaries.
In response to the call for South Atlantic theory-building research, Part Four introduces the non-Western natural/cultural spatial model of the Pacific Ocean- a reversal of the Western solid and void. Here the space of the sea, rather than the land, is endowed with the highest social status, sacred knowledge, richly productive seascapes and the currents of spiritual life, offering lessons to the challenges we face in our own relations to the ocean.
...
In a radical change of urban perspective, this paper shifts the sea into the geographical and conceptual foreground as a spatial realm; a vital ecological unit, an integrated, yet distinct cultural “territory” and the site of unfolding urbanization processes. Examples are drawn from research in the Barents, Baltic and North Seas, - the latter two marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean- however I argue that the conceptual frameworks and methodology are relevant for ongoing Atlantic research.
Part One of this paper introduces the inherent spatial, cultural and ecological dimensions of the ocean, independent of land-side dynamics, hence a foundation for understanding the ocean as a unit of analysis is constructed.
The second part argues that the relationship between ocean space and urbanization processes involves two reciprocal developments;
Firstly the stretching of urban systems across the global ocean as transport networks, physical infrastructure, temporary energy installations and management frameworks, each forging land-based Cartesian coordinates through this liquid terrain.
Secondly, the invisibility of the resulting urban indicators – which are porous, periodic, dispersed and challenge our inherited ideas of the “urban” as a bounded space of dense social and material interactions. However contemporary urban theory argues for an expanded understanding of urbanization processes, including the city’s hinterlands and seemingly natural areas which have been “operationalized” for productive purposes (Brenner & Schmid 2011).
Hence urban & oceanic systems have merged in unprecedented and contradictory ways; the ocean itself is an active agent, while the extension of urban systems has altered the ocean’s very internal composition. These conclusions form the basis for a proposed relational definition of ocean territory.
Part Three discusses how the urbanized ocean provides new opportunities to challenge 20th century analytic orthodoxies through descriptive cartography, geographic urbanism and the alignment of ecological and community boundaries.
In response to the call for South Atlantic theory-building research, Part Four introduces the non-Western natural/cultural spatial model of the Pacific Ocean- a reversal of the Western solid and void. Here the space of the sea, rather than the land, is endowed with the highest social status, sacred knowledge, richly productive seascapes and the currents of spiritual life, offering lessons to the challenges we face in our own relations to the ocean.
Blankness
The architectural void of north sea energy logistics
Energy logistics is the management and implementation of energy flows and their physical artefacts. This sector has perpetuated and profited from a spatial and conceptual void produced by national and corporate strategies in order to optimise logistical flows and to avoid larger societal debate. Offshore developments, in particular, take place far from the public eye and imagination though they form a core layer of the global petroleumscape. This article explores the history and development of the industrialised void of the North Sea and how energy logistics, strongly determined by the oil and gas industries, shields its presence while at the same time shaping and structuring the built environment at sea and across dedicated land-sea thresholds. Throughout this process, it persistently avoids the emergence of architectural form. We propose that the concept of blankness, first formulated by Roberto Mangabiera Unger and further discussed by Jeffrey Kipnis, is a useful framework for interrogating the architecture of energy logistics, its apparent invisibility, and global impact. For both Unger and Kipnis, blankness signified a potential liberation from established norms, opening the way for new forms of democratic life and architectural expression. Such an interpretation of blankness could enable design professionals and the general public to reclaim architectural expression for the spaces left without meaning by logistics. In conclusion we argue for urgent architectural intervention beyond pure logistics and towards an integrated vision for the common space of the sea.
...
Energy logistics is the management and implementation of energy flows and their physical artefacts. This sector has perpetuated and profited from a spatial and conceptual void produced by national and corporate strategies in order to optimise logistical flows and to avoid larger societal debate. Offshore developments, in particular, take place far from the public eye and imagination though they form a core layer of the global petroleumscape. This article explores the history and development of the industrialised void of the North Sea and how energy logistics, strongly determined by the oil and gas industries, shields its presence while at the same time shaping and structuring the built environment at sea and across dedicated land-sea thresholds. Throughout this process, it persistently avoids the emergence of architectural form. We propose that the concept of blankness, first formulated by Roberto Mangabiera Unger and further discussed by Jeffrey Kipnis, is a useful framework for interrogating the architecture of energy logistics, its apparent invisibility, and global impact. For both Unger and Kipnis, blankness signified a potential liberation from established norms, opening the way for new forms of democratic life and architectural expression. Such an interpretation of blankness could enable design professionals and the general public to reclaim architectural expression for the spaces left without meaning by logistics. In conclusion we argue for urgent architectural intervention beyond pure logistics and towards an integrated vision for the common space of the sea.
