Equilibrating dualities

Abstract

Infrastructure, industry and extraction have greatly reshaped the North Sea over the last five decades. These specific elements played and still play a vital role in the growth and evolution of the North Sea and its adjacent countries. Among all the fishing and oil industry have become highly governmentally influenced machines and are imposing structural injustice on those in contact with its multi scalar impact. Both industries appear seemingly very different from each other however, both take part in the imposition in terms of pollution, territorial claims and impacts on identity and culture. This role has its direct effects on people closely linked to these systems, but also to those far beyond the boundaries of the North Sea. Their lives forever changed, with a low possibility to ever act against. One of the main reasonings behind this imposing role are the detached positions of these industries in relation to their territorial specificities. The lack of integration in terms of site specific entities such as climate, flows and culture are enhanced by its alienated and detached appearance directly result in the separation of man, machine and territory. Unfortunately, these industries are currently indispensable for our present-day lives, without them we couldn’t live as freely and developed as we do now. To act against the structural injustice imposed by the industries a new type of industry must be introduced and by means of it an energy transition. Allowing for maintaining benefits, yet without the imposed disintegration known from our current state of existence. The duality imposed by these industries is clearly notable in Bergen, Norway. Being Norway’s largest centre of sea based extraction, production, transportation, research and education Bergen has greatly benefitted from the extraction of oil and fish however always correlated by strong cases of structural injustice. On the other side of the industry stands Bergen’s unique landscape and its territorial specificities unlike any other city surrounding the North Sea. Together they embody a topography of chance suitable for this new type of industry, which is set to initialise an integrated and coalesced energy transition. Its result is a new approach to an equilibrium between all related subjects and objects, while providing a bodily experience embedded in and exposed to territory, flows and machine. The new type of industry entails a series of interventions linked to a multi scalar energy transition in terms of production and utilisation by means of direct linkage between man, machine and territory. The proposition consists of three main elements: a hydrogen production facility, a fuelling station and a bath house. Each individual element plays a critical role in the integration and coalescence of production, flows and territory to create an integrated and sustainable energy transition. The hydrogen production facility as the manifestation of integrated production and service to the city by means of both product and waste. The fuelling station as the long term solution and the possibility of reterritorialization of fjordic waters by local fishermen. And lastly the bath house as a social proposition of full process exposure, tangibility and integration. These elements make various appearances ranging from: the uncovering of present-day systems to the management of site specificities, use and enhancement of cultural aspects and the utilisation of clean energy and waste. Furthermore, a moment of reflection on the self and the structural injustice imposed by the governmental machines which we currently heavily rely on. Together acting as a statement of minimal intervention to maximise territorial use and therefore the activation of structural justice by means of integration.