The North Sea has a long tradition of facilitating interactions, building distinct forms of legislation and releasing valuable resources. Historically, this was an open, mobile realm of dynamic exchange and multiple, shifting relations. Today webs of infrastructure and logistics weave between temporary fixities and traverse valuable habitats. Routes are solidifying and spatial claims are multiplying. The sea is thick with activity which is also set to increase with EU Blue Growth incentives– it is becoming a viscous space.
Landing is the act of bringing something to land either from the air or from water. Taking the sea space as the origin, this paper discusses landing within the processes of extended urbanisation unfolding in the North Sea (Brenner & Schmid). The sea is treated as a coherent, fluid system and considered a historic cultural & ecological unit. Urbanisation processes interact with the sea’s geo-physical properties in specific ways at distinct locations. Three of these locations are investigated as case studies; the fjord (NO), the estuary (UK) and the Wadden Sea (DE).
From offshore sites of resource harvesting, urban extensions facilitate transport & delivery back to land, hence extended urbanisation is a reciprocal process operating across the land-sea threshold and mobilising people, vessels, materials and legal frameworks. This process determines and reorganises vast tracts of sea space and dedicated coastal sites, yet has until recently, largely avoided urban or architectural scrutiny.
Research on the Oceanurb project has revealed that urban extensions in the North Sea form specialised and mutating trajectories according to changing conditions and resource depletion. The case of hydrocarbon extraction on the Norwegian continental shelf demonstrates how some of these extensions redirect traditional maritime sectors and therefore develop strong cultural dimensions.
However, forms of extended urbanisation in sea space are highly demanding; the economic environment is fiercely competitive and requires specialised technology and facilities, the physical environment exerts multiple forces on materials and construction systems and the human environment is characterised by extreme spatial and temporal compression. The result is frequent social, ecological and spatial disjunction.
...
The North Sea has a long tradition of facilitating interactions, building distinct forms of legislation and releasing valuable resources. Historically, this was an open, mobile realm of dynamic exchange and multiple, shifting relations. Today webs of infrastructure and logistics weave between temporary fixities and traverse valuable habitats. Routes are solidifying and spatial claims are multiplying. The sea is thick with activity which is also set to increase with EU Blue Growth incentives– it is becoming a viscous space.
Landing is the act of bringing something to land either from the air or from water. Taking the sea space as the origin, this paper discusses landing within the processes of extended urbanisation unfolding in the North Sea (Brenner & Schmid). The sea is treated as a coherent, fluid system and considered a historic cultural & ecological unit. Urbanisation processes interact with the sea’s geo-physical properties in specific ways at distinct locations. Three of these locations are investigated as case studies; the fjord (NO), the estuary (UK) and the Wadden Sea (DE).
From offshore sites of resource harvesting, urban extensions facilitate transport & delivery back to land, hence extended urbanisation is a reciprocal process operating across the land-sea threshold and mobilising people, vessels, materials and legal frameworks. This process determines and reorganises vast tracts of sea space and dedicated coastal sites, yet has until recently, largely avoided urban or architectural scrutiny.
Research on the Oceanurb project has revealed that urban extensions in the North Sea form specialised and mutating trajectories according to changing conditions and resource depletion. The case of hydrocarbon extraction on the Norwegian continental shelf demonstrates how some of these extensions redirect traditional maritime sectors and therefore develop strong cultural dimensions.
However, forms of extended urbanisation in sea space are highly demanding; the economic environment is fiercely competitive and requires specialised technology and facilities, the physical environment exerts multiple forces on materials and construction systems and the human environment is characterised by extreme spatial and temporal compression. The result is frequent social, ecological and spatial disjunction.